78 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



April 



Some time since the theory was 

 advanced that this superiority in 

 certain instances was due to the ad- 

 vantage of a longer tongue which 

 was possessed by the "good honey 

 gatherers, " while the "lazy" colo- 

 nies simply did not have the ' ' tools"' 

 with which to extract the nectar 

 from the depths of long corolla 

 tubes. It appears that recent in- 

 vestigations tend to bear out this 

 theory; and if such should prove to 

 be the case, the only solution of the 

 " lazy bee " problem will be to breed 

 continuously from the stock possess- 

 ing the greatest tongue-reach. 



Perhaps Mr. E. R. Root, of Glean- 

 lags in Bee Culture, has done more 

 tongue measuring than any other 

 person up to the j^resent time. His 

 observations and experiments have 

 been quite interesting; and it I'eally 

 seems desirable that the matter 

 should be pursued until it is either 

 established as a truth or else dis- 

 proven. If length of tongue has to do 

 with the quantity of surplus honey 

 secured, it is a matter of vital im- 

 portance that we should know it. 

 We .have had some interesting cor- 

 respondence with Mr. Root relating 

 to the matter, and as a result have 

 equipped ourselves for the measur- 

 ing of tongaes according to the 

 plan followed by himself. In arriv- 

 ing at a really satisfactory result, 

 it appears that an uniform method 

 of measuring should be adopted by 

 all investigators ; and we believe that 

 employed by Mr. Root to be the 

 most simple and practical of the 

 methods suggested. 



To procure accurate measure- 

 ments requires great care, and it is 

 rather doubtful if satisfactory Re- 

 sults might be obtained by widely 

 different methods, and in the hands 

 of those unskilled in the work. 

 We have already found that 

 some practice will be necessary be- 

 fore we shall feel inclined to plac(^ 



great confidence in our own work. 

 We have reached the reliable 

 stage we shall acquaint our readers 

 with the result of the experiments 

 now going on. Meanwhile, if any 

 of our readers have a superior honey 

 gathering colony, or one which, 

 though populous, does not gather 

 an equal quantity of honey with the 

 others, keep an eye upon them and 

 we shall be glad to lay the respec- . 

 tive tongues upon the rule. I 



CCNTROLLINCi FERTILIZ.ITION. 



Mating queens in confinement is 

 a very old subject which has been 

 given a long rest in the journals 

 and conventions of the land. The 

 Bee-kee2:>ers' Reviev^ is responsible 

 for a recent revival of the matter, 

 which is discussed from a new point 

 of view, in a most interesting way, 

 by J. S. Davitte as well as by the 

 editor. Mr. Davitte, it seems, has 

 been conducting some very success- 

 ful experiments along this line, j 

 His method is to have a tent thirty 

 feet high and thirty feet in diameter, 

 covered with mosquito netting. The 

 hives from which the drones and 

 queens ai'e to fly have an opening 

 or entrance at the back which leads 

 directly into the tent. The front 

 eitrance is fitted with a piece of 

 perforated zinc, thus preventing 

 the queens and drones from escap- 

 ing to the open air; although the 

 working force continues freely to 

 forage in the natural fields. 



In order that the workers might 

 become accustomed to fly from the 

 entrance leading to the open fields, 

 the rear or tent entrance was kept 

 closed for about a week ; and neither 

 drones nor queens were permitted 

 to fly at all, excepting between the 

 hours of 11 a. m. and 1:30 p. m. 

 Mr. Davitte is convinced that the : 

 secret of mating in confinement con- J 

 sists in havingr the drones educated i 

 to the use of the tent; and this is 



