1062 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1 



eggs in the brood-combs although there may be 

 plenty of honey." 



"Do we infer that these eggs do not mature 

 into larva; for want of pollen.''" 



"I am of the opinion that eggs are being con- 

 tinually laid to a limited extent, and the older 

 ones being removed by the bees, instead of being 

 supplied with larval food which they can not 

 procure. " 



"Why do you not feed rye or bean meal, or 

 some of the other artificial substitutes.?" 



"We have tried all the known substitutes on a 

 large scale; and although we could get a great 

 amount of brood, we could never get a good 

 strong force of field bees, or at any rate no satis- 

 factory yield of honey with bees reared with ar- 

 tificial food. The bees fell away, were short- 

 lived, and consequently they were unable to 

 gather much honey." 



F. R. BEUHNE. 



"Then you find, do you, that natural pollen 

 furnishes you a stronger and longer-lived bee 

 than any artificial substitute.''" 



"Yes. But some seasons even the natural pol- 

 len appears to be abnormal or deficient in pro- 

 tein; and the bees, in consequence, are short- 

 lived. If this deficient or poor pollen is stored 

 in autumn it means short-lived bees that are rear- 

 ed on it in the fall and in the spring, with the 

 result that the whole colony dwindles to nothing, 

 at a time when it ought to get stronger every day. 

 On one occasion I lost 200 colonies out of 215 

 from this cause." 



" It is possible that this may explain why 

 we bee-keepers in America have severe cases of 

 spring dwindling, even when weather conditions 

 are apparently favorable. While we do not know 

 that we have pollen-famines the same as you have, 

 yet we probably have a scarcity of good pollen 

 or a quantity of poor pollen. I suppose you are 



prepared to substantiate every statement you have 

 made above.' " 



"Yes, I am prepared to do so, with some res- 

 ervations on scientific points. Your readers 

 would be greatly interested in an address deliver- 

 ed by Dr. Thomas Cherry, who is an eminent 

 bacteriologist, and at present Director of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture of Victoria, Australia." 



"How do you prove that the bees in the cases 

 mentioned were short-lived.?" 



"I tested this point by exposing bees in large 

 queen-cages to the night air, using six cages from 

 a dwindling apiary, and six others from an apia- 

 ry at a distance, which was in a normal condi- 

 tion." 



"Have you ever had your pollen analyzed.?" 



"Yes; and I have with me reports of analyses 

 of Australian pollen which I intend to submit to 

 Dr. Phillips for comparison with the analyses of 

 American samples." 



THE TWO-QUEEN SYSTEM. 



"Mr. Beuhne, have you ever tried raising brood 

 from two queens in one colony.?" 



"I have." 



"Can you keep two queens in a colony with- 

 out the use of perforated zinc — one queen on 

 either side of it.? " 



"Yes, I have done so for years." 



"How do you do it.? " 



"I have no difficulty in keeping two queens in 

 any one hive on the same combs provided that 

 one of them is at least two years old." 



" Suppose the other queen was also two years 

 old." 



"My experience proves that, after a queen has 

 attained a certain age, beginning when about 

 two and a half years old, she is not considered as 

 a rival by any other queen introduced or raised 

 in the hive." 



" We may assume from this, then, that two 

 queens can live peaceably in a hive, whether one 

 or both are raised there or not, providing that 

 one of them has arrived at or has nearly reached 

 the supersedure age. Is that correct.?" 



"Yes, I believe so." 



"Do I understand you, Mr. Beuhne, further, 

 that, at the time mentioned, two queens may be 

 be used in a hive, provided both of them are 

 properly introduced, and providing, also, that 

 one of them is not less than two and a half years 

 old.? " 



"Yes, I believe so, excepting during a honey- 

 famine; and during the winter months the older 

 one will disappear." 



"Well, now, Mr. Beuhne, are there any con- 

 ditions at any time when, in your judgment, it 

 is an advantage to have more than one mother to 

 a colony for the purpose of rearing brood.? " 



"I have experimented along this line ever since 

 1893, and have come to the conclusion that there 

 is no practical gain in bees or honey by having 

 two queens in a hive. Early in the spring, spare 

 queens are rarely on hand; and even if such should 

 be the case, a queen can usually lay more eggs 

 at this time of the year than the workers can at- 

 tend to — the trouble being, not the lack of eggs, 

 but lack of worker forces to take care of them." 



"Do you ever consider it an advantage to have 

 a certain number of colonies supplied with two 

 queens to supply certain colonies with only one 



