648 



THE AMERICAI^ BEE JOarj>lAL. 



As I have beeu sick and unable to 

 leave the house for a few weeks, I 

 cannot report about this year's crop. 

 Taking all things into account, bee- 

 keeping is as profitable as farming, 

 and to me much more pleasurable, 

 knowing from experience that one 

 can commence small and grow up 

 with the business, or let the business 

 grow up with him. 



Many of the suggestions of the Bee 

 JouKXAL are valuable, and must be 

 an encouragement and help to all. I 

 find myself following many of them. 



Orford.Q X. H., Oct. 1, 1886. 



For tte American Bee JouraaL 



The Illinois Central Couyeution. 



J. II. HAMBAtrOH. 



Owing to a very enthusiastic gath- 

 ering of the old war veterans and 

 members of the Grand Army of the 

 Republic, as well as citizens in gen- 

 eral at Quincy, Ills., Oct. 19, 20 and 

 21, 1886 at the laying of the corner 

 stone of the Soldiers' Home, the ex- 

 ecutive committee of the Illinois Cen- 

 tral Bee-Keepers' Society have con- 

 cluded to change the date" of its meet- 

 ing at Mt. Sterling, Ills., from Oct. 19 

 and 20, 1886, as heretofore published, 

 to Nov. 24 and 25, 18S6. We hope 

 that those interested in the cause, 

 • will take pains to make public the 

 change, and do all in their power to 

 make the meeting a success. 



Quite a luimber of prominent bee- 

 keepers have signified their intention 

 to be present, and each day brings 

 additional evidence that the meeting 

 will be one ot unusual interest. The 

 prograuime has been culled from a 

 list of the most practical and instruc- 

 tive topics, and the query-box will be 

 full, varied and interesting, and we 

 solicit those who cannot be present, 

 to send us by mail their queries which 

 will be respected and placed upon the 

 list. We append the following pro- 

 gramme : 



FIRST DAY— WEDNESDAY. 



Forenoon Session, 10 a.m.— Conven- 

 tion called to order. Address by 

 President \Vm. Camm. Calling the 

 roll of members. Payment of annual 

 dues. Call and reception of new 

 members. Reports of Secretary and 

 Treasurer. Essay. "Reversible frames 

 and reversible sectional brood -cham- 

 bers, and hives— are they a valuable 

 acquisition to bee-culture V" byC. P. 

 Dadant, Hamilton, Ills. 



Afternoon Session, I:RO p.m.— Presi- 

 dent's annual address. — Essay, 

 " Hives, frames and sections," by the 

 secretary. Jos. M. Hambaugh. " Shall 

 we use separators, if so what kind ?" 

 by J. G. Norton, lilacomb, Ills. 

 " Economv of siipplv and demand," 

 by John Bush, Miirrayville, Ills. 

 Queries. Adjournment. 



SECOND DAY— THUKSDAY. 



Morning Session. 9 a.m.— ( 'ommuni- 

 cations. Es.says: •Different races 

 of bees," by Pi-esident William Caium. 

 "Marketing lionev — liest methods, 

 how and when." by W. J. CiilliiKm. 



Mt. Sterling. Ills. -'Introducing 

 queens," by Thomas S. Wallace, Clay- 

 ton, Ills. Queries. 



Afternoon Session, 1:30 p.m.— Re- 

 ceiving members. Election of officers. 

 Miscellaneous business. Essay : "The 

 wintering problem,' by \V. T. F. 

 Petty, Pittstield, Ills. Gratuitous 

 queries. Explanation of articles on 

 exhibition ; criticisms, etc. 



SpringjK) Ills. 



For tlie American Bee JoarnaL 



Plain Sheets of fax anfl Drone-Cells. 



L. J. DE SOBOTKER. 



My experience with plain wax- 

 sheets is as follows : When comb 

 foundation came into use years ago, 

 I was running an apiary in one of the 

 West India Islands, and I sent for 

 some foundation, and received wired, 

 flat-bottom foundation, which was 

 very badly printed with cell figures 

 scarcely perceptible, but all worker 

 cells. I put it in uuwired frames, and 

 made the allowances all around the 

 side and bottom-bars, and gave it to 

 pretty strong colonifs, and the bees 

 worked it up into good worker-cell 

 combs ; but on several of them there 

 was a small space occupied with 

 drone cells, especially upon those 

 worked up in the hives that had 

 queens between 2 and 3 years old, and 

 in the hives that had queens from 1 

 to IJ^ years old the comb was all 

 worker cells ; this gave me the idea to 

 try a few plain sheets of wax. I did 

 so in both old and young queened 

 colonies, and found the same result 

 as from the badly printed sheets, with 

 this difference, that the bees worked 

 very reluctantly, in fact unwillingly, 

 upon them, taking as much time to 

 do it as they would have required in 

 natural comb, and.as far as I could 

 observe they had to add material to 

 them of their own make. I then tried 

 a few strips of it from 2 to 4 inches 

 wide, and they built worker cells on 

 them, but they became honey cells 

 after the balance of natural comb was 

 completed, as is generally the case, 

 no matter what sort of starters they 

 commence with. The same result 

 was obtained in the young and old 

 queened colonies ; the old having 

 more drone cells than the young. 



I think that ^Messrs. Dadant & Son's 

 experience and observations differ 

 somewhat from mine, as I Hml that 

 bees generally build their combs to 

 suit themselves, be it even on good 

 worker-cell foundation, beginning at 

 the middle of the top-bar. and pretty 

 much in the shape of a heart, storing 

 nectar and pollen just inider the top- 

 bar, even to the depth of 3 to 4 inches, 

 and under this the brood, and where- 

 ever they think requisite they build 

 in several drone cells by simply alter- 

 ing the worker cells into drone cells, 

 and this without the fault of " sag- 

 ging." •■ stretching." or the " manu- 

 facturers'alteringof the wax." Again, 

 others deposit drone eggs in worker 

 cells (generally young (pieens), and 

 then build up lilgh aiiove the surface 

 ot llie C'lujlj. prniuicing long, narrow- 



bodied drones, whose value I ques- 

 tion very much as stock for use in re- 

 production. This is the case right 

 herein this apiary ; the old queened 

 colonies have altered worker cells into 

 drone cells, and produced pretty stout 

 fellows, too; it looks as if it was three 

 worker cells used for two drone cells, 

 and then the young queened colonies 

 have long, narrow-bodied drones 

 hatched from worker cells. I have 

 used nothing this season but Vial- 

 Ion's and Dadanfs brood foundation, 

 the former slightly lighter than the 

 latter. I have put both kinds into 

 1,000 frames, upon 6 wires, and one 

 centre metallic stiffening bar in each; 

 Viallon's foundation in sheets that 

 fill up completely the Simplicity 

 Langstroth frames ; Dadant's founda- 

 tion with the usual allowance on the 

 side and bottom-bars for " stretch- 

 ing." They have not given the same 

 result, although worked into the same 

 hives side by side ; Viallon's founda- 

 tion gives a solid frame completely 

 filled with solid comb, but with some 

 drone cells among the worker cells, 

 although the sheets when put in were 

 all work cells ; Dadant's foundation 

 gives a frame of comb barely joined 

 to the sides, and >4 inch space from 

 the bottom-bar ; they were put in at 

 the same time, and had the identical 

 advantage of being worked up, as I 

 kept them just where the bees would 

 do their best with them, and that is 

 in the centre of the brood or surplus 

 chambers; these have also some 

 drone cells in them, and when put in 

 it was all worker-cell sheets. Xew. 

 according to Messrs, Dadant & Son, 

 these bees must be exactly like Mr. 

 Hays' bees, changing worker cells 

 into drone cells to suit their wants, 

 but not -'worker combs into drone 

 combs," as they observed, as all will 

 admit that foundation cannot be 

 called comb until it has been worked 

 up by the bees. 



They further state that "for 20 

 years we have had colonies which do 

 not rear 100 drones yearly !'' This is 

 all well and good, but will they please 

 examine carefully and see if it is not 

 worker cells that these bees have 

 changed into drone cells to produce 

 those drones, be their numbers what 

 they may, except they have been 

 using drone combs contrary to their 

 advice to others to use onlt/ worker 

 cell foundation or combs. I believe 

 that Mr. Hays' experience and results 

 are pretty mucli like my own, and our 

 observations as carefully taken and 

 now reported in this matter, as 

 bonafide as the next man's. Please 

 inform us if we should put all worker 

 cell foundation in the hives, which all 

 experienced bee-keepers generally do 

 now-a-days, esjiecially those who use 

 full sheets, and if the bees did not 

 naturally alter some of them into 

 drone cells to suit their wants, where 

 would we be 'y Where would the 

 drones come from 'r' Man has cer- 

 tainly done and is still doing a very 

 great deal towards improving apicul- 

 ture, and assisting the labor of the 

 bees; but nature and bee sense — not 

 instinct, something higher— he will 

 never succeed in changing, as drones 

 iheviiiust have for the continuance 



