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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



as to the operations of laying workers. 

 Some seem to tiiink that a single bee 

 does the work, while others think their 

 name is legion. Some say a worker is 

 never known to lay while a queen, or 

 the means of rearing a queen, can be 

 found present. Others think that eggs 

 from a laying-worker will not be found 

 in a hive so long as worker-brood in any 

 stage is present. On the other hand, 

 others assert the presence of laying 

 workers at the same time with a virgin 

 j[ueen. 



Possibly you are not out of the way in 

 thinking that the hot climate has some- 

 thing to do with it. Certain it is that in 

 the North the majority of bee-keepers 

 have very little care for anything of the 

 kind. 



Whatever may be the truth as to the 

 points mentioned, the great thing is to 

 know what will prevent and what will 

 cure. As to prevention, that lies in the 

 line of prevention of queenlessness. Vig- 

 orous young queens are desirable. If 

 by any means a queen is lost, and the 

 bees fail to rear a successor from her 

 progeny, don't fail to keep them sup- 

 plied with eggs or larvfe not more than 

 three days old. Although they may de- 

 stroy the queen-cells that you furnish 

 them, they seem intent on rearing 

 young queens from the eggs they have, 

 albeit nothing but drones can result, 

 and you will probably find that they will 

 prefer worker-eggs, if present. 



Some claim to cure the most aggra- 

 vated cases of laying workers by drop- 

 ing in the hive, directly in the brood- 

 nest, a virgin queen that has just 

 hatched. If this is successful in all 

 cases, it is a plan easy of execution, and 

 hatching queens may be found at almost 

 any time during the working season. 



Various other means of cure have 

 been given, but in many cases it is easier 

 to break up the colony and start a new 

 one than to fuss with the faulty one. 

 Here is a plan partly in this line : While 

 bees are storing, there is little trouble 

 in adding bees from one hive to another, 

 especially if the latter is weak. So, 

 start a nucleus with a laying queen, 

 preferably close beside or standing over 

 the colony with the laying worker, give 

 to the nucleus a single comb with ad- 

 hering bees from the faulty colony, then 

 after a day or two add one or perhaps 

 two more, then after anothei; day or 

 two the balance may be added. Your 

 nucleus has thus become a full colony, 

 and your laying workers have disap- 

 peared. 



Please let us know what means you 



find most successful in your far-off 

 home, especially as you seem to have 

 such an abundant field for experiment in 

 that line. 



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»Jo. 53. -EMERSOX T.ABBOTT. 



The subject of our sketch and picture 

 this week was elected President of the 

 North American Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion at its recent meeting in Chicago. 

 Of course all will want to know just 

 " what manner of man he is," and so we 

 are pleased to introduce him thus 

 formally to our readers, though his 

 name is not at all unfamiliar. Mr. 

 Abbott has for some time been replying 

 to the questions in our department of 

 "Queries and Replies," and has fre- 

 quently contributed articles to the col- 

 umns of the Bee Journal. 



Without further introduction from us, 

 we will let one who has known Mr. 

 Abbott well for many years, tell some 

 of the things he knows about him : 



Emerson T. Abbott was born in 

 Brown county, Ohio, on March 19, 

 1847. At that time his father was a 

 farmer and stock dealer. His mother 

 died when he was six years old, and 

 from that time he knew nothing of a 

 mother's care and love, only as a sacred 

 memory. 



There was nothing peculiar about his 

 early life to attract attention, unless it 

 be that he cried most of the time when 

 he was not asleep, until he was about 

 two years old, so he has been told by his 

 grandmother. He presumes this was on 

 on account of poor health, as he is very 

 good-natured now. 



After his mother's death, his father 

 spent most of his time in travel away 

 from home, and for ten years he saw 

 but little of him, but he provided a home 



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