1904 



CI,EAXINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



287 



of these chromosomes are thrown out of the 

 eg-R-, and perish, leaving two in the mature 

 egg-, or just half the previous number. The 

 process of maturation is a very complicated 

 one, but it is not necessary to give more 

 than the final result. During the process 

 of maturation the spermatozoon, or male 

 cell, enters the e^^, and its nucleus also 

 contains broken-up chromosomes. As soon 

 as the maturation is completed, the male 

 nucleus and g^^., or female nucleus, move 

 toward each other, and the chromosomes 

 take definite shape, and then we see that 

 each nucleus has two chromosomes. These 

 then unite, and the &^^ goes on developing, 

 and from this time on /our chromosomes are 

 always seen. 



Now, it is held by many careful observ- 

 ers that these chromosomes are the carriers 

 of hereditary influences; and it is evident 

 that there is an equal amount in the egg 

 from each of the two parents. 



The fertilization of an &gg, then, consists 

 in the uniting of two aggregations of hered- 

 itary influences, and with this union comes 

 a stimulus to growth. When fertilization 

 is not to take place, as in the drone eggs of 

 the bee, the normal number of chromosomes 

 is retained in the egg, and none are neces- 

 sary from the spermatozoon; and, as a re- 

 sult, one parent furnishes all the hereditary 

 influences. 



Since, then, as much of the hereditary in- 

 fluence comes from the male as from the fe- 

 male, in the case of worker and queen 

 eggs, it is just as necessary to use judg- 

 ment in the choice of the males as is used 

 for the females. 



Pig. 4.— Egg of Abcarir just before union of the two nuclei; 

 chromof omes no longer broken up. 



If I have not made the description as 

 clear as it might be made, it may be that it 

 will not be evident to all the readers of this 

 just what takes place during fertilization; 

 but one thing I want to state as strongly as 

 possible, and that is, that the male influ- 

 ence is as great as the female; and to raise 

 good bees you must have good drones. I 

 state this emphatically, because I have 

 within a week or so of the writing of this 

 heard of at least one queen-breeder who is 

 not as careful in this matter as he should 

 be; and it is no doubt true that there are 

 others equally negligent. I can say this 

 and condemn the carelessness, because the 

 man himself does not know that I know the 



facts, and I will see to it that no one finds 

 out fr m me who he is; but if it should hap- 

 pen that the shoe fits any one reading this 

 paper it is hoped that it will be worn, and, 

 for the sake of the science of apiculture, 

 that more care will be exercised. 

 Philadelphia, Pa. 



To be Continued. 



FEEDING UNFINISHED SECTIONS OUTDOORS; 

 A CAUTION. 



I have a lot of unfinished sections on 

 hand, also some cases of dark unsalable 

 honey, and have started to feed, to have 

 young bees out early. Our bees here swarm 

 from the end of April until June; that is, 

 the first swarms. Do you think it a good 

 plan to feed thus? I put a cover on top, 

 and let the bees go in the length of one side 

 of the super from the bottom, just a bee- 

 space. R. Williams. 



Grass Valley, Cal. 



[You can feed honey this way, but you 

 need to be very cautious or you will have an 

 uproar among the bees on account of rob- 

 bing. I would advise putting such unfin- 

 ished sections in a hive and then contract 

 the entrance down so that only about one 

 or two bees can pass at a time. Where a 

 large number can rush upon a large amount 

 of sweet like this at a time it causes a 

 stampede and general robbing throughout 

 the yard, the trouble being very greatly ag- 

 gravated after the honey is all gone. You 

 can feed your extracted, but I would advise 

 diluting it down with water so that it is 

 little more than sweetened water. — Ed.] 



EGGS IN THE SUPERS OF SHALLOW HIVES. 



I notice that you are recommending the 

 Danzenbaker hive, which has frames still 

 shallower than the Dovetailed. Isn't the 

 queen more apt to lay eggs in the sections 

 when on shallow frames than if deeper ones 

 were used? I use the eight-frame Dovetail- 

 ed hive, and use some honey-boards, which 

 seem to hinder the bees more or less from 

 working in supers. Isn't there some way 

 to keep the queen from going into the sec- 

 tions without the use of honey-boards? 

 Some bee-keepers advise me to get deeper 

 brood-frames. Would a deeper frame than 

 the Hoffman prevent this trouble? 



Mt. Carroll, 111. H. C. Daggert. 



[The Danzenbaker hive has practically 

 the same cubic capacity as the regular 

 eight-frame Langstroth. While the frames 

 are a little shallower than the L., they are 

 not enough shallower to force eggs or brood 



