1873.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



109 



thought he would have to report after the fash- 

 ion of some coroner's juries, "Came to their 

 death from some unknown cause." 



Mr. SmuU, of Harrisburg. said he had not 

 had aj3 much experience in the management of 

 bees as in eating their product, but would 

 like to ask why it was that if there was but 

 one queen bee in a hive, why should there be 

 so many drones or male bees? Mr. Hoagland 

 replied that one of the leading agricultural 

 papers of the country, a few years ago, in dis- 

 cussing that question, said, " Nature has made 

 a great mistake by providing 5000 drones in 

 one colony, when the services of only one 

 would be required." The speaker said nature 

 had not en-ed in providing a large amount of 

 drones, from the fact that when a virgin queen 

 goes fortli on her bridal trip, the colony in its 

 natural condition does not possess the means 

 of supplying her loss should she perish, before 

 regaining her hive. Hence the importance of 

 having a large number of drones, that her 

 flights for fertilization be as few in number 

 and as short as possible. 



Mr. P. Morris, of Philadelphia, inquired. Is 

 honey a vegetable, or animal production? The 

 reason, he said, for making the inquiry, was, 

 that a friend had recentlv been visiting his 

 family, who was to confine himself strictly to 

 an animal diet, meat, milk, eggs, etc. A dish 

 of honey was presented to liim, and according 

 to the instructions of his phy.sician, if it was 

 an animal production, he could partake, if not, 

 he must abstain. A member — According to 

 what the Chairman has said, it must be a vege- 

 table producti(m. Mr. Iloagland — There is 

 one kind of honey known as honey-dew honey, 

 which was not a vegetable production, but was 

 a deposition from the body of the aphis, which 

 bees some seasons and in particular localities 

 collect and store in their hives. 



Dr. W. H. Eagle, of Harrisburg, rose to in- 

 quire what efl'ect bees have upon the fruitage 

 of orchards. Mr. Hoagland replied, said he 

 had sixty-five acres of orchard and raised large 

 quantities of fruit ; was of opinion that bees 

 were a decided benefit in securing the fertiliza- 

 tion of the fruit-bearing blossoms. 



Dr. Eagle knew a farm in Massachusetts 

 which was sold at a high figure because its or- 

 chards yielded so abundantly. But the former 

 owner moved to the West, taking his bees with 

 him. The result was a great decrease of the 

 fruit crops, so much so that the former owner 

 was accused of having exercised some kind of 

 witchcraft to prevent the trees from yielding 

 their usual crops. 



Mr. P. Morris (Editor of Practical Farmers, 

 Philadelphia) was asked to give his opinion on 

 the knotty drone question, viz. : Can a pure 

 Italian queen, that has mated a black drone, 

 produce pure Italian drones. 



Mr. Morris replied that, in breeding choice 

 cattle and horses, he had acted on the theory 



that the first impregnation of the female af- 

 fected all her future progeny. And the heifer 

 or filly that broke from its inclosure at particu- 

 lar times, and indulged in improper company, 

 was ruined for life, so far as producing pure 

 stock was concerned. And his own observa- 

 tions had fully satisfied him of the correctness 

 of said theory. 



Dr. Eagle — The theory holds good with a 

 higher order of creation than those referred to. 



A member — Admitting the theory to be cor- 

 rect, so far as reference has been made, does it 

 hold good with such animals as propagate by 

 depositing eggs in cells, or in nests, as birds 

 and domestic fowls. 



Mr. Morris — Have observed the same results 

 in the breeding of poultry. 



The discussions having been continued to a 

 late hour, on motion, the Association adjourned 

 to meet at time of holding next Stiite Fair. 

 Special meetings held by order of Executive 

 Committee. W. J. Davis, Sec'y. 



Youngsville, Pa., Oct. 1873. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Rending Bees by Mail. 



We have sent from our apiary over 600 queen 

 bees by mail since the 20th of June. Occas- 

 ionally one has died before reaching its desti- 

 nation, but as a general thing all have been 

 received in fine order. We have sent one man 

 in Pennsylvania 182, all of them went safely, 

 save two, and the lot sent with them were re- 

 shipped, and were several days longer in the 

 mails than usual. 



We use honey for food, and as it is contained 

 in a sponge, there is no danger of its mussing 

 and daubing the contents of the mail bags. 

 We have used such a cage for seven or eight 

 years, and with the best success. Rev. L. L. 

 Langstroth paid us a visit in May last, and he 

 was so well pleased with the cage that we had 

 to make him fifty of them to take home with 

 him. He considers them the best he has seen. 

 Any one sending queens by mail can have one 

 of our cages upon application, and had these 

 cages been used generally, we never would 

 have heard about the mails being daubed with 

 honey. 



One of the largest queens bee advertisers in 

 the United States sent us a queen this season in 

 a wooden box, containing a piece of honey 

 comb. The bees were daubed, and could not 

 have stood it much longer. We thought that 

 was first-rate for a man who advertises the best 

 cage in use. 



We sent him one of our cages, and we hope 

 he wont longer continue to daub the mails. 

 We think the whole trouble originated with 

 this class of shippers in the first place. 



We requested Hon. B. F. Butler to call and 

 see the Postmaster General, and sent him one 



