10 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL. 



[July, 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Introducing Queens. 



I have been introducing queens for the last 

 three years in the manner recommended by Dr. 

 H. C. Barnard, in tlie June number of the Jour- 

 nal (page 256, vol. 5), and was not aware that 

 it vras used by one besides myself. I never lost 

 but one queen in introducing, and I think she 

 was injured before I put her into the hive. 



The hive should never be much smoked before 

 the common queen is removed, as she may leave 

 the combs, or if she does not, the "drunken" 

 bees will fall oif while you are examining them, 

 and give you much trouble. 



As soon as I have found and killed the native 

 queen, I rei^lace all the combs in the hive, pvit 

 on the honey board without the surplus boxes, 

 and blow in tobacco smoke until all the bees are 

 stupefied. I then take some honey {from one of 

 the combs in the hive) in a large spoon, and put 

 the queen into it so as to get her thoroughly 

 covered ; then pour queen, honey, and all, 

 right into the mass of bees, and know that 

 ninety nine times in a hundred she is all right. 

 Dr. B. is right in saying that unfertile queens 

 may be introduced in this way as safely as a lay- 

 ing one. 



1 cannot resist saying (even at the risk of hav- 

 ing Mr. Quinby again "tell that a little learning 

 is a dangerous thing," &c. ) that I have found 

 queen cells to hatch often on the eighth day, and 

 very often on the ninth. 



D. M. WORTHINGTON. 



St. Dennis, Md. 



JS®=" Whatever may be the case elsewhere, the eighth day is 

 certainly, here, the grand climacteric in iuciiiient queen bee 

 life. ^^ e had five queen cells maturing in a hive, and in- 

 tended to dispose of them on the first of June, that being the 

 eighth day: but were prevented from doing so by a rain 

 storm. Next morning, on opening the hive, we found one 

 queen at large, three queen cells torn open, and one still 

 closed — which proved to contain a dead larva. So much for 

 unavoidable procrastination. — Ed. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Keplies and Explanatory Kemarks. 



In Volume 5., No. 10, page 202, our friend 

 Thomas is after Gallup a trifle ; and, in answer 

 to his inquiries, I will say that I sujjpose the 

 reason for the sealed brood perishing and becom- 

 ing putrid in so short a time, was on account of 

 the state of the atmosphere in the hive, caused 

 by famine among the bees. I have read that, in 

 the time of the Plague in London, meat would 

 become piitrid and fall from the hooks in the 

 butchers stalls in from twenty- four to forty-eight 

 hours after being dressed. I know there was a 

 very sickening smell oq opening a hive when the 

 bees had become helpless from famine, even 

 where they had no brood. Not having scientific 

 knowledge, I can only guess at the cause, 

 Yankee fashion. 



Then comes another question ; and the answer 

 is that the wisdom was not in the eggs, but in 

 the bees. The bees would refuse to cluster on 

 the egg?, and would leave them for other parts 

 of the hive, even in a very strong stock. In 



some seasons I have seen nearly the entire swarm 

 clustered on the outside of their hive ; yet they 

 gathered barely enough to keep the queen laying 

 and preserve themselves from actual starvation. 

 This would be early in the season. The combs 

 w^ere filled with eggs, yet the bees I'efused to 

 brood them, until the flowers produced honey. 

 Then all the bees would enter the hive and the 

 eggs would hatch. At such times I have heard 

 people say — "IVIybees have hung out, and I have 

 watched them these three weeks and still they 

 have all swarmed and gone off, and I did not see 

 them when they went !" And I would reply that 

 they had gone into the hive, instead of going off. 

 ' ' Oh no, ' ' they would say, ' ' that was impossible, 

 because there were so many bees, they could not 

 all get in," etc. Understand that I have seen 

 bees cluster out for want of room in the hive, as 

 well as cluster out to prevent the eggs from 

 hatching and the brood then starving. And here, 

 I will remark that the Italians scarcely ever 

 cluster out before swarming. 



Why the eggs of some queens never hatch, and 

 some hatch drone eggs altogether, is one of the 

 jjuzzles that I have not yet mastered. About 

 some of my queens being partially fertilized, I 

 stated the facts just as they occurred ; that is, 

 that the queens laid part worker eggs and j^art 

 drone eggs, but mostly the latter, and all mixed 

 up promiscuously. At the same time that I had 

 those queens, a corresiiondent (I think it was Dr. 

 T. B. Hamlin, of Tennessee) wrote me that he 

 had one queen in the same condition — that is, 

 partially fertilized. I call it by that name, as I 

 know of no other applicable ; others can call it 

 what they choose. I have stated the facts, but 

 may not be able at present to assist any one out 

 of the "fog." I have never seen queens fertilized 

 but once ; therefore cannot say anything about 

 those that are claimed to have been fertilized 

 more than once. 



E. Gallup. 



Orchard, Iowa. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Buried Bees Kesurrected. 



In the January number of the Bee Journal, 

 page 137, is published some of my exjje- 

 rience in burying bees, to winter them ; and 

 also my intention to bury ten hives the past 

 winter. This intention was carried into effect 

 on the 16th day of November last, by bury- 

 ing my ten lightest swarms, (save one, which I 

 did not consider worth trying) in a coarse gravel, 

 placing them about twenty inches iinder the sur- 

 face. These bees had so little food that I des- 

 paired of wintering them above ground by any 

 means 1 had. 



After being underground about four and a 

 half months, they were dug up on the first of 

 April, considerable frost being then over them. 

 Two of them had died from starvation, and one 

 from some other cause. Seven are living, with 

 a good prospect of doing well. Seven swarms 

 were thus saved by this means, without which 

 all would have died. They came out pretty 

 badly moulded. I had put to them a \ inch 



