168 



J HE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



desired sexual-impulse to attract the 

 drones. 



A few weeks ago, when there were 

 some 30 virgin queens on the wing 

 one day I observed that the drones 

 were so excited as to fly in and out of 

 their hives like robber bees. 



Yes, reader, the drone fills his miss- 

 ion well in life, and if we can do as 

 well as he, we shall feel well at the 

 close of life.— (Iowa.) W. P. Taylor in 

 A.B.J. 



POISONOUS HONEY. 



Occasionally one sees in the news- 

 papers stories of persons made ill by 

 eating poisonous honey. It is true 

 that honey made from certain flowers 

 causes nausea; also that some persons 

 cannot eat honey at all until it has 

 been boiled; but I doubt if honey is 

 ever poisonous, except that gathered 

 at some seasons of the year in the 

 Southern States. There is a great 

 difference between " green" and well 

 ripened honey. Sumac honey is good 

 if well ripened, but if removed from 

 the hive before it is sealed it is scarce- 

 ly fit to eat Boneset (thorough wort ■ 

 also produces a very poor quality of 

 honey. If tobacco is used in the 

 smoker when the surplus is removed 

 it is easy to get the honey sufficiently 

 impregnated with its fumes to make 

 those unaccustomed to tobacco sick 

 when they eat it. Probably nearly 

 all the so-called poisonous honey might 

 be traced to careless apiarists. — J- H. 

 Andre. 



A SWARM OF Bl ES 



Is made up of a queen, 30,000 to 40,000 

 worker bees and in the spring several 

 hundred drones. The queen is not only 

 the royal head of the family, but the 

 mother of all. She lays two or three 



thousand eggs daily in the spring 

 when building up the colony for the 

 approaching honey flow. The laying 

 season usually begins about December 

 in the South, and the number- of eggs 

 deposited is increased daily until the 

 hive is overflowing with bees if the 

 queen is a good one. Just before and 

 during the flower- blooming season the 

 brood chamber should be full of brood 

 in all stages of developement and the 

 young bees hatching out at the rate of 

 many hundred daily. During Sep- 

 tember, October and November, little 

 or no increase of bees will be detected. 

 These wise insects appear to know- 

 when winter is at hand, when honey 

 will be consumed in boarding the colo- 

 ny and nothing brought in. — Ex. 



MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 



In this article I shall endeavor to 

 instruct the novice as plainly as I can, 

 in the winter and spring management 

 ,of his bees. There is no trouble in 

 taking care of bees in the spring if 

 they are well wintered. 



Now is the time to commence prep- 

 arations for wintering bees and pro- 

 viding for next year's honey flow, for 

 one colony well wintered is worth half 

 a dozen starved and unprotected ones. 

 In the first place after taking off the 

 supers, all colonies should be examin- 

 ed to see if they have queens ; for it 

 is no use to attempt to winter a queen- 

 less colony. The next thing is to make 

 sure that all have sufficient stores; and 

 to accomplish this they should be put 

 separately on the weighing scales, so 

 as to avoid anything like guess-work. 

 For outside wintering all" colonies 

 should have at least thirty pounds of 

 honey, and no less ; if it is not quite 

 all used it will not be wasted, for it 



