774 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 



my stock to 10 colonies; then I put sections on five 

 hives where the bees showed disposition to work in 

 them. I shall get 25 pounds of this honey to the 

 hive, and the hives are "chuck full" below (the 

 whole 10). 



BUCKWHEAT. 



There has been a good buckwheat harvest, but 

 this I have not extracted, as I should like to have 

 the bees well fixed for winter; but some of my 

 neighbors kept the extractor going all through 

 August, and, of course, have more honey than I 

 have. 



BEE-STINGS OR HONEY FOB RHEUMATISM— WHICH? 



I have thought over that bee-sting remedy for 

 rheumatism, and have come to the conclusion that 

 Prof. Cook is about the man to settle the question. 

 I have had the disease, and have taken much of the 

 medicine, and am very much better than I used to 

 be; but I rather prefer to call honey the antidote, 

 as I eat a good deal, and like it; but I can't say 

 that I relish the sting. 



GLEANINGS. 



I take a deep interest in Gleanings. Every sub- 

 ject treated on captivates me completely, and I nev- 

 er tumble the leaves over for something better. I 

 just begin with the very first page, and quit when 

 I have to. The letters from foreign lands give me 

 especial delight. I read the little letter from Scot- 

 land over several times. 



C. C. MILLER'S METHOD OF NUMBERING HIVES. 



C. C. Miller's hints are worth many times the cost 

 of the journal to new hands at bee-keeping. Num- 

 bering hives is a great help, and I shall have a num- 

 ber on all my hives after this, for now I have to 

 name them, and No. i is much easier to speak or 

 understand than to say the " red-topped hive," or 

 " the hive over next to the cottonwood." 



A QUEEN-CELL ON DRONE COMB. 



My neighbor showed me a queen-cell on drone 

 comb, and says they frequently make them so. 

 This is new to me, and I am slow to believe that 

 bees are so stupid. What says Gleanings? 



Preston, Minn., Sept. 2, 1889. F. A. Cummings. 



Bees do quite frequently start queen-cells 

 on drone comb. In this case, however, they 

 are smooth on the outside, instead of hav- 

 ing the usual indentations. The drone 

 larvae, however, instead of becoming a king 

 is evidently sickened or put out by the roy- 

 al jelly, for he soon dies. Yes, the bees are 

 sometimes just so stupid. 



THE MATING- OF A QUEEN AND 

 DRONE BUMBLE-BEE. 



WHAT AN EYE-WITNESS SAW. 



T SAW a queen bumble-bee mate to-day; and 

 ijP thinking it would be of some interest to others 

 W I will tell what I saw of it. It was at 11 ; 30 A. m., 



■*■ while I was cradling buckwheat. I heard the 

 buzzing of bees, and on looking down in front 

 of me I saw a queen, and a drone bumble-bee on 

 her back, and another drone Hying about them, try- 

 ing to get hold of the queen. The queen was then 

 walking on the ground. 1 drove the drone away 

 that was flying. Then the queen beoame quiet; 

 then they mated. I waited nearly four minutes, 

 then killed them both. I will send them to you by 

 mail as proof of what 1 have described. 

 I think that honey-bees must mate in a way very 



much as the bumble-bees do. About two weeks ago 

 I was working some 40 yards away from my yard, 

 where I have 25 nuclei. My attention was called by 

 hearing an unusual buzzing over my head. I saw a 

 small cluster of about 15 or 20 bees flying about 16 

 feet high. They seemed to rush together and fall 

 nearly to the ground, then start in another direc- 

 tion, and again rush together, but each time they 

 seemed to lose nearly half of their number. I saw 

 them rush together three times before they were 

 out of my sight. From what I saw to-day I am 

 quite sure that it was a queen taking her flight. 



C. M. Woolveh. 

 Richfield Spa., N. Y., Sept. 9, 18*9. 



We sent the. above, together with the two 

 bumble-bees, to Prof. Cook, who replies as 

 follows : 



Friend Runt :— I thank you for the specimens. As 

 you will see in my Bee-Keeper's Guide, p. 92, I have 

 seen the same thing. Mr. Woolver leads us to 

 think that the mating was done after the bees fell to 

 the ground. Is he sure of this? In cases seen by 

 me, copulation seemed to be accomplished while 

 yet on the wing; yet in all cases the bees, while in 

 copulo, fall to the ground. I had supposed that the 

 expiring male drew the queen to the earth, and 

 that the queen then pulled away, bearing with her 

 a part of the reproductive apparatus of the male. 

 It would be interesting to know if the drone and 

 queen of our honey-bees, while in copulo, fall to 

 the earth. If so, it would be strange that no one 

 ever yet saw them. Has any one ever witnessed 

 such an event? In one case that I saw some years 

 ago, a queen bumble-bee was dragging a nearly 

 dead drone along the earth while yet in copulo. I 

 believe this the method of gaining freedom, among 

 bumble-bees. A. J. Cook. 



Agricultural College, Mich. 



ALBINO BEES. 



PROF. COOK GIVES HIS OPINION IN REGARD TO 

 THEM. 



TT is well known that a true albino is really a 

 gjf diseased or imperfect organism. For some 

 W cause, the tissues which usually secrete pig- 

 ■*■ ment, or coloring matter, are unable to do so. 

 The hair is white, the exposed skin is pink, as 

 its transparency hides not the blood in the superfi- 

 cial blood-vessels, and for like cause the eyes are 

 pink. Thus the skin in a human albino is tender, 

 and the eyes are so unprotected that they can not 

 bear the light of day. A hare lip is no more a mal- 

 formation than is albinoism. The fact that man, by 

 selection, has perpetuated this peculiarity in some 

 animals makes it none the less a diseased condition. 

 All animals tend to reproduce unfavorable as well 

 as useful peculiarities. I have read that albinos 

 often intermarry, and thus there is unfortunately 

 a tendency to increase and perpetuate this diseased 

 condition among people. Now, I do not think this 

 any argument against the so-called albino bees. 

 Scientifically such bees are not albinos. They are 

 not white. They only show more white than others 

 of their race. Thus, if I am correct, these bees 

 are no worse for their characteristics. They are 

 not physiologically deficient as are true albinos, but 

 only sports, or more properly varieties. Now, if, as 

 varieties, they have valuable characteristics, as 

 their friendg claim, th 3n they are superior. Their 



