72 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPEK. 



Ayri 



described. Some cbemiciil changes 

 undoubtedly take pkice or at least 

 begin during that time. 



Final Ripening. 

 If all tbe above is true, the eva- 

 poration of the surplus water and tbe 

 mixing of tbe different elements 

 should be complete in leSvS tban two 

 days, (unless it be in very heavy 

 yields). But we know that tbe honey 

 is not ripe yet. Some chemical reac- 

 tions have yet to take place slowly be- 

 fore tbe honey is really ripe or fully 

 Tipe. The mo<!t important one is the 

 Tull transformation of tbe cane sugar 

 in dextrose and levulose. Others 

 aft'ect the ta-ste of tbe honey. Many 

 kinds of honey have at first some dis- 

 agreeable taste that gradually dis- 

 apears through tbe ripening process. 

 Artificial Ripening. 

 If two or three days is all that is 

 needed to put the houey in such shape 

 that tbe remainder oif tlie ripening pro- 

 cess can go on, so to spealv, of itself, 

 why not extract it then and let the 

 ripening go on outside of tbe hive? 



Well, I don't know. There may be 

 some other conditions to fulfill beside 

 those mentioned above, some perhaps 

 entirely unknoAvn. 



Artificial ripening has been at- 

 tempted already with more or less .suc- 

 cess, rather less than more, a-s far as 

 I know. I pre^sume that to be entirely 

 successful it would be necessary to 

 keep tbe honey at a uniform tempera- 

 ture the .same as exists in tbe hive. 

 A higher temperature would de-stroy 

 the essential oils which give the honey 

 its good tacste and peculiar flavor. And 

 it would take but a few degrees for 

 that. 



Knoxville, Tenn. 



^—*' 



THE LARVAL. QUEEN. 



The Influence of Conditions Upon Its Development. 



By Arthur C. Miller. 



IN THE American Bee-Keeper for 

 March, page 46 Mr. John M. Davis 

 ha.s an article in which he ex- 

 presses tbe opinion that I have con- 

 tradicted myself or changed front in 

 my opinion on queen rearing. He 

 lta-se>s this opinion on my article in tbe 

 January number of tbe same paper, 

 page three, where I wrote of the value 

 of tbe wariiith. humidity, and food con- 

 dition's of a normal colony in tbe pro- 



duction of queens. He believes tha 

 this conflicts with my expresse 

 opinions as to tbe high value of th 

 Alley -system of queen rearing becaus 

 nuclei are an essential part of that syf 

 tem. 



A brief description of tbe Alle 

 nuclei may correct tbe miscouceptio 

 of Mr. Davis and of others who bdl 

 similar views aljout Mr. Alley's worl 



Mr. Alley's nucleus-Jiives have 

 capacity of about 2.''»0 cubic inche 

 contain four combs about 5x5 inche 

 an entrance one inch by one quart* 

 inch and a feeder on tbe atmospber 

 principle, tbe opening of which is w( 

 within tbe hive. 



The combs are kept full of bona 

 pollen and brood and the hives pack* 

 with bees, ft Avill be seen very plai 

 ly that this is far away from a t^ 

 cupful of bees. Tbe conditions wi 

 nuclei of the Alley kind are tbe sar 

 as in a larger colony. 



To get tbe nuclei into the thrif 

 condition above mentioned requir 

 .skill, tbe main training of them in su 

 condition is one of the fine arts of h' 

 craft; and to do both these tbir 

 easily and cheaply is beyond the abl' 

 of many apiarists and it is for t 

 reason that -so many condemn Alle' 

 nucleus system. But tbe skill O) 

 acipiired the system becoiuics as pJ 

 tic as clay in the bands of tbe moc 

 ler and probably tbe cheapest of 

 sy«tems. 



Mr. Davis says he can see no ( 

 ference between queens reared by 

 Alley system from tbe egg and th 

 by tbe transferring of larvae. The < 

 ference exists, however, and the ( 

 will come when the transferring s 

 tem will be cast aside and bee-keep 

 will wonder how they ever came to 

 it. 



Reaunear was the first to try it 

 I mistake not, then Huber wrote o: 

 and at intervals for tbe next seve 

 or ieighty years it was written ab< 

 Finally it seemed to be a flne thinf 

 bang advertisements on and it 

 boomed accordingly. 



With Alley's plan tbe larvae eme 

 from tbe eggs as princesses and 

 ceive royal treatment from bi 

 while with the transferring pro( 

 tbey start as menials to later be ti 

 ed violently into queens "while 

 wait." 



It is vsaid all larvae have the ss 

 kind of food for the first three d 



