146 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Mab. 1 



important. In the one the big land-owners 

 are the actual rulers; in the other, the big 

 capitalists. 



THE LIFE HISTORY OP THE BEE. 



Since bees are insects, their life history is 

 the same as that of other members of that 

 great division of the animal kingdom. 

 First, tliere is the egg, from which emerges 

 the larva or grub, which, after a period of 

 voracious feeding, i)asses into the chrysalis 

 stage. In due time it develops into the per- 

 fect insect, making its entry into the bee 

 world in full size, and in almost complete 

 possession of its ultimate capabilities. The 

 worker bees take part in the routine work 

 of the hive in about twenty-four hours; but 

 the queen and drones need several days be- 

 fore they are sufficiently developed for their 

 special mission. 



The rate of development from egg to in- 

 sect is not the same for worker, queen, and 

 drone. In the case of the worker the neces- 

 sary period is twenty-one days; for the 

 drone, twenty-four days; but the queen 

 hastens through the change in from fifteen 

 to seventeen days. When but a few days 

 old she mates with a drone in the air during 

 what is known as the nuptial flight, after 

 which she never leaves the hive excepting 

 with a swarm, when she accompanies the 

 bees to their new home, where she resumes 

 her duty of egg-laying. One impregnation 

 from the drone is sufficient for her life, 

 which may continue for several years. 



The most remarkable feature in the life 

 history of the bee is the control the queen 

 apparently has over the sex of her i^rogeny. 

 As the egg passes to the exit she may or 

 may not permit a sperm to join it. The 

 eggs that are fertilized develop into females; 

 those not impregnated produce males, so 

 that drones have no male parent. The 

 progeny of a queen bee that has not been 

 mated will consist of drones only. 



The worker bees determine the develop- 

 ment of the fertilized eggs. After the larvae 

 hatch out, all are fed alike for three days, 

 then those intended for workers are given 

 less nourishing food, thus hindering the 

 growth of the sex organs. The larvae des- 

 tined to be mother bees are lavishly fed 

 throughout with highly nourishing food. 

 Some day human beings will come to know 

 as much as bees do now, and then they will 

 not expect fine children from underfed par- 

 ents. The family may be the crowning 

 glory of our civilization; but as a means of 

 producing well-nourished children it falls 

 far behind a bee-hive. 



It is at present held as a pious opinion, 

 but not proven, that the queen has direct 

 control over the sex of her progeny. We 

 have seen that the administration of the 

 hive is in the control of the workers, since 

 ownership is vested in them in common; 

 that their power includes determining the 

 sex qualifications of the females. Is it not 

 possible that the decision of sex is also with- 

 in their province? We have seen that gov- 

 ernment in society is fixed by a natural la>jv, 

 that it is apparently all-inclusive, therefore 



one may be pardoned for doubting that sex 

 distinction is beyond their control when the 

 degree of qualification of one sex is within 

 it. 



All eggs are laid in cells in the combs. 

 Worker-cells are the smallest, usually num- 

 bering twenty-five to the square inch: 

 drone-cells are considerably larger, averag- 

 ing sixteen to the square inch. Both kinds 

 are horizontal. Queen-cells are unique in 

 shape and position, being decidedly large, 

 and are hung perpendicularly on the combs. 

 Both worker and drone cells are also used as 

 storage combs for honey and pollen when 

 occasion demands. 



Victoria, B. C. 



A NATIONAL HONEY-ADVERTISING CAM- 

 PAIGN. 



A Proposed Plan for Increasing the Consumption 



and Uplifting the Prices of Honey; the 



Value of Systematic Advertising. 



BY F. B. CAVANAGH. 



Indiana bee-keepers have proven them- 

 selves up to date by appointing at their 

 State convention a committee to i^romote a 

 system for a national advertising campaign. 

 The committee has not reported as yet, but 

 will confer with the several associations for 

 advice, approval, and support. 



Advertising has become an essential factor 

 in our great nation's welfare — so much so 

 that it is impossible to achieve success in 

 the sale of any product without it in some 

 form or other. It is a safe and sane method 

 of telling the public what we have to sell; 

 where it is, and how good it is. The house- 

 to-house canvass is good education for the 

 few, but it will never reach the millions, 

 much less convince them of the merits of 

 honey, nor persuade them to order by mail 

 as would national advertising. The world 

 is alert to the possibilities of advertising, 

 and the door of success is open to the judi- 

 cious advertiser. It is the modern business 

 method. 



Notice, for instance, the different lumber 

 associations that are spending hundreds of 

 thousands of dollars in display advertising. 

 They are certainly securing results or they 

 would not continue in the enterprise. 



Honey is produced from one end of this 

 broad land to the other, both in quantity 

 and quality. It should be an article of uni- 

 versal diet; and the only thing lacking to 

 make it such is sufficient forceful display 

 advertising, properly followed up with a 

 uniform grade of choice honey. Bees and 

 honey ofTer rare opportunities to excite hu- 

 man interest. Notice the effect of the cag- 

 ed-bee demonstrator at the fair. Think of 

 the talking qualities of the delicate honey- 

 comb, delicious nectar gathered by the busy 

 worker from the fragrant flowers. "How 

 doth the busy little bee? "and so forth. 

 And then it is all strictly true; and how the 

 world loves an advertisement which rings 



