252 THE BEE-KEEPERo REVIEW 



ing the nectar from the blossom), others poultry, pigs, etc., but 

 there is still a great open field in any of these projects. 

 Bartle, Oriente, Cuba. 



fjust at present Cuba is having her troubles, and I am now wondering just 

 how near Mr. Millar's gness will come regarding intervention by the United 

 States. His letter wae written last April, which shows a pretty good knowledge 

 of conditions there, judging by the latest developments. 



I am not personally acquainted with Mr. Miller, and having never been in 

 Cuba I cannot personally vouch for the statements made, but the fact that both 

 sides of the question are so frankly given in the above letter leads me to believe 

 it is an honest statement of facts. It will be read with interest by all interested 

 in that country.] 



The Value of Drones to the Swarm and Bee-Keeper. 



ARTHUR C. MILLER. 



^^^ HE drones, those much maligned members of the bee com- 



\Jj munity, are really among our best friends and helpers. We 



strive to prevent their occurrence, destroying them in every 



stage of growth, and we tolerate only a few as a necessary evil 



We should change our views and our practices. 



The drones are most interesting fellows once you come to know 

 them. You would hardly think of looking for belligerency among 

 them, and yet in their own way they are not lacking in spirit, in 

 evidence of which note how they box and bite and how insistent 

 they are that they be properly fed. As evidence of what some 

 would call their brotherly or foster-paternal solicitude, notice when 

 the cluster contracts during a cold storm how the drones pack 

 closely over the surface of the outlying brood. Xo, oh no, not to 

 keep it warm, but to keep themselves warm, which is also the cause 

 of workers acting likewise, as can be readily demonstrated. 



How many of you are familiar with the peculiar odor of drones? 

 A hundred years ago that odor was thought to be the principle 

 which vitalized the eggs in the combs. 



Wiiile drones afford most interesting material for nature stu- 

 dents, you practical bee-keepers onh^ want to know how they may 

 be of value to you. Let us see. 



By the markings of the workers the purity or impurity of the 

 stock is almost universally determined. The drones are even more 

 essential to us in deciding on the purity of the queen. And just 

 here I wish to ask you to distinguish between the purity of a queen 

 and the purity of her oft'spring. \\'e speak of an Italian queen 

 mated to an Italian drone as "pure," and of a queen from pure an- 

 cestors mated to a drone of another race as "impure," but so 

 applied the term is most misleading, for really the queen and her 

 male offspring are pure while her female offspring are not. 



