768 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



proper combination of fermentable ma- 

 terials, possessing suchrine principles, 

 and kept for a time in a temperature 

 favorable for the action, yeast is pro- 

 duced which is, in very deed, "yeast 

 plants," that are as animate as other 

 bacilli, including those named by Mr. 

 Cheshire. 



The development of organic particles, 

 and the decomposition of organic fluids, 

 both in fermentation and putrifaction, 

 can be explained by the presence of cer- 

 tain elements which, under certain con- 

 ditions, generate changes, and thus 

 originate the new life. If yeast (germs) 

 be planted in their media, saccharine 

 matter, will reproduce themselves, a 

 little leaven will leaven the whole. The 

 talk that foul-brood cannot be originated 

 except from planting the "seed," is 

 equally as fallacious as to assert that 

 yeast cannot be originated by any means 

 other than by planting yeast seed. 



Richford, N. Y. 



m Mating of (jueens. 



JOHN D. A. FISHEK. 



I have just read with much interest 

 Mr. Doolittle's article in Oleanin<js, for 

 May 15, where he says that drones 

 congregate at certain places, and then 

 virgin queens seek these congregated 

 drones to become fertilized, by mating 

 with them. 



I agree with Mr. D., that drones con- 

 gregate to some extent ; while I believe 

 this, I also believe that where there are 

 a multitude of drones in an apiary, that 

 a large per cent, of the young queens 

 are mated near their home, or before 

 they ever reach those congregated 

 drones. • 



I wish just here to ask whether Mr. 

 Doolittle thinks that all the drones in a 

 neighborhood congregate together in 

 one place. Or does he believe that all 

 the drones from, or in, an apiary con- 

 gregate together in a certain place? I 

 also would like to know whether he be- 

 lieves that virgin queens know, when 

 they leave the hive, where the drones 

 are congregated. If not, how do the 

 queens find those drones, become ferti- 

 lized, and return to their homes in 25 

 minutes, which is about the extreme 

 length of time the young queens stay out 

 of the hives ? I know that those are 

 deep questions. 



I have observed that where a multi- 

 tude of drones exist in an apiary, this 

 loud noise, or roaring of the drones in 



the afternoon may be heard in all direc- 

 tions from an apiary within from }4 to 

 3^ mile, and my opinion and observations 

 are that where this is the case, the 

 young queens are mated near their 

 home. My own queens prove this 

 stand-point to me. 



I also believe that the Italian drones 

 fly a long ways from their home in pur- 

 suit of virgin queens. I believe that the 

 Italian worker goes further away from 

 home to hunt honey than the blacks do ; 

 so do the Italian drones go further away 

 from home seeking a bride. This is the 

 reason we find the Italian blood showing 

 2}4 and 3 miles away among their black 

 sisters. 



Keep a multitude of young and vigor- 

 ous Italian drones in your yard, and the 

 young queens are pretty sure to be 

 purely mated. 



Woodside, N. C. 



Bee-Keeping in Sonlliweslern Illinois. 



D. A. CADWALLADER. 



The weather here during May up to 

 this date was cold and wet, raining all 

 the time. April weather was not much 

 better. I live in the " American Bot- 

 tom," 50 miles below St. Louis ; the 

 flood in the Mississippi River for the 

 last two weeks has ruined two-thirds of 

 the growing wheat — yes, I will say 

 three-fourths. 



There is no corn planted of any conse- 

 quence, and what was planted must 

 be re-planted. 



The town I live in, previous to the 

 present rains, was flooded by the creek 

 running through it, and great damage 

 was done ; the present high water in 

 the river has not reached us yet, except 

 on the out-skirts. 



The bees in this locality, as far as I 

 have learned, are nearly all starved to 

 death — and that, too, in the midst of 

 plenty, as the white clover, raspberries, 

 etc., are in bloom. The former has been 

 blooming for two weeks, but the weather 

 was too cold for the bees to get out, 

 hence the starving condition. 



I fed my bees, but not sufficient to 

 keep them strong. There is quite a 

 dwindling in some colonies. I united 

 two of the weakest colonies, which are 

 all right now. I introduced two tested 

 Italian queens in my apiary on April 

 21, having gotten them from a queen- 

 breeder in Texas. 1 was very successful 

 with them, though I could not put them 

 into the hives for three days after I re- 



