28 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



each colony, in order that a sufficient 

 number of them be found in the fields to 

 render the queen's bridal flight success- 

 ful. In other words, there nmst be 

 enough drones reared in each hive to 

 make it almost an absolute certainty that 

 the queen of this hive, or of any other, 

 for several miles, be sure to find one in 

 the few minutes, or hours, at the most, 

 that she spends in the air. I'pon her 

 life, the life of the colony depends, as 

 there are often no other means left for 

 the continuance of reproduction. All 

 bee-keepers of experience know what little 

 chance there is for a colony whose queen 

 is lost in her wedding-flight, if young 

 brood is not given it by the attentive 

 owner. 



But under domestication the condi- 

 tions are changed; the colonies being 

 congregated together in large numbers, 

 it is quite evident that the drones of one 

 or two hives will serve the same purpose 

 that they would have served if those two 

 hives were the onh- ones within the bees' 

 range. It is, therefore, useless to rear 

 such a number of drones in all the hives. 



The querist desires to know what would 

 be, approximately, the difference in 

 amount of surplus honey harvested, if 

 colonies are incapacitated from rearing 

 drones. Before answering that question 

 we should like to inquire what advantage 

 the writer has found in the rearing of 

 drones. The}- do not work; they eat 

 honey in the hive, never out on the 

 blossoms, and their rearing decreases the 

 number of workers reared. Are not 

 these facts sufficient to incite the bee- 

 keepers to prevent their produc- 

 tion in numbers limited only by 

 natural proficiency? Is it necessary to 

 theorize on the profit, and the approxi- 

 mate amount saved by their suppression ? 

 If we had to compute it we would place 

 this amount at a very high figure. 



In a square inch of comb about 55 work- 

 ers may be reared, while the same space 

 will furnish room for only 36 drones, both 

 sides of the comb being taken, as a matter 

 of course. Thus in a square foot of comb, 

 where 5000 drones could be hatched, you 

 may rear nearly Sooo workers, in round 

 numbers. It looks reasonable that the 

 same amount of feed will rear either 

 brood, since it occupies the same space. 

 And when they have been hatched, you 

 have a small swarm of workers, instead 

 of a heap of useless, bothensome goumands 

 that do nothing but loaf, but are sure to 

 come home to eat. So if you have allow- 

 ed your colony to rear them at a great ex- 

 pense you soon become convinced that 

 they are in the way, and that they daily 



decrease your profits, and you perhaps 

 go to work and provide a drone-trap — a 

 nuisance — to try to get rid of them ! 

 Better not rear them at all ! If you have 

 taken pains to make sure of a sufficient 

 nvimber in one or two of your best colo- 

 nies, why go upon some imaginary idea 

 to permit their production in every hive ? 

 If you tr\- ever so hard to get rid of the 

 drone comb, you will still find more 

 drones than you want when summer 

 comes. But you wll do well, and find it 

 pays, if you, at least, get rid of the big- 

 gest patches of drone comb in all your 

 hives but the breeders, as mentioned be- 

 fore. 



What good did any one ever claim the 

 drones do ? ' 'They kept the brood warm. ' ' 

 some one says. But before they keep the 

 brood warm, they have to be first kept 

 warm, and they hatch only in the warm 

 season, when there is but little danger of 

 the brood getting cold; and when night 

 comes, do not all the bees return to the 

 hive and keep it warm ? and is it not true 

 that, during the time when the drones are 

 plentiful, the bees are rather too warm in 

 the hive ? Is not this the time when the}- 

 cluster on the outside, because it is too 

 warm inside ? And you want the drones 

 to keep them warm ? Better have the 

 drones reared for winter, then ! 



It seems to us that the advantages from 

 removing the drone combs and replacing 

 them witli worker combs are sufficiently 

 apparent to make the matter a question 

 of very serious consideration among prac- 

 tical bee-keepers; and unless some better 

 arguments are brought to bear to con- 

 vince us of our error, we shall continue to 

 advise our friends to remove the drone 

 combs, and do it ourselves, whenever 

 opportunity offers. We are only sorry 

 that we did not do it more carefully in 

 former years. 



Now let those who think that the drones 

 are of some use, aside from the function 

 arising from their sexuality, say of -what 

 use. For my part I think that Mr. Da- 

 dant has told the truth and told it well, 

 but if others think or know differently, 

 let us hear from them. The truth is what 

 is wanted. 



A Xcw Companion Every Week. 



Fifty-two times ;x year The Youth's Compan- 

 ion «(>es into the homes of every one of its sub- 

 scribers. Fifty-two times a year it brings to 

 the fireside the best thoughts of the best minds 

 in Europe and America. Coming every week, 

 there is a delightful freshness and timeliness to 



