892 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 



§pects resembles the thistle. It hasnot, however, the 

 features which make the thistle so obnoxious, for it 

 does not send its seed broadcast on tiie wind, nor 

 pprcad from the root, and is easily eradicated from 

 the soil; but to save the necesity of overcoming- the 

 popularprejudiceag-ainst any thing- called "thistle," 

 I think it expedient to avoid giving it that name, and 

 therefore request you to refrain from referring to it 

 as "thistle" in any report you make, or article you 

 Write concerning the plant. Hiram ChA!?Man. 

 Versailles, N. Y. 



EXPERIMENTS IN APICULTURE, BY NELSON W. 

 MO LAIN. 



«COPY of the above report has been sent us, 

 and, as was to be expected, we are not dis- 

 appointed as regards its contents. In it the 

 student interested in the science of apicul- 

 ture will find afield opened for in\cstigation. 

 The experiments therein contained arc interesting, 

 and some are quite conclusive on some of our old 

 disputed questions. The whole is worthy of a re- 

 print in Gleanings; but as our space is crowded I 

 will try to give a birdseye view of it, accompanied 

 with several extracts. First we will consider 



EC(JNOMY IN the PRODUCTION OF WAX. 



At the National Convention at New Orleans, Mr. 

 Paul L. Viallon, in a paper which he read, stated 

 that, in his opinion, the bees did not consume '^J lbs. 

 of honey to make 1 lb. of wax; that this cstinuvte 

 was too high. According to his experiments, tlie 

 consumption of only 7 lbs. of honey was required to 

 make 1 lb. of wax. Prof. McLaiii, however, verifies 

 the old estimate. He says: 



If account be taken of the lof^s resulting from 

 having the time and energies of the bees expended 

 in wa.x-production instead of honey-production at a 

 season of the year when there is most imperative 

 need for uninterrupted and diligent activity in 

 honey-gathering, and of tlie value of the honey con- 

 sumed in producing wa.v, and of the labor required 

 in preserving and preparing tlie wax lor market, it 

 ■will readily be seen that the production of a pound 

 of wax costs tlie producer many times the current 

 prices realized. About 30 pounds of honey are con- 

 sumed in producing 1 pound of wa.x. 



From the fact that McLain's estimate of the cost 

 of wax is backed by former experimenters some 

 years ago, it would seem that 20 lbs. of honey td 1 lb. 

 of wax is verj' nearly correct. '• 



WINTERING BEB6. 



After speaking of the diffei-ent methods of win- 

 tering, and the conditions of success, the author be- 

 lieves that the lack of water to colonies in winter 

 quarters is one very potent cause of dysentery. 

 Here is what lie says: 



Excessive thirst, and prolonged low temperature; 

 cause' what is called " roaring in the liive." Dis- 

 quietude from any cause induces excessive con- 

 sumption; dysentery follows; death usually results 

 I have frequently quieted roaring in the hive, and 

 restored the bees to their normal condition of qui- 

 etude, by supplying water. 



To supply the bees with water, a moderately wet 

 sponge is placed in a hole bored in a suitable block. 

 The whole is placed over the cluster, under the 

 blanket or cushion. The addition of a little salt is 

 recommended as being a preventive to dysentery. 

 The water, he says, should be given when the 

 weather is suitable, and he thinks it will largely 

 prevent the loss of valuable colonics which might 

 otherwise be lost. 



BEES VERSUS FRUIT. 



For thoroughly testing whether bees could injure 

 fruit, a bee-proof building was constructed express- 

 ly for the purpose. The sides of the building were 

 so made that they could be opened, and wire screens 

 complete the inclosure. A stove was placed inside, 

 so as to maintain a high temperature, and also to 

 bring about as nearly as possible an artificial 

 drought. Fruit of various kinds, especially g-rapes 

 of the different varieties, was obtained from nu- 

 merous sources, and placed inside. Three hives of 

 bees on empty combs were also placed inside— two 

 of the swarms being hybrids and the other Italians. 

 As to how the bees regarded the fruit, the author 

 says: 



The bees were brought to the stages of hunger, 

 thirst, and starvation. The house was kept locked, 

 and we carried the key. Every inducement and 

 opportunity was afforded the bees to satisfy their 

 hunger and thirst by attacking the fruit exposed. 

 They daily visited the fruit in great numbers, and 

 labored diligently to improve the only remaining 

 source of subsistence. They inspected and took 

 what advantage they could of every opening at the 

 stem or crack in the epidermis, or puncture made 

 by insects which deposit their egg:s in the skin of 

 grajK's. They regarded the epidermis of the 

 peaches, pears, plums, and other fruits having 

 thick covering, simply as subjects for inquiry and 

 investigation, and not objects of attack. ]f the 

 skin l)e broken or removed they will, in case of need, 

 lap and suck the juices e.vposed, Tiie same was also 

 true of the grapes if the skin was broken by vio- 

 lence, or burst on account of the fruit becoming 

 overrij)e; the bees lapped and sucked the juices 

 from the exposed parts of grapes and stored it in 

 tire cells for food. They made no attempt to grasp 

 the cuticle of grapes with their mandibles or with 

 their claws. If the grapes were cut open or burst 

 from overripeness, the bees would lap and suck the 

 juice from the exposed segments of the grape until 

 they came to the film separating the exposed and 

 l)i-oken segiuents from the unbroken segments. 

 Through and beyond the film separating the seg- 

 ments they appear to be unable to penetrate. 



A test of this kin<l for 30 days, during which 

 grapes of a thinner skin were tried, showed that 

 the bees had no disposition to injure any of the 

 varieties of fruit; and only when the grapes were 

 rotten or broken open did they attempt to appro- 

 priate the juices. In one outdoor test, the grapes 

 were dipped in honey, and the bees were allowed to 

 get well started to robbing on them. The honey 

 liAving all been licked off, the grapes were all left 

 unharmed. 



It is very gratifying indeed for us to Icnow that 

 these experiments have been made under the aus- 

 pices of the United States, and that the results show 

 that bees do not injure fruit. Whenever a contro- 

 versy again comes up, we can with pleasure refer 

 back to this report. 



ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZATION OF QUEENS. 



This has always seemed quite impracticable as 

 well as impossible, and it is yet possible that the 

 thing- is not yet solved. Prof. McLain has struck 

 upon a plan, however, which, to m? at least, seems 

 possible. In brief it is as follows: 



After trying artificial fertilization in the cell upon 

 imago queens without success, or, at any rate, with 

 only i)artial success, he finally made experiments 

 upon queens which had reached the age v.'hen they 

 take their wedding-flight, or at the time when or- 

 gasm occurs. This, in most queens, is from .5 to 7 

 days from the time of hatching. His manner of ac- 

 complishing this result, we give in his own words: 



When orgasm takes place, the generative organs 

 of the queen are highly excited and much distended. 

 We confined a queenlcss colony in their hive, and 

 gave them a queen-cell which had not been disturb- 



