400 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



wood we have a honey-dearth, hence the 

 bees from the introduced queen are of 

 no value ; but, on the contrary, become 

 consumers. On an average, it takes 21 

 days from the time the egg is laid to the 

 perfect bee. Then if the colony is in a 

 normal condition, this bee does not com- 

 mence to labor in the field until 16 days 

 old ; hence, the eggs for our honey- 

 gathering bees must be deposited in the 

 cells 37 days before the honey harvest 

 .ends, or else they are of no value as 

 honey-producers. As the basswood is all 

 gone before the eggs of the introduced 

 queen become honey-producing bees, 

 and as the larger part of them die of old 

 age before buckwheat and fall flowers 

 yield honey, it will be seen that a great 

 gain is made by letting each colony, 

 having cast a swarm, rear their own 

 queen ; for thereby we save the expen- 

 sive feeding of the larvae, which are in 

 turn to become expensive consumers of 

 the honey of the hive. 



When we so work that we secure the 

 bees out of season, we have to pay the 

 same price for them, as regards the 

 honey consumed in rearing them, that 

 we would to secure these bees so that 

 each one becomes a producer instead of 

 a consumer. 



If all who read this article will study 

 their location, and then rear their bees 

 in reference to that location, I think 

 they will find that their bees will do as 

 well as their more successful neighbors'. 

 We often hear it said that one colony in 

 the apiary did much better than the 

 rest, and, had they all done as well, a 

 rousing crop of honey would have been 

 the result. 



The reason that one colony did so well, 

 was because it happened to have a large 

 proportion of its bees of the right age 

 to gather honey just in the honey har- 

 vest, and If we can succeed in having 

 all the colonies in the apiary in the 

 same condition as was this one, we can 

 secure a like result from the whole bee- 

 yard. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



ControllliiE tlie Mating of Oneens. 



WYitten for the American Bee Journal 



BY WALTER S. POUDER. 



This very important but vexatious 

 subject deserves more attention than it 

 it getting, but I have no doubt that 

 many are working on the subject who 

 do not say a word about it. I happen 

 to know of several who have it perfected 



according to theory, but I know too well 

 that practice will change their views. 



It was a progressive amateur who re- 

 cently explained to me how utterly use- 

 less the honey-extractor is ; he could 

 produce liquid honey and prevent 

 swarming by a new, patentable method, 

 entirely original with himself, and thus 

 revolutionize the bee-industry ! He took 

 me to a secluded place, and whispered to 

 me that all that was necessary was to 

 take a comb of deep cells and shave 

 them off close to the base ; now fix a pan 

 under the comb (the comb is to lie hori- 

 zontally in the bottom of the hive), and 

 as fast as the bees deposit the drops of 

 nectar, they will fall in the pan. Theory 

 and practice aren't a bit alike in the 

 bee-world. 



Now, I think I have done even more 

 than our progressive friend, but I am 

 not prepared to prove my work. I can 

 cause a queen to take her wedding flight 

 in the forenoon, or on a cloudy day, by 

 feeding the nucleus in which she is, say 

 a table-spoonful of syrup ; at the same 

 time I have caused drones to fly by the 

 same method. For all that I can see, it 

 is a success, but my yard has been all 

 one race of bees. 



Perhaps Mr. R. L. Taylor or Mr. Doo- 

 little can throw more light on the sub- 

 ject. I have faith in the plan, and 

 think I could produce purely-mated 

 Italian queens in a yard of black bees. 



Bees are in good condition, and the 

 outlook is encouraging. 



Indianapolis, Ind., Feb. 24. 



Bee-Smote, Bee-Escapes, Etc. 



Bemlts of Experiments at the Michigan Apiary. 

 BY R. L. TAYLOR, APIARIST. 



Smokers for use in apiaries to aid in 

 the control of the bees are rightly con- 

 sidered a prime necessity. They are 

 made in great variety by a number of 

 manufacturers. Several tests have been 

 made by different persons, of the com- 

 parative powers of the " blasts " of some 

 of the larger ones, but it occurred to me 

 that perhaps that point is not the most 

 important one to be considered for the 

 reason that for all practical purposes 

 the blast of any of the well-known 

 smokers is strong enough — in fact, the 

 use of a very strong blast is very seldom 

 desirable. 



I think the points that should have 

 precedence in determining the value of 

 a smoker are: the degree of freedom 

 from choking up, and durability and 



