386 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



June 2i, 



comb in their hives, is as wise a proceeding as it is generally 

 supposed to be ? 



What says the Oracle of Lapeer hereauent ? 



Who was it gave it as his opinion, not so very long ago, 

 that he no longer restricted the breeding of drones in his api- 

 ary, convinced that he got as much, if not more, honey than 

 when he trapt them, or prevented their increase ? I have for- 

 gotten just who it was, but I Icnow it was one of the frater- 

 nity whose opinions on most matters pertaining to our pur- 

 suit are always respectfully received. He said something, I 

 remember, about the presence of drones stimulating the work- 

 ers to greater energy, and generally inducing a more pros- 

 perous state of the colony — which more than paid for their 

 board and lodging, and fully compensated for their displace- 

 ment of the nectar-gathering workers. Can it possibly be 

 that we are here on the wrong track, too ? and that we are 

 nearing the time when the great makers of "foundation" 

 will be running their works over time to keep pace with the 

 demand for drone-comb foundation ? 



That's all. Don't be too rough on me; I'm only a be- 

 ginner, and am always wanting to know, you know. Perhaps 

 the Question-Box might be made to serve us a good turn here 

 — unless, Mr. Editor, you are afraid of the inquisitors ! If 

 you will kindly lend the Box for the occasion I would suggest 

 that the matter be put somewhat in this way, viz : 



1. Do you think the advantages gained from the elimina- 

 tion of drones to bo as great as is generally claimed, or are 

 they over estimated ? 



2. Are there not in your opinion counterbalancing advan- 

 tages derivable from their presence in the hive in numbers 

 more approaching to what Nature proportions them, and 

 which we may possibly haveoverlookt ? 



3. Given an equal number of colonies, with queens of one 

 age, and all of equal strength, one set with combs of their 

 own building, and hence no restraint as to drone-rearing, and 

 the other set with only worker-combs, and hence incapacitated 

 from rearing drones, what, in your estimation, would be the 

 difference, approximately, in amount of surplus honey har- 

 vested ? 



The question is. Has not Master Drone been unfairly dis- 

 paraged? Has he not been condemned solely on circumstan- 

 tial evidence ? Must we not reconsider our verdict? Have 

 not our arguments and opinions concerning his raison d'etre, 

 and in favor of his extinction, been mere prima /acie ones ? 

 Have we been quite justified in saying that "he is a greedy, 

 useless fellow, away with him ?" 



The South African Boer, I know, rejoices in the presence 

 of drones, either in his old box-hive or in the hollow old tree. 

 To him they indicate a rich booty, and experience has taught 

 him that a tree-nest containing but comparatively few drones 

 will not repay the labor of felling ; but then it must be con- 

 fest that he is an illogical, primitive-minded, conservative sort 

 of being, and is very prone to mistake cause for effect. 



What we want is the actual result, or record, of intelli- 

 gent observation and experiment " along this line," and I feel 

 sure there are not a few in the front rank of our highly inter- 

 esting pursuit who can give it, and so set the matter at rest 

 and for aye. South Africa. 



California Notes and Comments. 



BY PROF. A. J. COOK. 



The white sage of California has now been in bloom for 

 three or four weeks, and Is yet one mass of bloom, and will 

 continue so for some weeks to come. The buckwheat has been 

 open for about two weeks, and will remain in blossom until 

 December. These are both excellent honey-plants In South- 

 ern California. The black or ball sago is just opening In the 

 canyons, and will from this on furnish a good supply of nec- 

 tar. The orange-bloom and buckthorn are now out of bloom, 

 but have furnisht, during the last spring, an unusually large 



amount of sweets for the bees, owing doubtless to the abun- 

 dant rains of last winter. A leguminous plant, Hosackia 

 glabra, and a rosaceous plant, Horkella callfornica, are in 

 bloom here the whole summer, and are always attractive to 

 the bees except when white sage or some other better plants 

 call them elsewhere. This is now my fourth season In South- 

 ern California, and I have never in that time noticed the 

 flowers so long in bloom as they have been this year. 



CARLOAD.S OF HoNEY. — It is reported that San Diego 

 county will ship 50 carloads of honey the present season. I 

 doubt if that county is proportionally any better than any of 

 the other Southern California counties. All of Southern Cali- 

 fornia, from Santa Barbara to Riverside, and from Redlands 

 to San Diego, is equally iine for honey-production. This sea- 

 son, owing to the copious rains of the past winter, is going to 

 be one of the best, unless hot winds or some other unforeseen 

 evil comes to prevent. 



Extracted Honey. — There are several reasons why Cali- 

 fornia will always produce extracted honey rather than comb. 

 We have a long distance to ship our honey, and the sections 

 are very likely to be torn from the frames, and thus the mar- 

 ket seriously damaged. The insects are also quite trouble- 

 some in California, especially ants, and for this reason it is 

 more convenient to produce extracted honey, as when that is 

 once in hand there is no longer any danger from ants or other 

 insects. Another thing that urges most bee-keepers to ex- 

 tract rather than produce comb honey, comes from the fact 

 that many are not genuine bee-keepers, and they find it more 

 profitable for unskilled hands to produce honey in the ex- 

 tracted form. It is conceded everywhere that it takes very 

 much less of skill and ability to meet with the best of success 

 in the production of extracted than it does to produce comb 

 honey. 



SmrriNG Honey. — It was my privilege last year to ship 

 several tons of honey. In marketing this large amount, there 

 were only two complaints made by the purchaser. One was 

 that in some cases old cans were used, and the other that the 

 grades of honey were mixt. It is often very convenient to 

 clean old gasoline cans and use them for extracted honey ; the 

 fact that such cans can be had for almost or quite nothing, 

 is tempting indeed. I believe, however, that it will always 

 pay to only use clean, new, bright cans. It is also just as 

 important to be very careful not to mix the amber or darker 

 grades of honey with the water-white grades. It requires no 

 little care to keep all of these kinds of honey entirely distinct. 

 By a little attention, however, this can be done, and unless it 

 is, much of the first-class honey, like that from white sage, 

 will sell for less than Its real value. 



Kingbird a Friend. — One of our students shot a Califor- 

 nia kingbird the other day, and found In Its stomach several 

 worker-bees. From my knowledge of this student I am sure 

 that the information is authentic. The next day he shot 

 another bird and brough it to me. Although it was shot near 

 the apiary, I did not find a single bee in its stomach. There 

 was one large robber-fly, species of Asllus, and a large nu'»iber 

 of harmful insects. As is well known, these robber-flies are 

 among our most energetic predaceous Insects, and do a great 

 deal of good. It is interesting that the robber-lly is also an 

 enemy to the bees. Only a few days ago a gentleman from 

 Tipton, Calif., sent me one of these large robber-flies, with red 

 legs, saying that he had taken it while it was killing bees. 

 Thus we see that the kingbird befriends the bees by destroying 

 one of their worst enemies, even if it does at times kill 

 the bees themselves. I think on the whole the kingbird is 

 really our friend. Los Angeles Co., Calif., June 4. 



ly See " Bee-Keeper's Guide" offer on page 382. 



