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her usual amount, though in two weeks 

 more she became as prolific as ever. 

 This gave me strong evidence that her 

 wing had been clipped too short, or in 

 some way hurt, though I still clipped 

 more almost as short, and once in a 

 while the same trouble would occur. 

 and often lose mj- queens (about one 

 in ever ten). 



So I began to clip difterenth', for 

 there are tall trees about my apiary, 

 and I do not like the fun of climbing 30 

 or 40 feet up into a tree after swarms 

 of bees. I was prompted to still go on 

 Avith the clippling. I began to think 

 this : Why cannot I clip off the fan 

 part of one wing, and leave the rib 

 untouched ? My queens were after 

 this clipped in that fashion, and I have 

 yet to lose one queen, or have one 

 superseded because of being thus 

 clipped. 



We have been directed to clip both 

 wings, the main reason for this being 

 claimed that the queen will be found 

 more easily while crawling on the 

 comb amongst other bees. This is 

 true, but there is another point that I 

 think over-balances this, and prompts 

 me to clip but one wing. 



Perhaps some of the readers have 

 been out hunting prairie chickens, and 

 shot one. breaking one wing, and 

 when attempting to fly, the sound 

 wing will turn the chicken i-ight 

 around with its head towards the 

 hunter. Then, again, crop the wing 

 of a goose, throw it up in the air, and 

 it vvill flop itself around ; clip both 

 wings, antl the bird will hold straight 

 ahead, until it falls to the ground, 

 twice the distance away. It is just the 

 same with a queen when swarming. If 

 one wing only is clipped, when at- 

 tempting to fly, the sound wing will 

 turn her around, where if both were 

 clipped alike, the queen would balance 

 and go straight ahead, perhaps think- 

 ing tliat she would finally fly, thus 

 greatly endangering her when the 

 apiarist is not present. 



Welton, Iowa. 



AT WORK. 



What is <iioiiis: on in llio Corner 

 of liie Oarclen. 



Written for the Mass. Ploughman 

 BY (rEO. A. STOOKWELL. 



A tree overhangs and shades, and 

 its brandies bending down meet the 

 scarlet runnerand morning-glory twin- 

 ing up. The hroad and beaming faces 

 of Russian sunflowers ■ make apples of 

 gold in a picture of many colors, and 

 a gourd running a race with the Lima 

 beau, has begun to display its club of 

 Hercules. 



In this embowered nook is a colony 

 of bees — the golden-tipped Italians — a 

 hundred thousand strong. A hive, two 

 stories and a half, is their domicile 

 and workshop, and at this time (July 

 5) there is business of importance in 

 this workshop, for the basswood cups 

 are full and running over with light. 

 amber nectar, rich in substance and 

 aromatic iu honej'-flavor of the fairest 

 hue and reputation. 



The basswood plants, or trees, ai'e 

 great music boxes now giving forth 

 the hum of a thousand or ten thousand 

 bees, as they swarm in and out to drain 

 the nectar from overflowing cups. A 

 delightful melody it is. a gentle, sooth- 

 ing symphony. If you listen with an 

 ear musically critical, you may catch 

 the m.ajor and luinor chords in the 

 beautifullj' blended bee-chorus. 



But the home of the workers a hun- 

 dred thousand strong is in the shady 

 angle of the garden. As you approach 

 it. a streak of gold appears extending 

 out from the entrance of the hive till 

 the eye loses it. The bees coming in 

 man}' directions, fall into line six feet 

 iu front of the hive, and together rush 

 to the entrance, a steady stream in. a 

 steady stream out. 



Faster than the eye can count, the 

 bees fall upon the alighting-board, and 

 hurry within. A few drones stand 

 upon the board stretching their legs 

 and wings, and oecasionallj' one ap- 

 proaches an in-coming bee. and 

 thrusts out his tongue tobe fed. for 

 drones are too lazy to feed themselves. 

 if anj' are willing to help, but the 

 workers thrust them aside, jostle them, 

 climb over them, saying plainly. ■■Got 

 out of the wa\% Help yourself. No 

 time to wait on you to-day." 



With the honey-gatherers come the 

 bees with pollen, their pockets or 

 baskets full. What a falling of colors 

 in stuft'ed baskets ! blue pollen, yellow 

 pollen, white pollen, pollen pink. red. 

 orange, gray, black — a sliower of bril- 

 liant pigments, disappearing in the 

 hive. 



W'e open the hive without disturbing 

 the bees, except bj' the admission of 

 light. It is a wonderful sight. Thous- 

 ands of bees working •■like mad." and 

 jet in harraonj' without confusion and 

 with precision antl dispatch. Here are 

 bees depositing honej'. pumping it out 

 of their honej'-sacs — there are bees un- 

 loading their pollen-baskets, there is 

 one tugging at a pellet of pollen that 

 does not come out of its pocket easily. 

 Another bee. a pollen-packer, hurries 

 up to assist, and the operation reminds 

 one of a man attemjiting to pull oS' 

 another man's boots. Well, it's oft' al- 

 ready, and the bit of pollen falls into 

 a cell. 



The pollen-packer evidently is the 

 ovei'seer of this part of the industry. 



for there comes a bee with both pock- 

 ets full of orange pollen, and is about 

 to unload, when up rushes the head 

 pollen-packer, and pushes him on 

 further, which says plain enough. • 'Not 

 in that cell, put it in this." The bee 

 obeys and hurries away for more. The 

 pollen-packer then dives head first into 

 the cell which the pollen was deposited, 

 and packs it. evidently using his head 

 as a tamper, for the bee moves up and 

 down as if he was throwing himself 

 against that pellet of pollen to pack it 

 hard. 



The honey and the pollen-gatherers 

 make only a part of this great force of 

 workers. This is the •■ height" of the 

 season, and the queen now enters upon 

 her "great laying feat," laying two or 

 three thousand eggs in 24 hours, and 

 hence, if 3.000 eggs be laid to-daj". 

 3.000 eggs will hatch in three days. 

 and 3.000 full grown bees will walk 

 forth from their cells in 21 days. 



When the egg is deposited in the 

 cell, a drop of honey is placed with 

 it. so that the egg floats in it. or is sur- 

 rounded by it. Thus is the table 

 spread for the bee as soon as it breaks 

 the shell. But as soon as the drop of 

 honey is exhausted, the larva? must be 

 fed. The feeding of the thousands 

 of j'Oung bees requires an army of 

 nurses. The young bees are fed on 

 ■bee-bread," a mixture of honey and. 

 pollen, and if the nurses be not bread 

 mixers or bread makers, then there 

 must be an army of bread makers. 



Besides all these workers there are 

 builders — the builders of comb. The 

 honey and the pollen gatherers climb 

 over them, jostle them, and they are 

 often under two or three deep, yet 

 they are not disturbed, apparently, 

 antl continue their work of forming 

 comb and cells from wax that exudes 

 from , their own bodies. The wax 

 comes forth in little scales between the 

 joints of the body. The bee dislodges 

 these scales bj' the aid of muscular 

 contraction and its six feet or hands, 

 and after mauipulating it. places it in 

 position. 



In addition to all these forces of the 

 hive, there is another equally import- 

 ant, namely, the force of fanners. 

 Thousands of bees are stationed 

 throughout the hive to fan with their 

 wings to create a draft, and to prevent 

 the hive from becoming overheated. 



In this great throng of busy workers 

 moves the queen — the jewel of the col- 

 ony — aye. a jewel of marvelous beauty, 

 of burnished gold anil bronze, her 

 wings appearing like the most exqui- 

 site, the finest gold lace. As she 

 moves in the llirong the bees fall back, 

 and stand facing her as she passes, 

 many caressing her. But as she passes 

 none follow. There is a momentary 

 pause in that part of the workshop. 



