170 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



does not, I feel sure. Now what is 

 it? This word signifies that when a 

 queen bee has her spermatheca com- 

 pletely furnished with spermatozoa, 

 yet from some paralysis, or other de- 

 fect of the muscles attached to the 

 spermathecal glands it is powerless 

 to act, and she becomes a drone 

 layer. This condition in a queen 

 bee can, it appears, be produced arti- 

 ficially by pinching the extremity of 

 the abdomen so that the last gang- 

 lion is injured. 



The introduction of queens is a 

 subject interesting to all, and the 

 "Simmins" method has lately re- 

 ceived much attention ; then we have 

 a Mr. Reidenbach in Germany who 

 constructs a small cell of wax artifi- 

 cially, puts the fertile queen therein, 

 closes it up, and places it in the 

 queenless hive. 



Mr. Simmins has also started a 

 dry sugar method of feeding, also a 

 method of doing away with the trou- 

 ble of boiling syrup by using cold 

 water with the sugar. More on these 

 points anon. 



The sagging of certain makes of 

 foundation when others do not sag is 

 a point yet unexplained. A French 

 writer says only last month (and he 

 manufactures) "all qualities and kinds 

 of wax are not suitable for the man- 

 ufacture of comb foundation," and 

 enumerates the departments of Nor- 

 mandy, Calvados, Picardy, Aisne, 

 Pas de Calais, as only producing 

 wax which, when made into founda- 

 tion is accepted slowly by bees and 

 very liable to pay. 



There is undoubtedly great differ- 

 ence in wax : some is of a smooth 



texture and fine "grain when broken, 

 others again break with a very coarse 

 greasy fracture. The art of the 

 chemist may yet be profitably em- 

 ployed to determine the suitability 

 of certain grades of wax for founda- 

 tion making. 



The making a market for honey is 

 occupying the attention of our Eng- 

 lish brethren. Any and every one 

 was induced to "keep bees," espec- 

 ially the cottager class, and then 

 when they got honey there was no 

 one cared to buy. An organized 

 system of sale has been decided 

 upon, and the British Honey Com- 

 pany is now fairly afloat with a capi- 

 tal of $100,000. Honeys will be re- 

 ceived for sale on commission, each 

 lot being graded on arrival. It will 

 be wise to follow the workings of this 

 organization, as if successful a simi- 

 lar system could be carried out here. 

 The Bee and Fruit Farming Co. 

 with a $50,000 capital has also been 

 started. Its object is set forth to be 

 "To assist beekeepers by providing 

 a ready means for disposing of the 

 honey and wax now being produced 

 on a large scale and to meet the diffi- 

 culty experienced by so many in find- 

 ing a quick market for their produce. 

 The company will buy from its share- 

 holders and also sell on commission. 

 Having had some experience as 

 secretary, and manager of certain 

 companies, I would simply say that if 

 the right man for manager is chosen 

 and then the President and Board of 

 Directors go on a vacation and leave 

 him thoroughly alone to manage, there 

 is a poor prospect of success ; but in 

 England, as in this country, the ten- 



