GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15. 



give you the necessary training required, after 

 which you can count off combs of honey so as 

 rarely to vary a pound; and when the apiary 

 is thus gone over there is a certainty about it 

 which always gives success, besides which we 

 can say ive knoiv in this matter, which is very 

 consoling, to say the least. 



But some one asks for my formula for winter 

 feed, as there are not stores enough for winter- 

 ing in the whole yard after equalizing. I have 

 given this fomula several times; but as I have 

 had several calls for it during the past ten days 

 I will give it again. In a vessel of sufificient size, 

 pour in 1.5' lbs. of water. Bring to a boil, and 

 stir in 30 lbs. of granulated sugar. Bring to a 

 boil again, set from the tire, and stir in ,5 lbs. 

 of extracted honey. When cool enough it is 

 ready for feeding, and gives about 50 lbs. of 

 feed which is equal if not superior to the best 

 of honey. Lately I saw the amount of honey 

 given as 10 lbs.; but after experimenting in the 

 matter very carefully I am sure 5 lbs. is as good 

 as more; and where honey is scarce this is quite 

 an item. 



Another says, " Is not tartaric acid or vine- 

 gar as good for keeping the syrup from crystal- 

 lizing as is the honey ?" No. There is nothing 

 I have ever tried which will equal honey; and I 

 would have the honey, even if I had to send a 

 distance for it, and pay a high price for it at 

 that. One says, '• I am afraid of getting foul 

 brood with the honey." There need be no fears 

 on this score, for, were you to be unfortunate 

 enough to get foul-brood honey it could not 

 possibly carry the disease to your bees if they 

 secured none of it in any other way than in the 

 feed; for the boiling syrup would scald the 

 honey so as to kill all germs of foul brood, if 

 the feed is made as I have given. 



While I regret to know that it is so, it would 

 seem that many localities will require that 

 bees be fed, according to the numbers so report- 

 ing who write me; and I have written this 

 article so it would be in time for all such, and 

 will only add that, in this locality, we have 

 plenty of stores for winter. G. M. Doolittle. 



Borodino. N. Y.. Sept. 2. 



LAYING WORKERS. 



HOW TO DETECT THEM. 



Generally I can readily detect the presence of 

 laying workers; but sometimes I have seen 

 cases where I could go no further than to say, 

 "I suspect there are laying workers in that 

 hive." They are often called fertile workers; 

 but isn't layinii the better word in every way ? 



The instruction in the A B C is good as far as 

 it goes. " If you do not find any queen, and see 

 eggs scattered around promiscuously, some in 

 drone and some in worker cells, some attached 

 to the side of the cell, instead of the center of 

 the bottom, where the queen lays them, several 

 in one cell and none in the next, you may be 

 pretty sure yon have a fertile worker." Yes. if 

 all these conditions are present you may feel 

 pretty sure; but you may have the most of 

 them without a laying worker, and you may 

 have a laying worker with very few of the pre- 

 scribed symptoms. 



" If you do not find any queen " doesn't count 

 for a great deal, for sometimes you can not find 

 a queen, although a good laying one is in the 

 hive. 



I have seen "eggs scattered around promis- 

 cuously," at least somewhat promiscuously, 

 '"some in drone and some in worker cells." laid 

 by a good queen. And I have seen eggs "' at- 

 tached to the side of the cell " by a good queen. 



I had a fine imported queen one year that took 

 it into her head to stick every egg on the side 

 of the cell some distance from the bottom: and 

 after a time she gave up her foolishness and 

 laid her eggs properly. 



On the other hand. I have had cases of laying 

 workers without having the eggs laid promis- 

 cuously, or on the sides of the cells. The eggs 

 were attached to the bottom of the cells, just 

 as a queen would place them, and there was no 

 skipping of cells, every cell in a given space con- 

 taining an egg, and only one egg. 



But if the next-mentioned condition should 

 be found, "several in one cell and none in the 

 next," I think I should feel more than pretty 

 sure of the presence of laying workers. A queen 

 may lay more than one egg in a cell, but I 

 think it Is only when she is crowded for room; 

 that is. room covered properly by bees, and in 

 that case you will never find empty cells beside 

 the ones containing a plurality of eggs— at 

 least, I do not remember ever to have seen such 

 a case. 



As a general rule, if laying workers are pres- 

 ent you may find sure proof of their presence in 

 the condition mentioned — several eggs in one 

 cell and none in others: and I may add, that 

 the drone-cells will be the ones that have the 

 most eggs. Indeed, if I should at any time find 

 a single drone-cell with more than one egg in 

 it I should feel pretty sure of a laying w'orker. 

 Now, I shouldn't like to be very positive about 

 it; but I think that, in every case where you 

 find this irregular and multiple laying, you can 

 get the same laying workers to do straight reg- 

 ular work that can not be detected from that 

 of a laying queen. Just take away all drone 

 comb, and leave them nothing but worker. 



It seems as if a laying worker found it more 

 comfortable to lay in a large cell. So vou will 

 find drone-cells first used, then used over again, 

 and afterward worker-cells. I do not remem- 

 ber ever to have seen two eggs laid by a queen 

 in a drone-cell, and I do not remember to have 

 seen two eggs laid by a laying worker in a 

 worker-cell until pretty much all the cells were 

 already occupied. 



But one valuable means of detection is not 

 mentioned in the A B C; viz., queen -cells. 

 Almost always, if there is difficulty of detec- 

 tion, one or more queen-cells will settle it. If 

 there are plenty of drone-cells there may be no 

 queen-cell; but in such a case detection is not 

 likely to be diiificult. If there are no drone- 

 cells, then the bees seem to cater to the comfort 

 of their pseudo sovereign or sovereigns by mak- 

 ing a more roomy place in which to deposit 

 eggs, and you find the queen-cell. In more 

 than one case I have found not an egg in the 

 hive, except one in a queen-cell, and that soli- 

 tary egg settles the case in ninety-nine cases 

 out of a hundred, the hundredth case being 

 that in which a very poor queen has just com- 

 menced to lay in a too weak nucleus, and there 

 never should be opportunity allowed for that 

 hundredth case. But you will generally find 

 more than one egg in the queen-cell. I think I 

 have seen thirty or forty. They seemed to be 

 piled up. 



Of course, as soon as the brood is sealed the 

 projecting caps tell the story; but it is not de- 

 sirable to wait so long. True, the projecting 

 caps don't say whether a laying worker or a 

 drone-laying queen is present, but I wouldn't 

 give mnch to know which. The same treat- 

 ment will do foi' either. 



So, in addition to what the ABC says, it 

 might be well to add. as signs of laying workers, 

 queen-cells with more than one egg in them, 

 as also a queen-cell containing one or more eggs 

 when there i"* no unsealed brood in the hive — 

 only eggs. I am inclined to believe that laying 



