GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1. 



a large business, also recommends the indus- 

 try. It is stated by good authority that, with 

 a good buck and five does, a single season may 

 give a rabbitry of 300 animals. I understand, 

 too, that the whole building equipment for 

 this number may not cost more than one dol- 

 lar per animal, or $300. 



Southern California may almost be said to 

 be the paradise for this business, owing to our 

 exceedingly mild climate. The hutches may 

 be very inexpensive, and the breeding season 

 may be continued throughout nearly the en- 

 tire year. It is also easy here to secure good 

 ventilation with no danger of exposure to cold. 





j jj>^giL.a ly tg 



THE VARIATION IN HORSES AS WELL AS BEES. 



Just as I was loading supers filled with sec- 

 tions fiom my shop to take to one of my out- 

 yards, about the last of May as nearly as I re- 

 member, Deacon Strong came in with a cheer- 

 ful "Good morning. Uncle Lisha ; " but I 

 noticed something was not quite right, and I 

 inquired, " What is the matter, deacon?" 



"Oh! nothing much," he answered; and 

 after a few moments he asked, "Did you 

 know my horse Prince is dead? " 



" Dead ? no ! When did he die ? " 



"A few days ago — or, rather, nights, per- 

 haps I should say, for I found him dead in 

 his stall in the morning. The horsemen think 

 it was colic, or something of that sort. It's 

 quite a loss, but the worst thing was to think 

 that he died there all alone without medical 

 assistance." He talked on, " There are plen- 

 ty of horses to be had, I find, but there are 

 not many just what one wants. Almost the 

 next day after old Prince died, Antoine Du- 

 prey wanted to sell me an old plug he had. 

 Said he, ' A hoss is a hoss ; and if it young 

 enough it's all right. She no look very good, 

 but she can go like sixty.' He seemed to 

 think he could make me think what he wanted 

 to, but I declined to buy. A little later Tom 

 Townley called with his chestnut mare. He 

 said there was all the difference in the world 

 in horses. Some were great travelers, and 

 could travel ten miles an hour while another 

 was going five. And then one would work 

 all day and then kick up at night, as though 

 nothing had been done. Some would live on 

 very little, while others seemed to be little 

 better than machines for running through fod- 

 der ; and he gave me to understand that his 

 chestnut mare would keep fat and sleek on 

 pure air and three quarts of oats a day, al- 

 though he did not say so exactly. But really I 

 never did realize there was such a variety of 

 horseflesh or such a diflference between differ- 

 ent animals, and I have been wondering if 

 there is as much difference between bees." 



" I have thought about it a good deal my- 

 self this spring," I replied, " and have watch- 



ed more closely than usual, and am more and 

 more satisfied that just as great differences 

 exist among bees as horses. Take the matter 

 of size, for instance. I notice a very percep- 

 tible difference. I was so much interested 

 that I brought some home from an out-apiary, 

 and, after keeping them some time, placed 

 the bees from the two hives between two thin 

 glasses, and took them to a photographer to 

 be photographed so that accurate measure- 

 ments could be taken ; but the artist said they 

 were the worst things he ever tried to photo — 

 worse than babies — would not keep still, and 

 so spoiled the plate ; but the plate was clear 

 enough so by actual measurement we found a 

 decided difference." 



" I wonder," said Deacon Strong, " if these 

 differences in different hives of bees will not 

 account for some of the differences of opinions 

 among bee-keepers." 



" I have little doubt of it," I replied. "You 

 remember the difference of opinion between 

 the Roots and Doolittle as to the distance bees 

 will fly for honey, and gather and store suc- 

 cessfully* Doolittle seems to think they will 

 fly from three to six miles from choice, while 

 the Roots think that unless the flowers are 

 within two or three miles bees will not make 

 much headway in storing surplus. Now, I 

 have often wondered if this difference was not 

 owing to Doolittle's having stronger bees, or 

 those capable of more rapid flight, although 

 the lay of the country may make some differ- 

 ence. " 



" I have wished I knew," said the deacon, 

 " what makes the difference in two colonies 

 side by side. So far as one can see, both are 

 equally populous, both have the same amount 

 of brood and honey, and queens of the same 

 age, and equally prolific by the middle of 

 May, and yet in a few weeks one has far out- 

 stripped the other ; and I don't see but we 

 shall have to lay it to these natural constitu- 

 tional differences, greater strength, or con- 

 stitutional swiftness of flight, larger honey- 

 sacs, length of tongue, etc., or all of these 

 combined." 



"It is interesting to notice how all the 

 queen-breeders are of late recommending their 

 queens for business rather than for color I 

 believe the tide is setting in in the right di- 

 rection," I replied. 



"Great granthers ! talking bees still! I'd 

 supposed you would have talked the subject 

 dry long ago," said neighbor Simpson, who 

 had come to borrow a quarter of a pound of 

 Paris green to finish spraying his potato-patch. 



"Good morning, Mr. Fasset. I wonder if 

 the deacon and I can not get together for a lit- 

 tle bee-chat but you know instinctively what 

 we are talking about, and come over to hear 

 or help carry on the conversation. At this 

 rate I shall not get away with this load of sec- 

 tions before noon." 



" No, that isn't it," said Tim. " But I come 

 to ask a little advice. I want to raise some 

 choice queens this year; in fact, I want to raise 

 enough queens to replace all my old stock." 



I noticed he seemed a little excited. 



" Dog it all ! Consarn it ! I have got into 



