794 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1. 



and development 20 days and 2 hours as the 

 shortest time. All bees emerged from the 

 marked cells in less than 21 days except one, 

 and this I lost track of. On the 21st and 22d 

 of August I again found the queen depositing 

 eggs in the outside comb next to the glass. 

 Timing her I found she would lay at the rate 

 of one egg in 2 to 2>2 minutes counting all the 

 time she was running around pellmell, exam- 

 ining and finding such cells as suited her, but 

 not the time occupied when attendants were 

 feeding her, which happened frequently. At 

 & previous time when I watched her deposit- 

 ing eggs she was carrj-ing on that business at 

 about the same rate, or perhaps 600 eggs per 

 day. In a full colon}', and earlier in the sea- 

 son, she might work faster, but I do not know. 



The development of the larva; from the eggs 

 laid Aug. 21st and 22d proceeded about as be- 

 fore, except that the whole time, from the be- 

 ginning to the full development, was a little 

 more than in the first case. The first bee 

 emerged in 20 days and Ayi hours; the last 

 one, just before the twenty one days were up. 



I watched the growth and development of 

 the drones just as carefully. The eggs were 

 laid Aug. loth, as I stated before. Just when 

 the grub broke the shell I am unable to say. 

 I suppose it was at the end of the third day. 

 Aug. 22d, at 10 P. M., the bees had begun cap- 

 ping the cells, and on the following morning 

 at 7 o'clock they were all capped, making just 

 ten days from the laying of the egg. A slight 

 change was noticed going on with the cap- 

 pings of the drone-ceils during the following 

 14 or 15 days, similar to that observed in 

 queen-cells after they have been capped a lit- 

 tle while. The more waxy outside covering 

 was apparently removed by the workers, prob- 

 ably to allow a change of air. The first drone 

 was seen to emerge Sept. 6th, at 11 p. m., mak- 

 ing 24 days and 16 hours. The last drone 

 emerged from the cell in just twenty-five days. 



It will be seen that the time required to 

 bring a drone from the egg to maturity was a 

 little more than is generally conceded by oth- 

 er writers, while in the case of the workers it 

 was rather less, or at least not more (except in 

 the case of the nineteen-day man). It might 

 be argued that my experiments have but little 

 value because not made on a full-sized colony, 

 which, of course, is true. They were made on 

 a half-sized hive, for my four frames exactly 

 equal five Langstroth frames. The little hive 

 was full of bees to such an extent that they 

 were often seen lying out in a big wad, espe- 

 cially during warm nights and during after- 

 noons, when buckwheat seldom offers induce- 

 ments. They were strong enough to work in 

 a super, completing at least 12 one-pound sec- 

 tions, and starling in six more. It was also 

 very warm during the whole time the observa- 

 tions were made. In fact, that period was 

 the hottest of the season, and so it can hardly 

 be said that the brood suffered on account of 

 lack of warmth, or that any irregularity could 

 have taken place. 



Other very interesting observations were 

 made during the season as to pollen gathering 

 and storing, manipulating the bee-glue pellets, 

 the gradual change from the black to the Ital- 



ian stock, and as to whether the young bees 



build the comb ; the length of the life of a 



worker, etc. 



Naples, N. Y. 



««■«««« ♦ — 



RAMBLE 154. 



More about Mr. Richardson, the Bee-keeper who 

 Produced Last Year 65 Tons from 1000 Colonies. 



BY R.\MBLER. 



There has been much discussion between 

 California bee-keepers in relation to the re- 

 spective merits of the white, black, or the pur- 

 ple sage. From my own observation there is 

 but little if any difference in quality or char- 

 acteristics. The honey from all of these sages 

 is classed as "water white," and the flavor, 

 and the proneness to remain liquid a long 

 time, is the same. If an apiary is located 

 where there are many acres of any of these 

 varieties, the hives will rapidly fill when the 

 bloom is on. Mr. Richardson's apiaries, sur- 

 rounded as they are by acres upon acres of 

 purple sage, during a good year turn out 

 honey in great abundance. One of his apia- 

 ries, so situated and stocked with 400 colonies, 

 in 1897 made their owner happy by turning 

 into his tanks over thirty tons of honey; and 

 his entire output from about 1000 colonies was 

 65 tons. At twelve tons to the car this would 

 require iive box cars well loaded. The artist 

 has kindly consented to show up the magni- 

 tude of this product in the accompanying 

 illustration. 



Mr. Mendleson, just over the mountains in 

 Ventura Co., is coming well up to Mr. R. in the 

 number of colonies and in the amount pro- 

 duced. If the past season had been favorable 

 it would have been nip and tuck with them as 

 to the total output. But, alas ! the dry season 

 may throw one or the other out of balance, 

 and it may take a series of years for them to 

 approach so near to the same conditions. 



The bee-keepers of Ventura Co, can be just- 

 ly proud of their large output of honey and of 

 its quality. Honey from this locality always 

 commands the highest market price. Now 

 some might construe this as an argument that 

 the sages of Ventura Co. produce a better 

 honey than the sages in other portions of the 

 State, or that it was in the species of sage; but 

 we find that in many localities in these valleys 

 the crop is exclusively from sage, while in 

 other portions the sage is mixed more or less 

 with honey from other honey-producing 

 flowers. 



Wilkin, Cory, Mclntyre, Touchton, and sev- 

 eral others are veterans in the business in this 

 county, and all help to roll up the output to 

 several train-loads. 



The hives in Mr. Richardson's apiaries are 

 worked, as far as possible, with two extract- 

 ing-supers ; and sometimes, if hives are filling- 

 up rapidly, another super is added as a check 

 to swarming. When the men are at work in 

 the apiary, two are in charge of the uncapping 

 and extracting, while two remove the combs 

 from the hives to the house. 



In the accompanying half-tone two little 

 sliding doors are seen at the lower portion of 



