1901 



THE AMEBIC AN BEE-KEEPER 



67 



enough not to cramp the larva; but if 

 strips of comb or wax cups are used, we 

 need not fear but that the bees will reg- 

 ulate the matter, as the queen always 

 occupies the largest part of the cell 

 when it is sealed. The cells are built 

 naturally to conform to the requirements 

 of the occupants, and for extra large 

 ones we must look to hybrid bees with 

 the cells built over hybrid queens. 



An ordinary queen-cell is left a frac- 

 tion over an inch deep when the queen 

 emerges, and a well-fed larva is at least 

 one-half inch from the bottom when the 

 cell is sealed : and I am yet at a loss to 

 see how the first one-eighth of an inch, 

 out of which the larva is floated the 

 second day, never to return, can effect 

 the resulting queen, and especially as it 

 reaches the larger portion of the cup at 

 the age many recommead transferring 

 them. 



Some have one hobby and some an- 

 other ; and in the matter of queen- 

 rearing, some put special stress on one 

 point and others upon different ones, and 

 my weak point. I suppose, is that I want 

 the larva fed from the time the (>gg 

 hatches so that it will float in the food. 

 I lind when it is abundantly fed, and 

 while quite young, it will float to one 

 side of the cup if the latter be tilted, 

 and as all of the food is never consumed 

 by well-developed queens, I suppose they 

 take the creaim and reject the clabber 

 from start to finish, and therefore I am 

 wedded to the plan whereby transfers 

 can bo made or larvie used that are too 

 small to be transferred even with a 

 camel-hair brush. 



Creek, N. C, Dec. 17, U»0(). 



••Now, boys,'" said the schoolmaster, 

 ■•write a short composition on boys, 

 bears and bees. Be brief and see who 

 will be done first." On brevity, Billy 

 scored ten : -'Boys bes bare when they 

 goes in swimmin'. '" 



The Italian bee was first imported 

 into .VnuM'ica in 1859. 



EXCHANGING COLONIES 



As a Method of Building Up the Weaker 

 Ones. 



BY G. C. GREINER. 



AT the Canadian Bee-keepers' Con- 

 vention, h«ld at Niagara, Ont., 

 in December, Mr. Herschiser 

 asked. •■ Is it an approved plan to ex- 

 change a weak colony that has the 

 queen and only a dozen or two bees left, 

 with a strong one if saving the queen (a 

 valuable one) is the object '? In addition 

 he reported that he had treated two col- 

 onies in this way, and the result was 

 that he not only saved the queen, but 

 received forty pounds of surplus honey 

 in the bargain. I do not remember that 

 any definite answer was given at that 

 time ; but as I have had some experience 

 in that direction-, I will make a few re- 

 marks on the subject. 



The case as reported by Mr. Herschiser, 

 is without any question a remarkable 

 one. His localiW must have been fa- 

 vored with an extra good late honey-flow 

 and the queen one of the best honey- 

 gathering stock. If I were always sure 

 of getting forty pounds of section-honey 

 from all my fair and better colonies dur- 

 ing the whole season, I would consider 

 bee-keeping a very profitable occupation. 

 But supposing Mr. Herschiser did re- 

 ceive forty pounds of surplus honey 

 from that weak colony, what about the 

 strong one he stripped of all its flying 

 bees •? 



Some twenty years ago we were hand- 

 ling a lot of bees for one of our custo- 

 mers. He had among the lot one colony 

 that was something like the one Mr. 

 Herschiser described. We knew very 

 well that it could not survive any length 

 of time, an i told the owner that we 

 could possibly save it if he desired us to do 

 so. •• Yes," he said, "do something for 

 them, if you can." Bees were bringing 

 pollen at that time quite briskly; so we 

 exchanged this weak one with one of his 

 strongest. After a few days we called 

 again at the same place and our friend 



