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213 



Queries % Eefues, 



Do Bcc»i Change the Consistency 

 of IVcctar on the Wins? 



Written Sor the Ameincan Bee Journal 



Query 697.— Do bees increase the consis- 

 tency of nectiir voluntarily, whilcon the wing 

 homeward from their pasturage ? or is the 

 fine sjiray, which it is inferred they eject, a 

 regurgitation caused by excessive exertion 

 while flying with an over-laden honey-sao?— 

 Maine, 



I think not.— G. L, Tinker. 



I do not know. — R. L. Taylor. 



I do not know. — C. H. Dibbern. 



I do not know. — J. M. H.imbaugh. 



I give it up before I try.— A. B. Mason. 



I never saw the " fine spray " spoken of. 



— Gr. M. DOOI.ITTLE. 



I know too little to venture an opinion. I 

 respectfully refer it to the " digested-nec- 

 tarists." — Etgene Secor. 



Do they eject a fine spray in their home- 

 ■ward flight! I think not. — Mrs. L. Har- 

 rison. 



I do not know. The only way to find out, 

 would be to catch the spray, and ascertain 

 whether it is water or nectar. — M. Mauin. 



I rather think that they increase the 

 consistency volUHtarily, but I doubt about 

 any such " regurgitation " as you speak of. 

 — C. C. Miller. 



This question, I think, is beyond the 

 power of human ken to answer. It is the 

 quintessence of infinitesimalism. — J. P. H. 

 Brown. 



I doubt if the honey is thickened. It is 

 in the honey-stomach, undergoing diges- 

 tion, or the change into honey. — A. J. Cook. 



I know nothing positive in regard to it. 

 Do you really mean "regurgitation?" I 

 think that "evacuation" would come 

 nearer to it. — H. D. Cutting. 



I think not. The ejections sometimes 

 seen (when bees are feeding on thin 

 syrup) in their transit from the feeding- 

 place to the hive, is a discharge from the 

 lower bowel — not from the honey-sac. No 

 doubt it is the result of mechanical pres- 

 sure, as you suggest. — G. W. Demaree. 



I do not know. How should anybody 

 know^ What difference does it make if 

 they do; If they get their little " pails " so 

 full that they cannot be jostled without 

 spilling, we must get larger ones for them. 

 —J. M. Shuck. 



In our opinion, the fine spray is a dis- 

 charge from the abdomen of the feces, of 

 the watery honey which they have been 

 consuming. We not believe that the honey 

 which they have gathered, ripens in their 

 stomach ; nor do we believe that they can 

 separate the honey in the honey-sac 

 from the water, and regurgitate the latter. 

 — Dadant & Son. 



Bees gather honey in obedience to the 

 laws of Nature, and that is about all we 

 know about it. There are many theories 

 afloat in regard to the changes that do, or 

 do not, take place in the stomachs of the 

 bees; but who is right, or who is wrong, is 

 still a mooted question. I do not think, 

 however, that the question throws any 

 light at all.— J. E. Pond. 



I do not know. One of the main reasons 

 why I do not know, is because I do not care. 

 The principal reason why I do not care, is 

 because I follow beekeeping, and spend 

 my time and energies in observing and ex- 

 perimenting for the purpose of getting 

 money out of the business. My wife and 



children require now drosses and shoes, and 

 sometimes I want a "new gown" myself ; 

 that is what 1 follow bee-keeping for, and 

 not for idle curiosity. I believe that I know 

 more about the practical, useful things 

 connected with liee-keeping for the simple 

 reason that 1 never bother my brain about 

 the question of whether the queen faces 

 north or south, or looks into the cell just 

 before she backs in it to lay an egg. It 

 does not make an difference with the 

 amount of surplus honey 1 am to get, and 

 the least amount of labor I will need to ex- 

 pend to get it. — James Heddon. 



Management to Seenre Honey 

 Instead of Swarms. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 696.— 1. Would it bo practical, after 

 a colony has become strong, and alioiu ready 

 to swarm, or at the time when tlie ajiiarist de- 

 sires his bees to l>e gathering hone.y instead of 

 rearing brood, to shut the queen in one side 

 of the hive, on one or two combs, by the use 

 of a piece of perforated zinc as long as the 

 hive {inside measin'oment), and wide enough 

 to bend over the U)\i of the one or two combs ? 



2. How would it atlect swarming? — Iowa. 



1. I do not know. — H. D. Cutting. 



1 and 2. Try it and see. — A. B. Mason. 



1 . I do not think that you would like it. 



3. It might hasten it. — C. C. Miller. 



1. I think not. 3. I think that they 

 would very likely swarm. — A. J. Cook. 



Some recommend a similar plan. I pre- 

 fer to let the bees swarm. — G.M.Doolittle. 



1. While I have no practical knowledge 

 on the subject, I doubt if it would pay. — 

 Eugene Secor. 



1. I do not think that it would be practi- 

 cable. 2. Try it and report. — C. H. Dib- 

 bern. 



1. It might be practicable, but it would 

 not be practical. 3. The bees would build 

 queen-cells and swarm. — M. Mahin 



The plan you suggest has often been 

 tried, and I think that it has as often been 

 found a failure. 3. It will not prevent 

 swarming. — G. W. Demaree. 



1. I do not think that the plan is practi- 

 cal or advisalile. 2. It would not prevent 

 swarming. — G. L. Tinker. 



It would be perfectly practical, but I do 

 not think that it Avould be advisable to do 

 so. In many cases it would lead to build- 

 ing queen-cells and swarming. — J. P. H. 

 Brown. 



1. It is not practical. Keep the brood- 

 combs in proper condition, and give the 

 queen the liberty of her house. 3. It would 

 not prevent swarming. — J. M. Shuck. 



1. I do not think that it is practical or 

 advisable. 2. If the colony had "become 

 strong and about ready to swarm," of 

 course they would have facilities for rear- 

 ing a new queen, or several of them. — Mrs. 

 L. Harrison. 



1. No. 8. It would be likely to lead to 

 an irregular sort of after-swarming, as 

 most of the colonies would probably rear a 

 lot of young queens, even if they would not 

 otherwise have done so. — R. L. Taylor. 



1. It would not work in my locality, 

 where I want bees in abundance till frost. 

 I very much doubt if your plan can be made 

 practical in anj' locality. 3. You may pre- 

 vent swarming to some extent by this 

 method. — J. M. Hambaugh. 



1. It might; but why not get Doolittle's 

 "Scientific Queen-Rearing," and follow 

 that? The met(iod you suggest, is old, and 

 has not been found of value, as compared 

 with many others. 3. Much would de- 



pend. It might set the bees in a rage, and 

 work badly.— J. E. Pond. 



1. No, sir; it is not practical. The labor 

 of performance and the results flowing 

 from it, will cause any person to abandon 

 it if he once begins it. 3. It will not pre- 

 vent the queen getting out in most cases. 

 After a time they will have the young 

 queens hatched out on the other side of 

 the zinc. Then they will swarm with a 

 young queen. — James Heddon. 



The April Miinilx'r of " Frank 

 Leslie's Popular Monthly" contains fully a 

 dozen elaborately illustrated articles, any 

 one of which is worth buying the magazine 

 for. " The Senate and its Leaders "is dis- 

 cussed in bright, gossipy style by Frederick 

 Daniel, and nearly a score of portraits and 

 views accompany the text. Wm. Hosea 

 Ballou describes the Tennessee Blue-grass 

 region and its thoroughbred horses, to- 

 gether with the historic homes of Presi- 

 dents Polk and Andrew Jackson. The 

 wonders of Edison's perfected phonograph 

 and graphophone are brilliantly set forth 

 by Arthur V. Abbott, in an article entitled 

 " A Voice from the Past," with the best 

 pictures that have ever been published in 

 connection with this subject. The short 

 stories and poems of the number are by 

 favorite magazine writers, including Lucy 

 Hooper, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, and others. 



I^~ " Insect Life " for March, published 

 by the Division of Entomology of the 

 United States Department of Agi'iculture, 

 is now ready for distribution. It contains, 

 besides various special and general notes 

 and extracts from the correspondence of 

 the Division, an article on "Cockroaches," 

 being a continuation of Prof. Riley's series 

 of articles on the "Insect Pests of the 

 Household;" an account of two new spider- 

 egg parasites, by Mr. Howard; a transla- 

 tion of a French article on the parasitic 

 castration of an insect by Hymenopterous 

 and Dipterous larvae; an account of a 

 poisonous spider in Madagascar ; and 

 another installment of Lord Walsingham's 

 Revision of Chambers' Index of the North 

 American Tineina, a group of small moths 

 which are universally injurious either to 

 forest trees and other vegetation, or our 

 household goods. 



■Wliy Advertise in the American Bee 

 Journal? Here are some good reasons; 



1. Because it has a large and influential 

 circulation in every State and Territory, 

 Canada, and other foreign countries. 



3. Because it is well-printed, and an 

 advertisement in it appears neat and 

 attractive, and invites a reading. 



3. Because it reaches just the class of per- 

 sons desired — professional men, lawyers, 

 doctors, and the best rural population. 



4. The rates are low and the returns from 

 advertisements are satisf actor j'. 



We have received hundreds of unsolicited 

 commendations of the Bee Journal as an 

 advertising medium, but have no room to 

 give them here. 



