CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 565 



be said safely to point to the conclusion, that there is more risk and 

 uncertainty about such an enterprise than is to be found in the other 

 avenues of industry and enterprise open to the agriculturist, and that 

 no one should undertake it without ample capital, and the services of 

 an experienced and expert practical bee-farmer. In districts not 

 adapted for successful bee-culture, it is as cheap to purchase honey as 

 to undertake to produce it ; but on the other hand, the care of an 

 apiary on a small scale is something full of interest and curiosity, 

 and may be pursued as a diversion, by those so inclined, which is 

 harmless enough, and which may possibly pay its own expenses. 



The Queen A community of bees is generally understood 

 to contain from twelve to thirty thousand individuals. About 

 nine-tenths of this number are working bees, and the remaining 

 tenth drones; and at the head of this commonwealth, there is a per- 

 sonage entitled " the queen." In reality this is a perfect female 

 and the only one in the hive. The drones are the perfect males ; 

 the workers are neuters. This important individual differs in 

 appearance and functions from all the other members of the family. 

 Sne is darker, longer and more taper in figure than the common 

 bee; her legs are shorter, wings longer, and her color underneath is 

 a yellowish-brown. She has a sting, which she uses only on impor- 

 tant occasions. She is the mother of the whole family, and has been 

 known to produce a hundred thousand eggs in a year. She is not only 

 a mother, but a sovereign, and so loyal are her subjects that the 

 absence, whether by death or otherwise, of their queen, causes an 

 immediate suspension of all labor and the speedy dispersion of the 

 whole hive. 



Working Bees These are smaller than the queen and 

 drones, and habitually make provision for the sustenance of the 

 whole family. They proceed on the principle of what is now called 

 a " division of labor," the secret of wnich man may be said to have 

 learned from the bee. Some make the comb, others keep the eggs 

 warm, others feed the queen and young brood, others ventilate and 

 clean the hive, others stand as sentinels to guard against attack and 

 warn of danger, while still others collect the required flour and 

 honey. 



The Drones These are large, dark and hairy, have no 

 stings, are heavy on the wing, and the sound of their humming is so 

 much deeper as to have given rise to the common term of " dron- 

 ing" They are expelled from the hive by the workers in the 

 autumn. 



Age of Bees The queen bees will generally live till the 

 third or fourth season, but they are seldom profitable after the third 

 year, while a large proportion die of old age apparently in their 

 second season. The Italian colonies will usually have a young 

 queen " helping her mother " before the latter becomes unprofita- 

 ble. If a very large amount of brood is found in a hive, two 

 queens will often be found, busily employed. The age of the 



