1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



75 



thwart the iateuded purpose. Even 

 if success could be attained the expense 

 of such enclosures in sufficient num- 

 bers for a large apiary would more 

 than counterbalance the advantage 

 gained. So thoroughly have I been 

 impressed with the impossibility of 

 success by such methods that I never 

 attempt it. However 1 believe in a 

 method which shall limit the flight of 

 the queen, but not to the prescribed 

 lines of enclosures, and w^iich shall be 

 quite inexpensive. I have experiment- 

 ed with a considerable degree of suc- 

 cess the past four or five j'ears upon a 

 method which has partly limited the 

 flight of the queen. Whether mating 

 at a distance of several miles is due to 

 flight of the queen or drones or both 

 is as yet unsettled in my mind ; how- 

 ever I am inclined to believe that the 

 queen is prominent in making long 

 distances. In proof I have marked 

 quite a few drones when leaving the 

 hive and found their return to be 

 much within the average time occupied 

 by queens. Still the drones have won- 

 derful wing power and possibly make 

 equal distances with queens in less 

 time. 



The method I have practiced is no 

 less than clipping about 1-16 of an 

 inch from the virgin queen's wings a 

 day or two after emerging from the 

 cell. As a result less than half as 

 many proved to be mismated compar- 

 ed with an equal number of those not 

 clipped. Clipping certainly lessens 

 the wing power of the queen and in 

 consequence places a limit upon the 

 time and distance of her flight. It 

 will be observed that such a limit nat- 

 urally confines the queen more within 

 a home radius or circle of the home 

 drones. 



My first experiments were attended 

 with considerable doubt as to whether 

 the queens would still retain sufficient 

 wing power to successfully mate with 

 the drones, but the uniform success 

 attending tha experiments led me to 

 clip as much as ^ of an inch from two 

 or three with equally good results the 

 past season. Just how much can be 

 clipped from the wings, and still re- 

 tain sufficient wing power to accom- 

 plish successful mating, is yet to be 

 determined. Whether clipping a hun- 

 dred or more select drones will be 

 profitable is questionable. In lines of 

 progress the unexpected usually oc- 

 curs on the successful side. As yet 

 so little is known about the flight of 

 queens and drones that it is impossible 

 to determine without experiments in 

 clipping of both. Possibly the clip- 

 ping of both queens and drones would 

 result in their occupying a lower alti- 

 tude in flight, insuring a still less 

 number of mismated queens. On the 

 contrary the drones might be so weak- 

 ened in their power of chasing flight 

 as to be useless. Certainly if the ob- 

 ject can be accomplished by clipping 

 the queens only it will involve but 

 little trouble and expense. 



It should be understood that success 

 attendant upon clipping is contingent 

 upon having none but pure drones in 

 the apiary containing the young 

 queens, also that the amount clipped 

 from each wing be uniform, otherwise 

 with a lack of balancing power the 

 queens are sure to be lost. 



I am so well satisfied with past re- 

 sults that I expect to clip all my young 

 queens the coming season. 



Jackson, Mich. 



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