308 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



April 15. 



doing something his neighbors know nothing 

 about. 



In Gleanings for Jan. 1, p. 14, Mr. Bonney 

 describes a way to rear giant queens. This 

 statement reminds me of the discussion some 

 years ago in the bee papers in relation to rear- 

 ing giant worker bees. The idea was to fill a 

 hive with all drone-comb foundation, and thus 

 compel the queen to deposit her eggs in drone- 

 cells. I don't remember whether or not the 

 experiment was tested, but I do remember an 

 experiment I tried to force a colony of bees to 

 rear some drones. I filled a hive with nearly 

 all drone comb, and the queen was obliged to 

 lay eggs in drone-cells. This experiment was 

 watched with a good deal of interest ; and 

 when I found eggs in the drone-cells I thought 

 my experiment was working first rate. In 

 due time the cells were capped over, but not 

 as drone brood is usually sealed in. When the 

 bees hatched out of those cells they were no 

 larger than bees reared in the natural worker- 

 brood comb. 



I wonder where Mr. Bonney would draw the 

 line on size of the cell-cups. Can't he make 

 the artificial cups as large as half a hen's egg, 

 and rear queens in the same proportion? If 

 Mr. B. reared extra large queens by that one 

 experiment, the size of the queens was owing 

 to some other cause than the mere fact that 

 the cell-cups were larger that the natural size. 

 I can not think that bees can be fooled by any 

 such device. The best that mankind can ex- 

 pect to do is to keep up with nature. We can't 

 expect to go ahead very much. I am aware 

 that a good deal can be said on this point, 

 therefore I drop the matter here. 



Good queens can be reared by nearly all the 

 methods given. In my queen-rearing experi- 

 ence I find there are times in the season, even 

 in mid-summer, when bees are not disposed to 

 rear first-class queens. Just after the honey- 

 harvest in July is the worst time to rear queens. 

 Bees at that time seem to think they should 

 take a vacadon. They need rest. Every- 

 thing should have a season of rest, and why 

 not the bees ? It is said that a railroad loco- 

 motive needs rest, so that the strained parts 

 may settle back into position, and the strain 

 on the machinery be relaxed for awhile. I do 

 believe in rest for the bees. I have found that 

 from the last of July to about the first of Sep- 

 tember is a good time for rearing the very 

 best queens 



I read what Mr. Doolittle had to say about 

 the fine queens he reared above the brood- 

 nest. I have found that one strong colony of 

 bees will rear an unlimited number of queens 

 from cell cups in any season. It is a good 

 way to get queens. I reared but few queens 

 by that method in 1898. If the method I test- 

 ed last season works well another year, most 

 likely no more queens will be reared in my 

 apiary, above the brood-nest. Later on I in- 

 tend to tell the bee keeping public about this 

 new idea. 



In the production of honey the bee-keeper 

 has got right down to nature's best methods. 

 In producing queens we are away off. In get- 

 ting large amounts of honey it is not necessa- 

 ry to give the bees an impression that they 



are about to starve. But in producing queens 

 the bees must be made to understand that 

 more queens are needed, and that the exist- 

 ence of the colony depends upon the number 

 and kind they are expected to rear. 



In rearing queers a necessity for a new 

 queen must be made apparent. When bees 

 are made queenless the colony soon under- 

 stand the situation, and go about the business 

 of supplying another queen. A colony in this 

 latter condition, I claim, will produce a much 

 better quality of queens than a colony that 

 has a good fertile queen, except when the 

 colony is about to cast a natural swarm. Of 

 course, it is understood by all, that, when 

 queens are being reared above a bruod-nest 

 that has a queen, and at a time when there is 

 no field forage, the bees must be fed liberally. 

 This same thing applies to rearing queens by 

 queenless bees if good queens are to be reared. 



Wenham, Mass. 



SELLING COMB HONEY. 

 Why Some Colonies do Better than Others. 



BY S. F. MILLER. 



Mr. Editor: — In Gleanings for March 15 

 you give the foul -brood bill now before the 

 Michigan legislature. I think we ought to 

 have a law ot that kind in every State. But 

 they haven't quite enough of it. The most 

 important part of it they haven't got ; and 

 that is, that every expert of a bee-keeper, or 

 any crank of a bee-keeper who is foolish 

 enough to manipulate his bees to death by tear- 

 ing up the brood-nest and spreading the 

 brood to such an extent as to chill it cool 

 nights, and thus cause foul brood, is the one 

 who ought to be arrested and fined and im- 

 prisoned, and made to go out of the business. 



Well, Mr. Editor, I have not asked you any 

 questions since you first went on the editorial 

 staff ; and now I am going to give you a hard 

 question : 



In one of my apiaries I had 9 colonies of 

 bees last season, and 7 of them were of equal 

 strength, and not one of them swarmed. 

 They were very strong, and I had them tiered 

 up with a second story for extracted and big- 

 comb honey in the brood-frames ; and now 

 the question : One of them filled every thing 

 full from top to bottom, and the rest of the 

 colonies gathered no honey to amount to any 

 thing. Answer in Gleanings ; and if you 

 can't I will. The answer is an interesting one. 



These bees were all healthy, and in good 

 shape. Last year was a very poor one with 

 us. I have had some experience in bee-keep- 

 ing ; have been in the business 19 years. I 

 have 42 apiaries scattered over a territory of 

 20 miles east and west of North Manchester, 

 and 12 miles north and south — that is, a terri- 

 tory 20 by 12 miles. I have them among the 

 farmers. I do nothing but work them for 

 honey. The farmers attend to the hiving. 

 The most of those bees belong to the farmers, 

 and I work them for honey. I work only 

 about 300 colonies, or perhaps 350. I have a 

 few in two different towns. Probably what is 



