AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



461 



ginning to lay, than one that is not 

 moved at all. 



"Yes, but don't you lose more time 

 when you give cells, than if you had 

 virgins to put in? " 



No. You see my nuclei are only 

 queenless three days when I give the 

 cell, and the cell usually hatches the 

 next day after I put it in, so my nuclei 

 are queenless ouly about 5 days, and it 

 is best for them to be queenless awhile 

 when we introduce virgins. So the cell 

 will hatch out and its queen lay just 

 about as quick as my introduced virgin ; 

 and I like it better. It is less trouble, 

 and somehow I like the queen better, 

 too. 



"Well, I see, Mrs. Atchley, that this 

 queen-rearing business must have some 

 system about it to make a success of it." 



Yes, Charles, every fellow must know 

 his post of duty, like taking down a cir- 

 cus tent, if we wish to get a long fast. 

 So, now, Charles, we have gone over all 

 this " preamble," and only shown the 

 good working side of it all. Now, to 

 show you that it is not all sweet and no 

 bitter, I must tell you that all the cells 

 do not hatch, and we often lose queens 

 in mating, and for these reasons some of 

 our nuclei go without queens so long 

 that they take a laying worker, and a 

 great many other things go wrong. 



But I have learned to do just like the 

 bees do when the sun melts their combs 

 all down, and just go to work and repair 

 the loss as quickly as I can, and I am 

 here to tell you that queen-breeders have 

 their ups and downs just as much, or a 

 little more, than honey-producers do. 

 Now I hope I have made this all plain. 



Southern Bee-Keepers, don't forget 

 about the bee-meeting at the Dallas, 

 Tex., Fair, on Oct. 27th. A grand time 

 is expected. 



Turning Out Brood — Retaining Drones 



Here are some questions asked by 

 Mr. C. V. Mann, of Riverton, 111.: 



1st. What is the cause of bees throw- 

 ing out brood at this time of year? 



2nd. Is the brood chilled or starved ? 

 If not, what ails it? 



3rd. Why do bees retain their drones 

 longer in some seasons than in others? 



My bees are doing well on buckwheat, 

 Spanish needle, heart's-ease and burr- 

 vine. — C. V. Mann. 



1st. There are several reasons for 

 bees throwing out brood at this or other 

 times of the year. One prominent cause 

 is a sudden fall in temperature. So far 

 we must give the bees credit for their in- 

 stinct, that runs very close after reason. 

 They seem to think that winter has 

 come, and they feel they will not get 

 honey enough to support their brood, 

 and pull down and drag out is the order. 



Another cause, here in the South, is 

 the center or foundation moth, that 

 makes a little webb at the base of the 

 cells, and injures the brood, and the bees 

 tear them out. I have noticed bees in 

 little groups, all working hard to free 

 themselves, but, on account of being fast 

 by the moth-webb they could not get 

 loose. But I think in your case it was 

 the fall in the temperature. 



2nd. I do not think that the brood is 

 starved, only the bees seem to think, as 

 other folks do sometimes, that they have 

 "bitten off more than they can chew," 

 and go to work and tear down. 



3rd. The reason your bees retain their 

 drones longer this season, is on account 

 of their prosperity, as you say they are 

 getting plenty honey yet. Bees seldom 

 kill their drones at all in this locality, so 

 long as they gather honey, so I suppose 

 this will hold good in your State, too ; 

 while at other times the flow of honey 

 is cut off by some means, and drones are 

 killed early. A cool night will cause 

 bees to throw out brood, even if they are 

 gathering honey, and still they will not 

 molest the old drones. 



At the Dallas Fair, in Texas, on Oct. 

 27th, a great bee-meeting will be held 

 for Southern bee-keepers. Don't fail to 

 be there. 



Doolittle's Queen-Rearing: 



book should be in the library of every 

 bee-keeper ; and in the way we offer it 

 on page 479, there is no reason now why 

 every one may not possess a copy of it. 

 Send us one new subscriber for a year, 

 and we will mail the book to you as a 

 present 



The Amateur Bee-Keeper, by J. W. 



Rouse, is a book of 52 pages, intended, 

 as its name indicates, for beginners. 

 Price, 25 cents. For sale at this office. 



Read our great offer on page 453. 



