1898. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



some things in the way of bedding, 

 iishes and provisions. But 1 must 

 jlose, as I cannot write more at pres- 

 mt. Yours, 



J. P. LEES. 



Marengo, 111., Aug. 11, 1898. 

 Friend Hill: — 



I note what you say in American 

 Bee-Keeper, page 142, about laying 

 workers depositing eggs like queens. I 

 don't know about other "climates," but 

 I assure you the translation is all right 

 for this climate. When no drone comb 

 was present I've seen a few cases in 

 which the eggs of laying workers were 

 laid all right in the bottom of worker 

 cells. In one case I saw a worker in 

 the act of laying. She looked very un- 

 comfortable, with her wings pushed up 

 about her neck, and I suspect the rea- 

 son laying workers lay so many eggs in 

 one cell, queen or drone, rather than 

 to occupy worker cells, is because it's 

 more comfortable. When compelled 

 to use worker cells they are found 

 more plenty, and there is not the same 

 temptation to lay a second egg in one. 



You say 'a worker has rarely suc- 

 ceeded in depositing her egg upon the 

 base of a worker cell, as a queen in- 

 variably does." Will you pardon me if 

 I say that "invariably" should be 

 stricken out? I have seen more than 

 one exception to the rule. Among 

 other cases, I had an imported queen 

 which for a short time laid all her eggs 

 on the side of the cell, and then for the 

 rest of her life deported herself as a 

 well behaved queen should. 



Fraternally yours, 



C. C. MILLER. 



[The conditions noted by Dr. Miller 

 in the foregoing are as new to us as the 

 observations are interesting. While 

 we have repeatedly noted the prefer- 

 ence of laying workers for drone comb, 

 the irregularity characteristic of their 

 work has been no less marked in work- 

 er cells than in others. We should, 

 perhaps, have qualified our assertion as 



to the invariable habit of a queen by 

 the introduction of an adjective. We 

 meant, of course, a normal queen. — Ed.] 



Report of a Migratory Specialist. 



The following extract from a letter 

 from Mr. O. 0. Poppleton, dated at Sc. 

 Lucie, Fla., July 30, 1898, will be of in- 

 terest to our readers: 



"The pennyroyal crop was less than 

 usual this year. I took out eight bar- 

 rels from my 100 colonies of that, 

 mixed with old black and other from 

 various sources. Saw palmetto also 

 was poor, partly on account of so many 

 fires. Took ton barrels (400 pounds 

 each) while at Stuart and brought 

 eighty colonies to this place early in 

 June. Took twelve barrels so much 

 mixed with palmetto that it will ail 

 pass for that and eight barrels of man- 

 grove. My entire crop, including near- 

 ly 1,000 pounds of very dark honey 

 taken in January, has been about 6,000 

 pounds from 100 colonies at Stuart and 

 7,500 from the eighty colonies here, or 

 an average all around of 135 pounds. 

 The flow has been continuous since the 

 middle of April, but very light; hive 

 on scales (a good one) showing five 

 pounds gain on only two or three 

 days." 



McMichaels, Pa., June 23, 1898. 

 The W. T. Falconer Mfg. Co.: 



Gentlemen: — The section boxes came 

 to hand today. They are beauties. 

 Yours truly, 



ELWOOD BOND. 



With a cessation of the honey fiow 

 the troublesome robbers make their ap- 

 pearance, and necessary precautions 

 should be taken to guard against loss 

 through their persistent efforts to over- 

 power weaker colonies. 



"We may stand on the highest hill if 

 we are only willing to take steps 

 enough." 



