AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



709 



cocoon around itself, and after a little 

 while it comes out of this chrysalis a 

 full-fledged worker-bee. Almost imme- 

 diately these new fledged bees begin 

 gathering pollen, which they add to the 

 original lump, while the queen goes on 

 laying eggs in it as long as warm 

 weather lasts. 



Perhaps before Winter arrives the 

 mass will have grown to tha size of 

 one's two fists. It is literally honey- 

 combed with cells from which the young 

 bees have made their escape, and these 

 empty chambers are used for the storing 

 of honey. Most of the honey gathered 

 by bumble-bees is obtained from red 

 clover. 



Up to nearly the end of the Summer 

 the queen lays eggs which produce only 

 females which are undeveloped sexually. 

 They are the honey-gathering and 

 comb-building class. When Autumn is 

 coming on, however, she produces males, 

 called drones. At the same period also 

 she lays eggs which give birth to fully 

 developed females, all of which are des- 

 tined to be queens the following year. 

 From six to twelve of the future queens 

 are turned out by each hive. When cold 

 weather arrives they crawl into snug 

 places where they hibernate during the 

 Winter, gathering pollen in the Spring, 

 and laying their eggs in it. Only the 

 queens survive, all the workers and 

 drones dying. 



Thus it may be said that every bumble 

 bee hive is wiped out each Autumn. 

 They do not gather in numbers sufficient 

 to accumulate large stores of honey, 

 notwithstanding their industry. Ordi- 

 narily, a single colony will not number 

 more than 'SO or 40 individuals. Their 

 cells are huddled together without order, 

 so that the honey cannot well be ob- 

 tained from the combs in a clear state. 

 — Orange Home. 



Tlie f iiileriii£ of Bees. 



It is plainly to be seen that wintering 

 bees does not entirely depend upon the 

 weather. The season preceding has 

 much to do with the success of winter- 

 ing, and the prospects of the future 

 crop. The past Winter has been mild, 

 and yet bees have not wintered well. 

 The cause of this impropitious result 

 cannot be attributed to the severity of 

 the Winter, but will have to be charged 

 to the unfavorable conditions of last 

 Fall, and the latter part of Summer. — 

 Exchange. 



COWVEWTIO^f DIRECTORY. 



Time and place of meeting. 



1892. 



May 28.— Haldimand, at Nelles' Corners, Ont. 

 E. C. Campbell, Sec. Cayuga. Ont. 



Sept. 7, 8.— Nebraska, at Lincoln, Nebr. 



L. D. Stilson, Sec, York, Nebr. 



Oct. 7.— Utah, at Salt Lake City, Utah. 

 John C. Swauer, Sec. Salt Lake City, Utah. 



1893. 



Jan. 13, 14.— S.W.Wisconsin, at Boscobel.Wis. 

 Benj. B. Rice, Sec, Boscobel, Wis. 



Jt^^ In order to have this table complete, 

 Secretaries are requested to forward full 

 particulars of the time and the place of 

 each future meeting. — The Editor. 



North American Bee-Keepers' Association 



President— Eugene Secor.. Forest City, Iowa. 

 Secretary- W. Z. Hutchinson Flint, Mich, 



ITational Bee-Keepers' Union. 



President— James Heddon ..Dowagiac, Mich, 

 SEC'y AND Manager— T. G. Newman, Chicago, 



Bee ajid Honey Gossip. 



^^~ Do not write anything for publication 

 on the same sheet of paper with business 

 matters, unless it can be torn apart without 

 Interfering with either part of the letter. 



Good Prospect for Honey. 



Bees have wintered only fairly in this 

 vicinity. There was some loss in win- 

 tering, and a greater loss from Spring 

 dwindling. The season up to this time 

 has been very unfavorable on account of 

 the continued wet weather ; if not rain- 

 ing it is cloudy and damp, which is not 

 good for the bees. The prospect for a 

 honey crop was never better. Fruit 

 trees are unusually full of bloom. White 

 clover is making an excellent start, and 

 the ground is thoroughly wet, so we ex- 

 pect a free blooming of all honey-plants. 

 The honey that we got last year was 

 very poor. B. A. Manley. 



Milo, Iowa, May 17, 1892. 



Early Experience in Bee-Keeping. 



In 1858 I bought my first Langstroth 

 bee-hive, paying !§5.00 for the hive, and 

 $5.00 for the right to use of the same. 

 The hive was a two-story one, and the 

 upper story was made of part glass and 

 part wood ; in other words, a double- 

 glass super. The queen very rarely 

 went above, and the bees stored from 



