634 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Arc. 1 



beg'an to bloom, and then we noticed the 

 bees seemed to be crazy over it the first 

 thing- in the morning- and last at night. I 

 sowed a plat this spring- of about six square 

 rods. It began to bloom about a month 

 ag-o. Now there is a swarm on it all the 

 time. I could find nothing like it in the 

 catalogs, so I sent a sample to our agricul- 

 tural college at Pullman. They gave it the 

 name "Phacelia." Now, what I want to 

 know is, does it yield honey enough to war- 

 rant me in plowing up my Ij^-acre lot and 

 sowing it to phacelia? I have it in alfalfa, 

 but it doesn't seem to do well. I think it is 

 too cold. I am on a creek bottom. I have 

 27 colonies now, and more to come. 



A. S. Thompson. 

 Garfield, Wash., July 17. 



MORE ABOUT PHACELIA. 



[The following, from Mr. J. F. Sempers, 

 will, perhaps, answer a good many points 

 in doubt or in controversy referred to in the 

 preceding. — Ed.] 



To Dr. Miller's query on p. 499, I would 

 say phacelia represents a large genus of 

 plants widely distributed. There are fig- 

 ured in Britton & Brown's "Flora of the 

 Northern States and Canada " nine species 

 whose combined ranges extend from Texas, 

 Alabama, Virginia, and Pennsj'lvania, to 

 Minnesota, Dakota, and Idaho, besides 

 some fifty other species in the western part 

 t'f North America. Probabl}' several or all 

 of the species are useful for bee-pasturage 

 in their respective ranges. 



Our one plant here, Phacelia diibia, I 

 have never seen visited bj' bees, though it is 

 quite abundant. Coming into bloom in 

 May, when the main flow is in progress, it 

 is probabl}' ignored by the bees because of 

 ihe presence of greater nectar-yielders — tu- 

 lip-tree, raspberry, and white clover. 



J. Ford Sempers. 



Aikin, Md., July 22. 



SWARMING WITHOUT OUEEN-CELLS; DO 

 1'RIME SWARMS COME OFF WITH VIR- 

 GINS? THIC DIFFERENCE IN STOCK, 

 AND HOW THIS DIFFERENCE EN- 

 TERS INTO THE SWARM- 

 ING PROBLEM. 



We should like to ask Dr. Miller if he is 

 sure bees do not swarm without leaving 

 queen- cells started; also, is it a fact that 

 the young queens begin hatching out about 

 a week after the swarm issues? Our ex- 

 perience is rather different. The present 

 season we had 484 swarms led out by clip- 

 ped queens, and in 25 per cent of those 

 swarms there were from one to half a dozen 

 virgin queens and more left in the hives. 

 Working with clipped queens under such 

 conditions was not a flattering success. 

 With over four hundred colonies in one 

 yard, and swarms coming out at the rate of 

 twenty or more a day, what course would 

 have been best to pursue under the condi- 

 tions given? M. W. Shepherd. 



Hollister, Fla. 



[We submitted the above lo Dr. :\liller 

 for reply. — Ed.] 



No, I am not sure that bees never swarm 

 without first starting queen-cells; for since 

 the introduction of Italians it has been pret- 

 ty generally taug-ht that there may be such 

 a thing as bees swarming without the start- 

 ing of queen-cells. Cheshire says bees very 

 rarely, and that in the case of yellow bees, 

 swarm before queen-cells have been started. 

 I think the rule is that the bees start queen- 

 cells some seven to ten days before the issu- 

 ing of a prime swarm, and I think the 

 teachings of all the text-books agree with 

 this idea. In my own experience I may say 

 that I have known queen-cells to be started 

 without any swarming resulting, but never 

 in a single case have I known a prime 

 swarm to issue without the previous start- 

 ing of queen-cells. But I have no right to 

 say that the experience of others must ex- 

 actly coincide with my own, and others say 

 there are exceptions to the rule. 



" Is it a fact that the young queens begin 

 hatching out about a week after the swarm 

 issues?" I think all the authorities agree 

 that such is the rule, with the exceptions, 

 of course, as previously mentioned. 



Having swarms led out by a clipped 

 queen accompanied by one or more virgins 

 is certainly a remarkable experience, the 

 like of which, I think, has never before been 

 reported — that is, if it is meant that this 

 was the first issuing of the old queen. 

 Such a thing might happen if bad weather 

 delayed the issuing of the prime swarm for 

 a week or so, but it hardly seems that such 

 could have been the case with Mr. Shep- 

 herd's bees. 



As to what I would do if I had twenty or 

 more swarms issuing dailjs a fourth of 

 them having, besides the clipped queen, one 

 or more virgins, I must say I really don't 

 know. I suppose I should very likely do 

 just about the same as you did, friend 

 Shepherd. But I think I should tr}' very 

 hard not to be placed in such a predica- 

 ment the second year. If I were working 

 for extracted honey I would take the Dema- 

 ree plan, put all the brood in an upper sto- 

 ry, leaving the queen on foundation below, 

 an excluder between. But if I were living 

 in California I might not succeed with that, 

 for Delos Wood says it is a failure wiih 

 him every time. 



I might try another plan that is recom- 

 mended by Cowan and others. Before the 

 colony reaches the swarming- point, take 

 away all brood, leaving the bees on founda- 

 tion, and putting the brood over another full 

 colony. It is claimed that neither of the 

 two colonies will then swarm. 



I sincerely hope, however, that I may 

 never be so situated as to be obliged to 

 skirmish around after some plan to head ufl: 

 such outlandish proceedings. 



C. C. Miller. 



[From my experience during the last few 

 days while I have been out in the apiary 

 among the bees I am convinced that this 



