1886 



glea:ni:ngs in bee cultuuI!:. 



2oO 



as much air to pass as the four-inch tube will carry; 

 but as the inner surface of the eight-inch tube is 

 double that of the four-inch, it has double the 

 warming- capacity; so with each tube ino feet long-. 

 A double amount of air may be brought in at the 

 same temperature through the eight-inch tube. It 

 would be cheaper to lay one eight-inch tube at 13 

 cts. per ft., than to lay two four-inch tubes at 16 cts. 

 Possibly, however, the two smaller drains might be 

 the cheaper; but the larger one would have this de- 

 cided advantage, that a large quantity of air could 

 be flushed into the cellar at any time, even if not up 

 to the desired temperature. 



How would this plan do ? Use large tile, perhaps 

 ten-inch, laid so deep and so long that, at the begin- 

 ning of winter, it would admit air about the right 

 temperature; then every three or four weeks, as the 

 ground became colder, close up more and more the 

 entrance, thus keeping up or raising the tempera- 

 ature. Pei-haps I have done enough loose guessing, 

 and I shall be glad to be called to order by any one 

 who will show where I am wrong, and at the same 

 time show us what is right. 



Referring to your remarks, Bro. Root, on page 169, 

 I don't think it would be well to add anj- dampness 

 to my cellar. I hardly see, either, the advantage of 

 a heated reservoir. Would it not cost as much to 

 heat the reservoir, as to heat the cellar direct ? My 

 three stoves will cost, in all, about $16 for the win- 

 ter. I fill them each morning and evening, and 

 that is all the attention they have. C. C. Miller. 



Marengo, 111., March 3, 1886. 



Friend M., I am glad to see that you have 

 gone into this matter so thorouglily. The 

 rate at which the air passes through tiie sub- 

 eartli ventilator, I think, will have much to 

 do with its temperature when it reaches the 

 cellar. If a stitt' breeze should pass through 

 the four-inch tile when the air outside is be- 

 low zero, it seems to me it could not be 

 warmed, say 40^, in passing only 100 feet. 

 The earth would be gradually frozen around 

 the tile, commencing at the outer end. Of 

 course, the depth would make a difference. 

 Well, closing the opening in its inner end 

 would, of course, make the current of air 

 pass slower, and this might be graduated, 

 probably, so that the ground would take the 

 frost out of the air as fast as it passes 

 through. In that case the temperature 

 should not keep getting lower until the lat- 

 ter part of the winter. I think a large-size- 

 ed pipe will be cheaper and better. The air 

 from my underground reservoirs is quite 

 warm and comfortal)le, even when the tem- 

 perature is below zero outside. Now, when 

 tile-factories are a good way off, and with 

 thin flat stones easy of access, can not an 

 underground passage be made with stones 

 cheaper than with tile, and so as to carry in 

 and warm a large volume of air? It seems 

 to me there is not a question but that tho 

 heat of the earth may be so utilized as to 

 warm buildings sufficiently to prove a very 

 great saving of fuel. Since my warehouse 

 is burned down, I am now obliged to build a 

 barn. I want to build it in accordance with 

 friend Terry's forthcoming new book ; and I 

 mean to have the stables, both for cows and 

 horses, made so they won't freeze in any 

 Aveather, and I suppose sub-earth ventila- 

 tion will do it. Our poultry-men, especially 



those who produce eggs in winter, ought to 

 be interested in this matter, as well as those 

 who winter bees. You see, this is a broad 

 subject, and one of great moment to a large 

 class of people besides bee-keepers. 



THE] CONGREGATING OF DRONES. 



DO DRONES FLOCK TOGETHER IN LARGE NUMBERS? 



AN INCIDENT THAT SEEMS TO PROVE THAT 



THEY DO. 



§OME time in June, 1885, friend .lohn Williams, 

 who lives near here, called my attention to 

 the fact that he thought drones were congre- 

 gating, above a hill, about a mile east of our 

 apiary. On the first favorable opportunity I 

 went with him to the hill, and this is what we saw 

 and heard. 



As we approached the highest elevation, we could 

 hear a loud humming, very much resembling bees 

 when swarming high in the air. The most of them 

 wei'e too high in the air to be seen; but occasionally 

 one would circle lower, and, bj- the peculiar hum- 

 ming which they made, we were pretty sure they 

 were di'oncs. If we threw a stone in the air, it 

 would at once be surrounded; and as it fell to the 

 ground they would dart after it and follow it to 

 within fifteen or twenty feet of the ground. There 

 seemed to be vast numbers of them, extending 

 along the ridge of the hill for some distance, and 

 they must have come for miles around. 



Returning to the apiary I watched the drones as 

 they flew from the hives, and nearly all of them 

 fiew toward the hill from which I had just returned. 

 Now, I believe that drones congregate in large 

 numbers, and the queen, attracted by their loud 

 humming, flies among them and is fertilized. I do 

 not know that there is any thing new in the above; 

 but of one thing I am pretty sure, that there is no 

 use trying to get queens purely mated every time, 

 if there are drones of other races within five miles. 

 Queen-breeders should be careful how they adver- 

 tise " no black bees near here." 



RETURNING SWARMS TO THE PARENT COLONY. 



Our bees commenced swarming about May 25, 1885; 

 and as the indications for a good honey season 

 were not verj' good, we returned all but a few of 

 the earliest swarms to the parent colonj'. By so 

 doing, in a poor season we obtained a fair yield of 

 honey {70 lbs. per colony), and kept them strong for 

 winter. My experience has been, that swarms re- 

 turned in this way work with the same energy as 

 swarms hived in empty hives; and after experi- 

 menting- pretty thoroughlj- in trying to prevent in- 

 crease we have found no other plan that has proved 

 to be so satisfactory as this. I am well aware that 

 many would not succeed with this method, for the 

 reason that, many times, swarms returned in this 

 way are inclined to swarm again, therefore the nov- 

 ice would probably, after a few trials, give it up in dis- 

 gust, and try some other plan to prevent increase. 

 It should bo remembered that, after returning such 

 swarms, we have a powerful colony, and therefore 

 they need an abundance of room. We usually re- 

 move two or three frames of brood from the cen- 

 ter of the brood-nest, and supply their [dace with 

 empty comb or frames of foundation. Great care 

 should be taken, to see that evei'y queen-cell is 

 cutout; for if one is left, they will be pretty sure 

 to swarm again. I know you will say, friend Root, 



