THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



35 



SHALL WE TKY TO HAVE LAKGEIl 

 liKES? 

 I have no disjiosition to discourage 

 any effort that looks toward the im- 

 prv)veinent of bees, but I should like to 

 see it made in directions that promise 

 success. At any rate it will do no harm, 

 friend Alley, to call the attention of your- 

 self ami Hro. Smitli to an item or two 

 lying in the way of your intended im- 

 provements as outlined on page 2 1 . 



Bro. Smith says, "Double the size of 

 the l)ees, and you double the distance 

 it could go for honey." Wliat assur- 

 ance have you of that? Does the bum- 

 blebee get around more lively than the 

 hive bee? Is it the general rule that 

 speed increases with size? Speed or 

 endurance either? In working up a 

 fiist breed of horses, do they increase 

 size? Are the largest birds the swiftest? 

 Did you never watch a crow or some 

 other large bird with a small bird mak- 

 ing circles all around it, the big bird 

 trying in vain to get away from its tor- 

 mentor? 



There is more hope, probably, for 

 success in his other suggestion to get lon- 

 ger proboscis to work on red clover. 

 'I'hat was talked of long ago, but as yet 

 no progress has been reported, E. E. 

 Hasty had some experiments under 

 way to get red clover blossoms down 

 to fit the bees, but I don't know how 

 far he succeeded. 



The idea that drones are generally 

 raised in enlarged worker cells is not 

 in accordance with the state of affairs 

 in my apiary, and I doubt if it is any- 

 where. I use full sheets of worker 

 foundation, and practise cutting out 

 drone comb, but the bees always man- 

 age to get more drones than I want. 

 As they always make fresh drone cells 

 (not enlarged worker cells), am I not 

 always giving the bees the chance to 

 make just as large drone cells as they 

 will ? 



Will larger cells make larger bees? 

 Have you forgotten the foundation that 

 A. I. Root was anathematized for mak- 

 ing, years ago? You ask, friend Alley, 

 for cells not quite as large as drone 



cells, in which to raise large workers. 

 Well, his was just about half way be- 

 tween tlrone and worker. Sometimes 

 the bees raised workers in it and some- 

 times drones. But the workers didn't 

 appear any larger than those raised in 

 common worker cells. I have seen 

 workers hatch out of drone cells, and I 

 couldn't see any increase of size. 



Besides, supi)ose you could get them 

 to raise larger bees in larger cells, and 

 had a whole hive of them. When that 

 same colony went to raise a queen, 

 what difference would it make? 

 Wouldn't the egg laid in tne queen cell 

 be just the same as if ordinary workers 

 had been raised from previous eggs ? 



But there's some hope on the red 

 clover side. Go in on that. 



THAT "QUKEX-STINGIXG-BEIC" STORY. 



I suppose you refer on page 29 to the 

 two cases reported by me, in whicli I saw 

 a young queen sting a worker. You say 

 "no one will believe that story." In 

 that I think you are in error. I know 

 that it is believed by some, and I sus- 

 pect by a good many. Will you please 

 tell us why you don't believe it? Have 

 I established such a reputation for un- 

 truthfulness that you are safe in saying 

 it cannot be so, just because the state- 

 ment comes from me ? Or am I to 

 doubt the evidence of my own eyes just 

 because the sight did not first meet the 

 eyes of Henry Alley? Come, friend 

 Alley, that won't do, even if you tell me 

 not to "jaw." In each case I saw a 

 lively looking worker taken into the 

 apparent embrace of the queen, then 

 immediately let go, and that worker was 

 dead, dead. Did it die of a fit or a 

 sting? 



Maj-engo, III. C. C. Miller. 



So far as raising larger bees is con- 

 cerned, the above is respectfull.v referred 

 to Bro. Smith. AVe think yon can tell the • 

 trnth Bro. Miller, but you are as liable to 

 be deceived as otlier people. Don't you 

 think yon are? 



Bro. Miller is manufacturing jokes at 

 our expense, something we enjoy very 

 much We are only trying to keep our end 

 up, Bro. M., so "jaw" away. — Eu.J 



