196 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



June 



It is work that the average beekeeper 

 has neither the time nor the training 

 to successfully undertake. 



Some experiences and observations 

 of my own may be worth recording, 

 though I do not pretend to have gone 

 into the matter exhaustively, but 

 even so, the facts may suggest other 

 lines 'of observation for others to 

 follow. 



My "Home Yards" have always 

 been on a narrow peninsula of land 

 lying on the easterly side of Narra- 

 gansett Bay. From 1880 till 1888 the 

 yard was on the easterly side of the 

 peninsula, from 1888 to 1891 it was on 

 the westerly side, within 100 yards of 

 the shore, from 1891 'to 1910 on the 

 easterly side again, and since then on 

 the westerl}' side, about one-eighth 

 of a mile from the shore. 



During the summer months the pre- 

 vailing winds are from the southwest 

 and blow pretty strongly. There is 

 no protection from the winds on the 

 west shore, but a narrow and low 

 ridge more or less tree-covered ex- 

 tends down the middle of the penin- 

 sula and gives fair protection to the 

 east side. While my yards were on 

 the east side there was little loss of 

 queens in mating and "poor" queens, 

 those which laid poorly or failed 

 young, were rare. But on the west 

 shore the loss of queens and poor 

 queens always have run high. The 

 results are about the same for large 

 as for small nuclei. 



Some years ago I discovered that 

 some queens mated more than once 

 before they began to lay. Observa- 

 tions of two matings were not infre- 

 quent, and on two or three occasions 

 three matings were noted. In such 

 cases the first mating usually oc- 

 curred fairly early in the forenoon 

 and the subsequent mating or mat- 

 ings before late afternoon. On the 

 west side of the peninsula queens sel- 

 dom fly after 1 o'clock, because the 

 winds come in cold from the water 

 and are strong. 



In only one case can I speak posi- 

 tively of a queen mating the second 

 time, on the day following the first 

 mating. In that case the first mating 

 took place late in the afternoon and 

 the second one early the following 

 forenoon. 



From these observations I am led 

 to believe that it is at least not un- 

 common for queens to mate more 

 than once before they begin to lay. 

 As further proof most beekeepers of 

 any considerable experience can re- 

 call queens of pure parentage which 

 produced two distinct types of work- 

 ers, one typically pure and one dis- 

 tinctly different. Offspring from a 

 crossing of pure parents of mixed 

 blood are of all sorts. 



Mr. Sladen's observations, as well 

 as those of Professor Anderson and 

 myself, seem to indicate that some 

 drones are not virile, or that for 

 .^.onie at present "obscure reason one 

 mating may not so fill the spernia- 

 thcca as to bring to an end the mat- 

 ing impulse of the queen. 



There is much difference of opinion 

 as 'to how the drones find the queens, 

 some asserting it is by odor, others 

 that it is by sound, and I am among 

 the latter, and I think I have good 

 reas'ons for so believing, but I am 

 ready to listen to all the others have 

 to say. 



Professor Anderson's remarks on 

 drones recall some experiences 

 which may properly be related in this 

 article, namely, that drones "drift" 

 with the wind and seldom fight 

 against it. On the peninsula above 

 referred to I have always known of 

 every colony, its location and its 

 strain. Whenever blacks or hybrids 

 were southwest of my yards, mis- 

 maitings were common, but when they 

 have been north of my yards, mis- 

 mating was rare. And this statement 

 holds good where the alien stock 

 has been nearly a mile southwest and 

 as near as an eighth of a mile north. 

 This, of course, at different times. 

 Henry Alley always maintained that 

 queens mated within a few rods 'of 

 the hive they flew from. 



What do we know about bees, any- 

 way? The late Mr. E. E. Hasty used 

 to delight in saying "Bees do nothing 

 invariably." 



Rhode Island. 



A Deep Frame 



Your recent deep brood-nest discus- 

 sions in the Journal have interested 

 me greatly. I wished to secure Na- 



ture's ideal of a deep brood-chamber, 

 while still employing my small Lang- 

 stroth size extractor, supers, etc., and 

 this is how I set about it : I made up 

 100 new frames of the usual Lang- 

 stroth dimensions, but with the top 

 bars placed at one of the ends in- 

 stead of lengthwise, as now manufac- 

 tured. This gave me a frame 8j4xl8>;J 

 in. over all, with top bars l.xlxlO in. 

 long and having l}/2 in. spacing. In 

 the center of a brood-chamber of 

 standard Langstroth width and length 

 and suitable depth I placed twelve of 

 these frames, double walling and 

 packing the unoccupied space on 

 either side of the row of frames so 

 that I could readily use any sort of 

 Langstroth supers, etc., on top. 



The first year everything was of 10- 

 frame width, but not being, strong 

 physically, I gravitated by degrees 

 into 8-frame equipment, where, so 

 long as my present light changes not, 

 I feel disposed to remain. I like the 

 simplicity and success of my venture 

 well. But now I should value not a 

 little your friendly criticism of what 

 I have done. 



Ontario. 



Answer — Judging by the diagram 

 which accompanied the letter, the 

 supers are to be placed horizontally 

 over the top of the hive body, jutting 

 out over the double-wall packed ends. 



The combs standing on end are 

 upon the idea given by Mr. Demuth, 

 with the purpose of giving the bees a 

 greater amount of honey over the 

 cluster for winter. Probably the 

 greatest objection that I would find 

 to such a hive would be the possibility 

 of the bees disliking to work in the 

 jutting-over spaces at both ends. 



Of course, I would not want to 

 adopt this hive for'my own use. Bu't 

 neither do I advise anyone to change 

 from the style which he now uses, if 

 he is successful. As to the man who 

 is not satisfied with the style he has, 

 it is for him and for his benefit that 

 all these discussions are raised. Per- 

 sonally, all I wish is to answer 'the 

 questions which are raised from lime 

 to time of how we succeed and why. 

 With us, the theory follows the prac- 

 tice and does not precede it. It seems 

 to us a much safer way than to have 

 the theory first, and the practice af- 

 terwards. — C. P. D. 



View of a French apiary 



Florida Apiary Near Toulouse, 

 France 



To cas't one's eyes over tlie picture 

 of this apiary is enough to draw in- 

 ferences which will not be to the ad- 

 vantage of the arrangement. Other 

 defects, less evident on the photo (but 

 1 am well placed to know them), re- 

 quire an explanation. 



First, its recent increase did not 

 give me time to ascertain wlielhcr 

 llio numlicr of colonics is too large, 

 considering the importance of the 

 crop. For a few years past, in the 

 south of France, the harvest has been 

 light. On an average, perhaps 40 colo- 

 nics would be enough for this location. 

 Yet, during a good honey flow, when 

 the white locust— abundant here— is a 

 success, the apiary could sustain 200 

 colonies without overstocking. But it 



