388 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 1 



In extracting, if I find a colony with 

 more drone comb than is desirable after ex- 

 tracting- (I work principally for extracted), 

 I place the frames with much drone comb 

 in them to the outside of the brood-nest; 

 and if it is a case of too much drone brood, 

 any that I find in proprer condition for 

 dropping out of the cells, I simply take a 

 sharp uncapping-knife, shave off their heads 

 with the cappings, turn the comb on its side, 

 hit the frame a light tap with the back 

 of my knife, and if it has been well shaved 

 j'ou will find but few drones left. At 

 the end of the season, or when the oppor- 

 tunity occurs, exchange these combs for 

 some with more worker comb; then with the 

 uncapping-knife cut out the drone comb and 

 trim up the remaining, which will be work- 

 er comb, by cutting it wedge-shaped, and 

 try again. Another season you will have 

 your wax for profit. But such combs can 

 be used for extracting, and will be filled 

 with honey just as readily as those with 

 worker comb. I use these regularly in the 

 upper story for extracting. 



With these conditions you can not use 

 wired frames, or, in other words, starters 

 and wired frames won't work together; but 

 the other way wired frames must have full 

 sheets, and then the bee-keeper takes the 

 consequence; but wire is so light it would 

 offer very little objection in the cutting. 



Mr. Morrison's article has, of course, ref- 

 erence to tropical conditions and the pro- 

 duction of comb honey, which I suppose 

 would make some difference; but I am of 

 the opinion that, even for comb honey, the 

 drone pest could be kept in check by the 

 system I speak of. 



Elora, Ont., Can. 



[It is a fearful waste to let bees build 

 drone brood. It would be cheaper for you 

 to put such combs in the solar wax-extractor, 

 and substitute worker combs. 



The sagging or stretching of foundation, 

 or one sheet leaning against another, can 

 be largely, if not entirely, overcome by wir- 

 ing. Even with starters I would use wire. 

 I have seen bee-keepers during extracting 

 waste a great deal of valuable time in fuss- 

 ing with combs insecurely fastened in the 

 frames, all for want of wire. If one's time 

 is worth any thing, he can not afford to 

 throw awaj' good time during the rush of 

 the season in handling these fragile combs 

 like eggs. A very little time spent in wir- 

 ing the frames in the off-season of the j^ear, 

 when one can do not much else, will save a 

 great deal of time in the extracting season. 



Now, to sum up this whole discussion, I 

 am of the opinion, after reviewing all the 

 evidence, that, in the majority of the local- 

 ities in the United States, at least, one can 

 manage to have all worker-combs built from 

 starters, and thus save considerable expense 

 in the way of foundation. Some do man- 

 age it, and whj^ not others? If his locality 

 will permit of it, let him cut down his 

 foundation-bill, say one-fourth. While we 

 are makers of foundation, in a large way, 



we desire to have truth come out, even if it 

 should cut down our trade. — Ed.] 



THE FERTILIZATION OF QUEENS N CONFINE- 

 MENT. 



More about Fertilizati in a Glass Carboy, referred 



to on Page 94 of o. Journal for Feb. 1st; 



Fertilization of a Queen in a Small 



Wire.cloth Cage. 



BY R. F. HOLTERMANN. 



Since writing my last article on the above 

 subject I have been in the province of Que- 

 bec for the government institute meetings. 

 Other matters have kept me very busy, 

 hence the delay in following up the subject 

 as suggested by you. I wrote Mr. Row- 

 some privately for further information. The 

 following bears upon the subject in hand, 

 and is a reply to my letter for further par- 

 ticulars. The letter is dated Feb. 9. 



" In reply to your favor of Feb. 7 I may 

 say that I did not experiment with the fer- 

 tilization of queens during the past season, 

 as I was busy during the swarming season. 

 This method of fertilization did not origi- 

 nate with me. I heard of it from a Mr. 

 Inksetter, a farmer near Ancaster, who is 

 sawing up a bush three miles north of here. 

 He was ill all one summer, and amused 

 himself with queens and drones in this 

 way, with, so he says, complete success. I 

 do not clip queens; but as I saw coition 

 take place in the carboy, and laying fol- 

 low, I came to the conclusion that the fer- 

 tilization occurred in the carboy." 



Now for a startling experience which I 

 heard from a bee-keeper, Mr. A. B. Com- 

 stock, Sherwood, N. Y. Last summer he 

 was inspecting a particularly' fine colony, 

 and found a number of queen-cells just 

 hatching. He removed the hatching queen- 

 cells, intending to dispose of them as soon 

 as he was through with the colony in hand. 

 This took considerable time; and when he 

 returned to the bunch of cells there was 

 just one hatching-cell left. He took the 

 queen out of this, caged her under an old- 

 fashioned wire-cloth cage, the ends fraj'ed 

 and bent down into the comb; it was about 

 4 inches square. Under the cage was some 

 hatching brood, drone and worker; he also 

 caged two or three drones with the queen 

 Owing to the rush of the season it was some 

 16 days before he remembered the queen 

 Upon inspecting the cage he found the queen 

 alive, and having laid in the worker-cells. 

 One drone was dead in the cage. He cut a 

 hole from tlie other side of the comb into the 

 cage, out of which the queens and bees 

 passed into the hive. The queen proved l. 

 be an excellent one; but to his surpris- 

 the eggs deposited by the queen under 11. e 

 cage produced worker-bees. 



I can not help connecting the demijohn 

 experiment and this. Our friend Corn- 

 stock's method, if successful, would be very 

 simple, as comparatively little time or ex- 



