724 



produce a square foot of drone brood, it 

 may be considered that it requires the same 

 amount, bulk for bulk, as does worker 

 brood ; and that being 25 per cent larger in 

 bulk they will require 25 per cent more 

 stores. But this is not all, for worker larvas 

 feed for but six days, whereas drone brood 

 feeds for 6V2 days, or SVs per cent longer. 

 If a square foot of drone larvae consumes 

 25 per cent more stores for 81/3 per cent 

 longer time it consumes 35 5/12 per cent 

 more stores. 



The time required from the attendant 

 bees to produce this square foot of drone 

 brood probably corresponds exactly with 

 the amount of stores consumed, which is 

 35 5/12 per cent more than is required to 

 produce a square foot of worker brood. 



To sum it up, it requires 42 6/7 per cent 

 more space, 35 5/12 per cent more stores, 

 and 35 5/12 per cent more time of attendant 

 bees to produce a square foot of drone 

 brood than it costs to produce the same 

 amount of worker brood. 



We believe that all drones other than 

 those produced for necessary breeding pur- 

 poses are entirely worthless. Our square 

 foot of drone brood has yielded us 2304 

 worthless drones. This same amount of 

 space and time and stores giv)en to the 

 production of worker brood would have 

 produced 3120 workers, even if the space 

 occupied were only 35 5/12 per cent more. 



It may be argued that the presence of 

 drones gives the colony a better working 

 spirit; but we cannot believe that this is 

 true until competent observers give it their 

 support. 



It is sometimes argued that drones are 

 helpful in producing heat; but this argu- 

 ment will never carry any weight unless it 

 can be shown that, when denied drone coml 

 and provided with worker comb insteaa 

 they will refuse to produce an equal bulk of 

 workers. 



It is also sometimes argued that man 

 cannot improve on nature, and that bees 

 should be allowed to follow their inclina- 

 tions in tlie matter of drone production, for 

 they surely know what is good for them 

 better than we do. This argument is inex- 

 cusable. It is strange indeed that a man 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



will constantly improve his stock and crops 

 by selection and breeding, liis fruit by bud- 

 ding, gi-afting, and pruning, and dispose of 

 his suri:»lus rams and cockerels, and then 

 argue that it is best not to restrict the 

 number of drones because " Nature herself 

 provided them in large numbers,- and nature 

 surely knows best." If it is established that 

 it is well to restrict the number of drones, 

 then it only remains to determine the best 

 method of accomplishing this. 



We said they may be trapped, destroyed 

 in the cells, or eliminated by suj^plying only 

 worker comb. Restricting drones by trap- 

 ping is a makeshift, and is unwise. Trap- 

 ping saves nothing in the cost of produc- 

 tion. It saves only the cost of maintenance. 

 Indeed, it does not save even so much as 

 that, for traps hinder greatly, especially if 

 the colony be populous and the day hot. 



Restricting by destroying the brood is 

 probably worse ; for after brood is sealed it 

 requires no stores and little attention. But 

 should it be destroyed the bees will prompt- 

 ly fill the cells with other thousands of 

 hungry mouths, and consume another requi- 

 sition of valuable stores. 



Drone brood is capped in 9V2 days from 

 the time the egg is laid. It emerges from 

 the cells in 24 days. Now, ju=:t for argu- 

 ment's sake, let us say the api'irist who 

 practices restricting by uncapping uncaps 

 his drone brood every ten days. Then, al- 

 lowing two days for the reeleaning of the 

 cells, h^ has put the bees to the expense of 

 feedin?;' twice as much stores, for they 

 would have to carry two generations of 

 brood entirely thru the food-consuming pe- 

 riod, and in addition it would require the 

 services of many more nurse bees than if 

 one generation were allowed to occupy the 

 ells the full 24 days. 



We grant a very small portion of drone 

 comb or cells here and there, for bees seem 

 so determined to have a little that it is pos- 

 sible it is best to humor them to tins extent. 

 Rut beyond tliis we claim that the only 

 method of restriction worthy of practice is 

 the practice of removing from the brood- 

 nest all drone comb, and rei^lacing it with 

 worker comb or foundation. 



Des Moines, Iowa. 



THE BITTER HONEY FROM BITTERWEED 



BY J. L. LEATH 



My apiary is located in the suburbs of 

 tlie city on a hill gradually sloinng east and 

 southeast. The early sun warms the hives, 

 and the bees begin to stir early, and 1 

 believe they build up better in the spring. 



People pass my apiary every day; but it is 

 seldom that a bee tries to sting. Stock come 

 around, and wagons are driven near them, 

 but they seem not to care. 



After trying in my yard several breeds 



