234 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' MEVIEW. 



A curious theory concerning the utility of 

 drones, which has been brought up before in 

 La Revue Internationale, is reviewed by A. 

 de /oubareff, a correspondent in Russia, 

 apropos of an experience of Fodolsky, a 

 Russian bee-keeper, as follows : " After the 

 flight of the bees in front of their hive, 

 many drones may be seen so weak that they 

 can scarcely spread their wings to fly away. 

 After having examined more than a hundred 

 to find the cause, M. Podolsky ascertained 

 that they had all lost their copulative capac- 

 ity, having their spermatophores withered 

 up. To ascertain the cause of such a defor- 

 mity, supposing they were impotent from 

 birth, he opened with every precaution '.)8 

 colls of drones at the age of 20 days, drew 

 them out and found that they all had enor- 

 mous genital organs. Assured that his sup- 

 position was wrong, he commenced to ex- 

 amine the drones whicli si)orted with the 

 workers, and found only seven to ten per 

 cent, with organs in a normal state. Drones 

 expelled from the hive by the bees or sliel- 

 tered at the bottom had unsound organs. 

 The cause of this deformity TVI. Podolsky 

 lays to the workers, whose organs, though 

 less developed than those of their mother's, 

 do not cease to excite their instinct for the 

 males, which is confirmed by the fact of 

 laying workers. * * * After having de- 

 stroyed all male larvte, he has found that the 

 colony became visibly feeble, without energy 

 or agility, and that it produced less brood 

 and honey than with the presence of 

 drones." 



If as Mr. McArthur thinks, on page .''>78 of 

 the American Bee Journal, laying workers 

 may be an important factor in transmitting 

 characteristics, and if as he says they are 

 pre'ient at all times (compare p. 21)7 of the 

 Revikw for ISi)4), this possible exciting of 

 the workers to laying by the drones would 

 be another point in their favor. When nt)W 

 the foregoing is com [tared with a paragraph 

 by llerr Reeiten in the A. B. J. for March 2, 

 IS'.KJ, page 2('>S, and with Mr. Haaty's '" grain 

 of fertile worker salt" (Revikw, page 70) — 

 the oi)portunities for theorizing are com- 

 plete. 



Ij'Apiooltoke. — Dr Dubiiii, after review- 

 ing the various means for extending the use 

 of honey, comes to the conclusion that there 

 is really but one, that of advertising in the 

 daily papers of largest circulation, and in 

 the agricultural periodicals, calling attention 

 in such advertisements to honey as food, 



medcine and for domestic purposes, and to 

 the advantage of getting it direct from bee- 

 keepers. 



The editor prefers oiien-air feeding, if 

 done towards evening, and over a large 

 enough surface. Though the strongest col- 

 onies get the lion's share, the others do get 

 a proportionate part, in his experience. 



Pollen-bound combs are very desirable 

 for spring use, but if they are too numerous, 

 says Dr. Dubini, the pollen can be re- 

 moved by soaking in water until softened, 

 then turning the combs in the extractor. 



If it is ever necessary to go through the 

 long and tedious process of extracting dead 

 bees from comb in hives whose bees have 

 died in winter, it may be shortened by using 

 the proper instrument. Dr. Dubini uses a 

 piece of wire of a thickness corresponding 

 to our No. 10, one end of which is flattened 

 with a hammer, edged with a tile, slightly 

 curved, and rounded so as to be like a little 

 spoon. When this is introduced into a cell 

 adjoining that containing the bee and given 

 a brisk upward movement, presumably not 

 enough to tear the cell wall much, the bee is 

 extracted in an instant. 



Editor Von Rauschenfels bhinks apicul- 

 ture is indeed the poetry of agriculture, if 

 Mrs. Atchley's plan of non-swarming by 

 caging is followed, as given on page 2?> of 

 the Review. But he seems to be speaking 

 ironically. 



Abvada, Colo. June 29, 18!r>. 



Bee-Keepers' Review. 



PUBLISHED MONTHLTr. 



W. Z. HUTCHIBSON. Editor and Proprietor. 



Teems :— f 1.00 a year in advance. Two copiPB 

 Sl.tH) ; tlireo for $2.70 ; five for $I.(H) ; fen or more, 

 TOcontseach. If it is (losiro<l to hav(( thBliEVIffiW 

 Htopped at tlio expiration of tlio time paid for, 

 I)lease say ho wlion subscribinf?. othorwiso, it 

 will be continued. 



FLINT. MICHIGAN, AUG. 10. 1895. 



The Honey Cuop will be light this year, 

 and if honey were a staple like wheat and 

 potatoes the i)rice would climb up, up, up : 

 but it is a luxury, and when the price begins 

 to go up, people stop buying it. The prices 

 may go up a Utile., but not much, I think, 

 and I should not hold honey hoping for an 

 advance in prices. 



