110 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



pear tree whose branches in the spring were 

 white with bloom; but thei-e came one of 

 those heavy, dashing rain storms and washed 

 out the pollen, and of course there was little 

 or no fruit on the tree, except one branch, 

 and that was loaded with fruit, for it hung 

 under and was protected by the eaves of 

 the house. If there had been plenty of bees 

 in the neighborhood to have fertilized the 

 rest of the tree, more fruit would have been 

 the result. Providence never works with- 

 out means ; and it is admitted by all natura- 

 lists, and Mr. Riley himself Avill not deny it, 

 that the bee is a means of not only giving us 

 more fruit but a greater variety. Art in 

 this has done much, but Nature more. 

 With this view of the matter the means that 

 Mr. Riley has recommended for the de- 

 struction of bees will not justify the end; 

 for it has been observed, from the days of 

 Aristotle to the present time, that where 

 there is an abundance of bees there is an 

 abundance of fruit ; therefore the more fruit 

 the more money. These facts are so well 

 established no proof is required. 



But there is something else, of a serious 

 nature. The flight of a bee is ascertained 

 to be about a mile in two minutes. Now, 

 the bees that fill their sacs (or first stomachs) 

 at Mr. Riley's poison dish will not all die 

 there, but thousands will fly home and de- 

 posit their load in the hive. If this honey 

 is used at home or taken to market, who 

 will be responsible for the consequences V I 

 think friend Riley has made a great blun- 

 der, and I would counsel him to be careful 

 where he buys his honey, for if he lias any 

 facts to communicate upon this important 

 subject, the public cannot well spare him at 

 present. In conclusion I would ask him 

 if he ever kept bees and how he managed 

 to keep them at home ? — Rural Neic Yoi'ker. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



A Prolific Mother. 



In the queen bee, the mother of the colo- 

 ny of bees, we have an abundant breeder, 

 amounting to many thousands each year of 

 her life. All the bees in the old colony are 

 her progeny until three weeks after the issue 

 of the last swarm from the hive. As the 

 old queen issues with the first swarm, all 

 the bees in that colony for the whole season 

 are produced by her. Likewise all the bees 

 which constitute the after-swarm, sometimes 

 amounting to three or more swarms. The 

 first swarm with which the old queen issues 

 sometimes gives a new swarm. That is her 

 progeny. 



We have many thousands in the first 

 swarm, many thousands in the after- 

 swarnis, many thousands in the first swarm 

 produced by the old queen after her 

 establishment with the first swarm in her 

 new home, and n\.iuy arising from her 



brood left in the old hive at the time of 

 her issue with the first swarm. I will not 

 name numbers, as there are great difier- 

 ences in the strength of difi"erent colonies, 

 and it would be only guessing ; this one 

 can do as well as another. It is enough for 

 our present purpose to understand that it is 

 a sufficient force, with the late additions 

 made by the young queens, to carrj'' two, 

 three, four or five colonies through the 

 winter. But the expectation of much more 

 than this may be considered a vain hope. 

 By following this course from year to year 

 with small hives, a large number of colo- 

 nies may be secured. But little surplus 

 honey is secured, and the point is soon 

 reached where the field will not supply food 

 for their support, and large numbers, some- 

 times all of them, winter-kill or starve to 

 death. 



I think it must be apparent to every 

 reasonable, reflecting man that if the labor 

 can all be expended and its profit all se- 

 cured in one hive, and all but that part of 

 it necessary for winter stores be secured in 

 surplus boxes ; instead of being very tri- 

 fling in amount, from one-half to three- 

 fourths of it may be secured in surplus 

 boxes in the best shape for market. Of 

 this I have no doubt, hav'ng secured from 

 one hive in one year one hundred and forty 

 pounds, in another year one hundred and 

 forty-five pounds, and in another two hun- 

 dred pounds. In other years less, varying 

 from one to two hundred ]iounds. 



In my operations with this hive, I have 

 known no swarms to issue except from 

 neglect to give the room furnished by the 

 surplus boxes before the preparations for 

 swarming had commenced, or from neglect 

 to sutficiently guard from heat. 



Last November I removed from the vi- 

 cinity of Albany to Woodstock, Vt., proba- 

 bly to close my days. My bees I left in 

 care of my son, who informs me by letter 

 that but one colony has died. 



Jasper Hazen. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



A New Subject!?) 



The subject in regard to the mortality of 

 bees, during the last few years has been 

 discussed in nearly every number of our 

 journals, ever since that fatal winter. 



I would now like to ask : Have we 

 finally discovered the true cause V Can we 

 prevent it in the future ? Quinby, Dadaut, 

 "Novice," — in fact, nearly every bee-keep- 

 er of importance in the land, have given 

 their experiences and opinions. One says 

 it is on account of the long continued cold ; 

 another lays the fault to bad honey ; 

 another to bad ventilation, and dampness ; 

 another calls it an epedemic. 



If these questions, as to the cause, were 



