232 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL. 



defective wincrs. But there were three others, 

 very heaiUiful and bright ones, on which I coukl 

 not discover tlic least defect, that refused to lay 

 at all, after having been kept for two months — 

 one of tliem having been changed to two other 

 populous hives, to induce her to lay. I conclu- 

 ded they could not fly, and had not been out to 

 meet ihe drones. But why tlien did they not 

 lay drone eggs ? I lulled two of them ; and as 

 I was abourFo destroj^ the last one, I took her 

 in the house, to show her to some ladies. In a 

 few minutes she flew from the lap of a lady to 

 the door, rested on the top for a moment, then 

 flew back to the apiarj', made a circuit tiiere, 

 and went olF to parts unknown. Now I had 

 tossed each of them up in the air repeatedly, to 

 sec if they coukl Qy. Can any one explain why 

 they would not lay. A. 



Lowell, Ky. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



■Reraarks on a Re ply. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



More Questions. 



Mr. Editor : — Looking over the columns of 

 your v.- luable Bee Journai,, I find questions 

 asked and answered — I request the privilege of 

 making a fuw inquiries. Perhaps some of your 

 readers can give me the desired information. 



First. — Can the small hives used for rearing 

 queens, holding three or f )ur frames four or 

 five inches square, be placed anywhere during 

 the winter, so that the bees therein will survive 

 till spring ? 



Second. — Which one of the following movable 

 comb bee-iiives combines the most advantages — 

 the Langstroth hive, the American hive, or the 

 Quinby improvement of the Langstroth hive? 



Tliircl. — Which is best for bees, a winter 

 moderately cold, remaining unbroken from fall 

 till spring ; or one which atlords frequent inter- 

 vals of warm weather ? A. J. Fisher. 



East Liverpool, Onio. 



Bees Fertilizing Blossoms. 



How continually do we observe the bees dili- 

 gently employed in collecting the red and yel- 

 low powder by which the stamens of flowers 

 arc covered, loading it on their hind legs, and 

 carrying it to tiieir hive for the ])urpose of feed- 

 ing their young ! In thus providing for their 

 own i^rogcny, these insects assist materially the 

 process of fructification. Few persons need be 

 reminded that the stamens in certain plants 

 grow on different blossoms from the pistils ; 

 and unless the summit of the pistil be touched 

 with the fertilizing dust, the fruit does not 

 swell, nor the seed arrive at maturity. It is by 

 the help of bees, chiefly, that the developement 

 of the fruit of many such species is secured, the 

 powder which they have collected from the 

 stamens being unconsciously left by them in 

 visiting the pistils — Sir Charles Lyell. 



Mr. Kark, of Stettin, advises that a hivo 

 which contained a foulhroody colony, be thor- 

 oughly washed with a clear solution of chloride 

 of lime; and then well dried, set open in an 

 airy place, and kept unoccupied by a swarm for 

 at least one year. 



In friend Thomas' reply to " Those Seeming 

 Puzzles," he appears to think tliere might in 

 that case have been two swarms. There was 

 not, however. The hollow or cavity was about 

 eighteen inclies higli, and Avidc enough for si.x; 

 combs, five worker and one drone comb. The 

 entrance was a tAvo-inch hole at the top of the 

 cavity, on the south-east side of the tree. 



There were other i^eculiarities about said 

 swarm, that I am going to tell you of Both 

 the old and the young queen were extraordinary 

 large ones. Tiie upper part of the head of the 

 young queen, where the eyes arc situated, was 

 bliaped like a drone's. She also had largo 

 spreading and i^erfect drone wings. The work- 

 ers from this queen were the largest I ever saw, 

 with one exception. Three years ago, last fall, 

 I saw at Dacotah, in this State, in the apiary of 

 Mr. Reed, a swarm of as large bees as those 

 were. If it had not been for Italianizing my 

 apiary, I should have kept that queen to breed 

 from. 



Mr. Thomas may be mistaken about the 

 workers guarding the old queen. Last summer 

 my best queen v^as superseded. I was taking 

 out brood and eggs every few days to raise 

 queens from, and they Avcre storing surplus 

 honey in boxes. But all at once the boxes were 

 deserted. I immediately examined the hive to 

 see if they were preparing to swarm, and found 

 eight perfect queen cells. The old queen was 

 there attending to her regular business. I cut 

 out all the queen cells ; but they immediately 

 started new on"s ; and as fa^^t as they were 

 sealed, I took them out. But I discovered that 

 the old queen stopped laying, and also observed 

 that there were no guards to keep the queen 

 from the cells. Some days I would take out 

 the frame she was on, four or five times a day, 

 without disturbing the bees or using any smoke. 

 There were five cells on the comb that she was 

 on. I frequently saw her pass close by a cell, 

 but she paid no attention to it. And once I saw 

 her deposit an egg in a cell, pass directly over 

 a queen cell, and deposit an egg in a cell on the 

 other side, without paying any attention to the 

 queen cell. Al^out the first of September, I al- 

 lowed one young queen to mature, and there 

 were no guards over either of the queens until 

 the young queen was fertilized. Then the old 

 queen was enclosed in a cluster or knot of bees, 

 and the next day she was dragged out of the 

 hive, dead. 



I acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Thomas' 

 book — a very good and comprehensive work 

 for new beginners. 



I have also received, within a short time, no 

 less than six different patent hive circulars, all 

 claiming to be the very best iu use. 



E. Gallup. 



Osage, Ioava. 



Bees see best in l)rnad daylight ; less distinct- 

 ly at dusk ; and, according to some observers, 

 not at all in the dark— the antenna?, as is sup- 

 posed, then supplying the place of eyes. 



