THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



320 



AVhat absunlity is there in the svip- 

 position that different conditions, 

 different snrronndings.dilTerent treat- 

 nitiit, and (hITerent inffuences prodnce 

 the diff'eience of sex'? No donbt 

 tliere is a natural and adequate cause 

 for this effect ; hut we possess very 

 little, if any, delinite knowledge as to 

 what tlie iiiunediate cause is. 



So far as we know, in all animated 

 nature, except liees and a few other 

 insects, everv indivi<lnal, male or fe- 

 male, reiiuiVes both a father and 

 a motlicr in order to gain an individual 

 existence. 



.Vfter understanding this great 

 general law, is it not more incredible, 

 more irrational, seemingly more absurd 

 that these insects are anexception to 

 the law V Do not both male and fe- 

 juale cliicks hatch from the same kind 

 of eggs ? 



Aye, is not this also true of the 

 ova "of all known animals V To me, it 

 does not seem rational that the bee 

 should he an exception to this great 

 law, that reqiures both male and fe- 

 male to rei>roduce their kind. 



But, says one, "if this be so, then 

 what lie'comes of parthenogenesis 

 wliich the great bee-scholars of Ger- 

 many have so ably defended ; can we 

 ignore what these great men have ver- 

 ified V And farther, " do we not see 

 that eggs laid by unmated queens 

 always produce drones V" So too, I 

 would answer, a few hundred years 

 ago everybody could see that the earth 

 was (lat,"and that it was the center of 

 the universe ; the sun, moon and stars 

 all revolving around it every day ; and 

 the learned astronomers had verified 

 these facts. Now, I am unable to ac- 

 count for the at-present-seeming-fact 

 that virgin queens lay eggs that pro- 

 duce drones ; but it does'not therefore 

 follow that it cannot be done. 



When Copernicus published his the- 

 ory of the solar system, and was sum- 

 moned hetVire the authorities, 

 he was told that if his theory was true, 

 the planet Venus ought to show phases 

 like the moon. lie thought and an- 

 swered, '-yes, it ought; I had not 

 thought of that before. I cannot ex- 

 plain it, but I believe it will be 

 explained." 



A little later, when Galileo con- 

 structed his telescope and looked 

 through it at Venus, there she was a 

 half moon. So too, I have faith enough 

 in law and science to believe that it will 

 yet be demonstrated that all reproduc- 

 tion of kind comes under one law, and 

 that parthenogenesis is a myth like 

 the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, a 

 chimera like the fabled Centaur — a 

 monster of imagination. 



Let us hear from others. I like the 

 way Mr. lleddon treats most ques- 

 tions ; he is a great skeptic ; he doubts 

 or has doubted nearly all that has ever 

 been said or written of bees. He 

 doubts and then goes for investigation 

 to either verify or prove the falsity of 

 the hypothesis, which have been as- 

 sumed. Doubt is the harbinger of 

 knowledge ; and then he owns up so 

 candidly when he hnds he learns his 

 mistakes.and never calls his opponents 

 fools or knaves, because they disagree 

 with him. 

 Lake City, Minn. 



For the American ISeo Juumai. 



Surplus Receptacles. 



JOHN LONGMATE. 



I have been very much interested in 

 the articles on the sul)ject of surplus 

 receptacles, and have made some 

 experiments, with a view of ascer- 

 taining the best metliod of producing 

 surplus comb honey. 



I have tried side-storing in boxes 

 and in frames, the same as the brood 

 flames, and in sections with and with- 

 out brood frames; also top-storing in 

 the various modes, endeavoring to fnul 

 the best and most (iractical method of 

 storing honey, in the best marketable 

 condition. 



I consider it settled beyond contro- 

 versy, that the liest form in which to 

 have it, either for home market or for 

 shipment, is in sections not to exceed 

 2 lbs. in weight, and these should be 

 well tilled and smoothly capped, in 

 such a manner that when packed, the 

 honey does not touch the sides of the 

 case, nor any portion of any other 

 section, so as to chafe the cappings 

 and cause leakage. 



After long experimenting, I hit on 

 the plan of l)road frames of the same 

 form and size as the brood frames. 

 These I could use in the side next to 

 the brood combs, and by placing a hive 

 just like the lower one on top of it, 

 use them as an upper story; placing 

 them all on at once, or by the use of 

 division-boards and cushions on the 

 brood frames, commence with a few 

 and increase as needed. 



"When I had this plan perfected in 

 my mind, and adapted to the size of 

 the hive I said, "I have it"'; and 

 thonglit, "nowthat is perfect. That is 

 splendid. I shall have no more trouble 

 with bulged combs, or waxed sections, 

 for the outside of the sections will all 

 be protected by the brood frames, and 

 the thin wood separator tacked to the 

 side of the frame will compel the bees 

 to build all the combs straight, and 

 not bulge them beyond the edges of 

 the sections." 



So in the winter I made a lot of 

 broad frames, and tacked on the 

 wooden separators and had them ready 

 for the honey How. When the time 

 came I put them into the hives, and 

 with eager expectation watched the 

 result. It soon became time to take 

 them out, and great was my disap- 

 pointment. While some of them were 

 as nice as I could wish for, many of 

 the combs were built crosswise and 

 attached to the division-boards, or to 

 the separators on each side, and could 

 not be removed without first cutting 

 loose from the separators of the ad- 

 joining frame. 



And then came the difficulty of get- 

 ting the bees from between the combs 

 and separators, and of removing the 

 sections from the frames, for the bees 

 glued them to each other and to the 

 frames. 



The edges of the sections were as 

 much daubed and discolored as those 

 where the bees were allowed to run 

 over the whole outside. It is the edge 

 of the section which we wish to keep 

 clean and white, for they are the parts 

 exposed to view, when packed in cases. 



If I were satisfied that there is no 

 better way, I could endure these vex- 

 ations, thinking they were a part of 

 the busitiess, and must be endured; 

 for by " the sweat of the brow '" and 

 the sting of bees we shall eat honey. 



I find I have not the number of the 

 Ijee Jouun.m, containing Mr. Hed- 

 don's description of his honey-board; 

 but I can see very little beneht derived 

 from the use of a honey-board. I 

 think the best way to place sections 

 on a hive, is to take two strips of wood 

 IJ^ inches wide, and 14; inch thick, 

 and as long as the inside of the hive, 

 or enough to take in as many sections 

 as you wish to set side by side; take 2 

 strips of the same width, ^s inch thick 

 and ig inch longer than the sections, 

 nail the long strips to the ends of the 

 short ones, and you have a case in 

 which to set the sections. Place this 

 crosswise on the brood frames on the 

 back side of the hive. On the inside 

 of this, along each side, place a strip 

 •VIG of an incti thick, J2 inch wide, 

 and as long as the case. Now place 

 the sections in this case, resting them 

 on the strips, close the ends with wood 

 separators and key them tight with 

 pieces the same as the top ot the sec- 

 tion. Two of these cases of sections 

 cover the brood frames, and when 

 more are needed, lift them up and 

 place empty ones under. 



This is, in my mind, the simplest, 

 cheapest, and most readily manipulat- 

 ed case I have ever seen or heard of. 

 Any one section, or the whole case, 

 can be removed and returned with 

 perfect ease. 



The top and bottoms of the sections 

 are J| or % inch narrower than the 

 sides, leaving room for the ingress of 

 the bees, and a good opportunity to 

 see the condition of the combs, by 

 simply laying back the cloth a little. 

 The 5-16 inch strip between the sec- 

 tions and frames, admits of the pas- 

 sage of the bees between them, and 

 where they are properly put on, the 

 bees do not wax them as much as in 

 broad frames. 



Three-eighths of an inch is too 

 much space. The bees will sometimes 

 bridge up between, and }4 i'lch is not 

 quite enough. They sometimes wax 

 them fast. 



In putting the sections on I find it 

 best to place the case on first, then 

 the narrow strips, and then the sec- 

 tions one at a time. In this way I kill 

 no bees and when one gets a little used 

 to it, they can be put on very quickly. 



I have been using sections IJg inches 

 wide, witt) separators, and thought 

 separators indispensable ; but since 

 reading Dr. Tinker's article on page 

 ■5i5, and considering the idea of sec- 

 tions occupying the same space as the 

 brood combs, and continuous passage- 

 ways up into the sections, I have 

 concluded to try it this summer, and 

 have made sections with sides 1% inch 

 wide, and top and bottom 1}^ inch. 

 These I can use on my present rack, 

 and if I can obtain all, or nearly all 

 straight and smooth combs without 

 separators, I shall consider that a very 

 great advance has been made In scien- 

 tific apiculture. 



There is one point upon which I 

 wish our practical bee-men would 



