294 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



MARCH 19,1! 



AND HOIITICULTURAL REGISTER. 



BosTOd, Wednesday, March 15, 16 



EIGHTH AGRICULTURAL MEETING AT THE 

 STATE HOUSE. 



Mr King in ihe chair. 



The thanks of the meeting were iinanimously voted 

 to Dr. C. T. Jackson, for his interesting and instructive 

 lectures at the two last meetings. 



Henry K. Oliver, Esq. then commenced fiis lecture 

 upon the Honey Bee. This insect has been n.uch ob- 

 aorved, fur it.* domestioalion brings it within the conve- 

 nient notice of man. In ancient poetry, and in the Bi- 

 ble, it is frequently noticed. Virgil elaborately described 

 it. He hiid kings, drones and workers. There was an 

 orror in the outs'et : his kings should have bpcn queens. 

 The drones «re males. Virgil's knowledge of the bee 

 was exten.sive, but he made many mistakes. And few 

 in subsequent limes did any belter, until the 17th centu- 

 ry. 



In a common swarm there is only one queen, though 

 there are several hundred males, and several thousand 

 workers or sterile females. The queen is 3-4 of an inch 

 long— the workers 1-2 an inch-and the drones 2-3 of 

 an inch. The disposiiion of the queen is ordinarily 

 very gentle— it is difficult to provoke her to sting. She 

 deposites from 12,000 to 80,000 eggs. Lays none from 

 November to I'ebruary. Her eggs are left in cells, that 

 are varied in size and form, according to the class of 

 bee that is to be hatched. The cells for queen bees are 

 large and long comparatively. 



Last season, Mr O. had an opportunity at a friend's 

 house, to watch the operations of the queen tliiough her 

 season of laying. A tliin or sin^/c-comi gl.iss hive was 

 used : there she could be seen distinctly. Her motions 

 over Ihe comb are slow; she looks out for suitable cells 

 for her purpose ;— first she inserts her head ; if the cell 

 is in order, she having withdrawn the head, deposits an 

 egg. If no cell is suitable, the egg is ofien dropped out- 

 side, and all thus dropped are eaten at once by the work- 

 ing bees. A few of the cells in this glass hi>e were 

 made with the side next the glass open, and the whole 

 process of hatching and growth in them, could be dis- 

 tinctly seen. 



The royal bees are three days in the egg— for six days 

 are worms-nn ihe 10th, llth, and 12th, they are 

 nymphs, and on ihe IGth are perfect insects. There are 

 several r"vnl cells in one hive. These cells are left 

 open, and instinct teaches the one that hatches first to 

 go to the other cells and destroy the other embryo 

 queens. As soon as the young queen is perfect, the old 

 queen abdicates or leads off a swarm, taking with her 

 many of the old bees and many young ones. It is the 

 young queen that remains at home. 



If a queen is lost, the appearances are, that the bees 

 can halch out a new one. To do this, they take three 

 cells containing eggs for working bees— make these 

 cells into one, and enlarge the house as the young queen 

 grows. They feed the young queen thus created, upon 

 a peculiar pungent food. 



If there be no brood comb in the hive, this process of 

 making a queen cannot be carried on— in such a case 

 the swarm perishes. 



Mr O. has stolen a queen and boxed her up ; then he 

 has brushed off and boxed up the dust, rs of bees that 

 hung on the outside o( several hives ;- has put these all 

 toge'ther iind sh;iken them up well ; and then having re- 

 moved them three quarters of a mile from home, has 



left them without a queen for a day. In ihis state they 

 did not work— but upon putting the stolen queen to 

 them, tlicy soon set to work, and that hive prospered. 

 The hivs from which ho had stolen the queen, wont on 

 well aller a few days. 



Upon giving a queen to a queenless hive, they give 

 strong tokens of rejoicing. Their noise seems to be a 

 " God save our new queen. ' As soon as she is present- 

 ed, the bees surround her in a circle, with their heads 

 towards her, if she is fertile, but not if she is barren. 



Whether the queen has a body guard, is not known ; 

 but it is certain that when she stops in her progress of 

 moving over the comb and deposiling her esgs, that they 

 clusler about her. She is ihe life of the colony— they 

 do nothing without her. 



Only one queen can live in a hive; if two hatch at 

 the same time, there is a duel. Though usually gentle, 

 they are then terribly excited. 



The Drones. These are gentlemen of leisure and 



broods come out, the ol^ queen, with some old bees 

 many young ones, rush out and swarm, if they 

 not room and air. It is tho want of these that leiii 

 swarming. 



The queen is in the centre or near the centre of 

 swarm. When you have hived the swarm, protec 

 hive from the sun. As to the best mode of hivin 

 general rule can be given : this must vary accordi 

 circumstances — and experience must tell which la 

 best way for each particular case. At the time of sw 

 ing, the bees art not inclined to sting ; if treated ge 

 they seldom fcarm any one. 



The noises made formerly with shovel and tongi 

 warming pans, might be useful in calling neiglibi 

 one's assistance ; but as a means of detaining or < 

 inir the swarm, it is all arrant nonsense. 



Instinct— or a propensity to perform certain an 

 the same unvarying manner, is strong and romar 

 n the bee. But in addition to this, we see 



case-lazy ones too-but like other gentlemen of noih- ! j.^,^ reason-not human reason-but yet a kind ol 

 ing to do, they often make a great noise. They rise | ^^^^ ^ ^^^j,^ ,^^j ^^^^^ ■^^^ ^^^^ j^^^ j,,g |,jyg 

 late— say at 10 in the morning, and they retire by 3 or 4 , ^|^^j duvin, and wax was put around the edges o 



shell, so that no offensive effluvia might pass off 

 the shell itself was not waxed over. When the 

 entered, he was stung to death and waxed all ovei 



A piece of honey-comb was laid upon a plate, 

 honey was taken from the upper side; then five 

 pillars of wax were built in some way, on the 

 side, and the comb was raised up so that the I 

 could be obtained from the under side also. ' 

 things show a kind of reason. 



(The lecture was beautifully written, and embel 

 with many appropriate poetical extracts. A ski 

 report shows none of its beauties, and but little 

 worth.) 



The same subject to be continued at the next me 



Errata. — We regret the occurrence of several 

 "raphical errors in Mr Fhinney's Report on Pre 

 Farms, publislied in our paper ol the 1st inst. On 

 27.'i, last column, 6th line of the 3d paragraph, 

 year's use," should have read, nej:< year's use. Ot 

 276, 1st column, 7lh line from the top, the word " h^ 

 should have been habits ; and in the 9th line, " p 

 rity" should have been propensity. 



in the afiernnon. The ttieory of the drone is uncer- | 

 tain in some respects ; but drones are doubtless the 

 males of the hive. Why so many when there is but 

 one female, the lecturer did not know. The drones are 

 from 500 to 2000 in a hive. By October they are all 

 killed. None are hatched out before May of the next 

 sea^ion. And yet the queen's eggs of March and April 

 have been fertile. Probably impregnation is made 

 while on the wing, and answers for the following year. 

 The drones are cowards, and without stings. It is 

 24 days from the laying of tiie eggs before the drones 

 are perfect. In August and September, they are all 

 killed ; and this is done not by stinging, but by tearing 

 them in two. This murder is always committed if the 

 hive be healthy ; but if unhealthy, they are allowed to 

 live. It is therefore a good indication to see this butch- 

 cry commence. 



Tite Busy Workers. These are barren females They 

 are smaller than the drones, and have long stings. 

 When they use the sting in earnest, they generally 

 leave the sting behind and die. These are perfected in 

 21 days from the laying of the egg. 'I'heir numbers in 

 a good hive are from 20,000 to 50,000. When about to 

 sting, they utter a sharp cry and emit a strong odor. 



The bee laps its food like a dog or cat. While feed- 

 ing at the flower, it puts the honey into its honey stomach, 

 but loads its thighs, especially in spring, with farina 

 from the flowers. These workers perform all the labor ; 

 they gather the honey and stow it away; they keep 

 guard, and they nurse the young. 



The ventilators have Ihe hardest work. Stationed 

 near the mouth of the hive, they, by a fanning motion 

 of the wings, keep up a circulation of air. At this work, 

 they seem to be relieved in about 2,5 or 30 minutes. 



If it be necessary, bees will roam four miles in search 

 of food ; but this is not often needful. Of the farina of 

 flowers, they gather and bring to the hive much more 

 than is necessary. This is ihe only thing in which 

 they seem to huk wisdom. 



The wax and comb is a secretion from the bees. Jlpptarance.—l became poor, and my appari 

 When wax is wanted, several bees fill their stomachs evinced it. I was universally shunned : I passed t 

 with honey, and then they hang together, and the wax ,i,p streets as through a desert. I had three old 

 is secreted from their sides. , ^^^^, ^^^^^ ^u p,,^ one new one, put it on and we 



The cells in the honey. comb are not liorizonLiI, hut ! j „as .^ceosled by dozens. My wife contrived Ic 

 the mouth is the lowest pari— the angle of inclination j 

 is about .5 deg. 1 



Swarming. Between November and April, three- | 

 fourths of the bees usually die — but the queen's lerlility 



The Farmer's Encyclopedia and Dictiona 

 Rural Affairs. By (!. W. Johnson, Esq. . 

 ed to the United State? by a Practical Farmer 

 Engravings. Philadelphia : Carey & Hart, 

 monthly, in numbers : to contain 10 Nos. and i 

 cts. each. 



A specimen number of ibis work has been seni 

 The frontispiece is a lithograph of the Durham 

 horn cow, in three different positions ; the dictioi 

 far down as alkali is given. The reputation of 

 ihor in England, and the character of his Trea 

 Fertilizers, from which we have extracted much 

 paper in times past, lead us to expect that this w 

 valuable work. 



one tolerable coat out of two old ones ; — I put 

 also, and went out ; — every ono now recognized i 

 I was shaken Imn<i3 with at every corner. 

 Those that unfortunately have more brains th» 



can make good the loss in spring. After the spring j note.*, can apply Ihe moral.— Poii/and Bulletin. 



