82 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



not more than lay the dust on the top. We 

 look for more light on that perscription. 



THE DYSENTERY. 



We are satislled that this is a disease that 

 no one yet knows how to cure or prevent. 

 We find at this writing (Dec. 16) that the 

 dysentery has commenced among our bees. 

 There has been no very bad weather yet — the 

 coldest day was not more than ten or twelve 

 degrees below^ the freezing point. We now 

 have our plans in readiness, and we will, this 

 winter, test two entirely new methods of win- 

 tering, and if either of them prove a success, 

 it will be known in due time. 



N. Cameron. 



Lawrence, Kansas. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Our Queenless Colony- 



All wise apiarians agree, we believe, in 

 recommending that a colony queenless at the 

 approach of winter, be united with another 

 colony — the weakest you may have. 



But if your other colonies are all strong, 

 are quietly clustered, and in all respects have 

 been cared for as well as your knowledge and 

 situation will admit, do you improve their 

 chances for successful wintering by disturb- 

 ing their slumbers and unnecessarily augment- 

 ing their number ? 



This ciuestion we found ourselves called to 

 consider, when, on the first of November, the 

 murder of their new queen had left No. 7 in 

 a hopelessly disorganized state. The weather 

 was cold. Our well-regulated colonies were 

 sound asleep. It would require at least three 

 of these to provide room for our rebels. 

 Should we disturb them? And should we 

 trust their queens — beautiful Esther, dusky 

 and capricious, but sprightly and interesting 

 Cleopatra, and our w^ell-beloved Eve — in the 

 presence of these regicides'? We decided 

 that we would not. 



Another course of procedure was to shake 

 the bees from their combs, upon the snow, 

 thereby saving some thirty pounds of honey. 

 I cannot say this plan received much consid- 

 eration. As what might be done by a stern 

 old veteran bee-keeper, it was alluded to, and 

 its comparative profitableness admitted. But 

 our organ of destructiveness is too small for 

 such heroic action, and not for one moment 

 did we fancy ourselves capable of it. 



On the discovery of our second loss we had 

 dispatched a somewhat frantic appeal to Mr. 



for another queen; but this was done as 



a drowning man catches at straws — quite 

 hopelessly. 



So, at last, we found but one course left to 

 us — to take as good care of the colony as pos- 

 sible and wait for si)ring. We were the bet- 

 ter satisfied with this decision, that a sugges- 

 tion to the same eflect accompanied Mr. 's 



reply to our request for another queen. T© 

 this was kindly added the promise of advice 

 as to management in the spring. Thus en- 

 couraged, we began to regard No. 7 in the 

 light of a new study, and, if the whole truth 

 be told, with more of interest than either, or 

 all, of our six more hopeful and praiseworthy 

 colonies could elicit. 



During November, which with us was ex- 

 tremely cold, the queenless colony were in a 

 constant state of agitation. How to keep 

 them dry, and stitficiently cool — for when 

 the mercury went down to the neighborhood 

 of zero, they were reasonably quiet — was a 

 constant study. The entrance was shaded, 

 but seldom was there a day so cold that a 

 a few bees did not find their way out, to per- 

 ish in the snow, while in moderate weather 

 the number thus lost was somewhat appall- 

 ing. Whenever, after severe cold, the weather 

 moderated, they impressed us as having re- 

 discovered their queenless state. 



About the first of December we discovered 

 at the entrance a number of immature bees. 

 On examination these proved to be tiny 

 drones — a little thicker, and a trifle shorter 

 than workers. The first warm, sunny day 

 thereafter, Dec. 4, we eagerly improved the 

 opportunity aftbrded for a peep inside. On 

 the central combs we found hundreds of the 

 dwarf drones, for the most part rather young 

 and dow'ny, but evidently in good health, and 

 very much at home. Of course thej^ had 

 been reared in worker cells ; and we puzzled 

 ourselves with conjectures as to whether the 

 bees knew what they were about. Were 

 they quite satisfied with the questionable 

 shape in which their carefully nurtured brood 

 had emerged ? And could we hope that the 

 experiment had taught them anything, or 

 must we look for a continuation of this prof- 

 itless brood rearing ? We saw at this time 

 no larvte, nor did we notice any eggs. There 

 was one large, clumsy, half completed queen 

 cell. We made a careful search for a young 

 queen, (albeit we could not understand how 

 there could be one,) and finally concluded 

 that our little drones must be the progeny of 

 a worker. From this time until Dec. 16, there 

 was little change. As before, the bees were 

 noisy and restless ; as before they came forth 

 daily to perish on the snow. Had not the 

 colony been of unusual strength in the be- 

 ginning, we fear that our experiment, in this 

 way, wotild have come to an untimely end. 



Dec. 16 was warm; and again we opened 

 the hive. We were gratified to learn that no 

 more little drones were being reared. Tliere 

 were, however, plenty of eggs — some cells 

 containing a dozen. Many of these seemed 

 shriveled, the same cell often containing two 

 or three fresh ones. Opening another hive, 

 I was fortunate enough to find some nice 

 looking eggs, properly arranged. Cutting 

 out a piece of comb containing about fifty 



