16 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUIIE. 



Jak. 



my first cause of suspicion of an absent queen was 

 the eggs appearing iu drone-cells. The same thing 

 was noted by Mr. Charles Carnegie, Marykirk, as oc- 

 curring in a queenless hive. Now, I find you say, 

 that, in the case of drones and queens raised from 

 the same eggs, the drone would not be of sufficient 

 age for mating queen. This I can not quite under- 

 stand; since drones will hatch eight days after the 

 queen, then there would be thirteen days for the 

 drones to be on the wing before the 31 days which 

 are given to queens for mating. I find you will have 

 to send me an A B C book, for 1 can not suppose 

 that they would require more than a week to take 

 an airing. K. Edward. 



Montrose, Scotland, Dec, 1883. 



Friend E., a drone egg can not produce a 

 queen, nor any thing like it. This has been 

 for years well established. In some few 

 cases a drone has hatched out from such a 

 queen-cell, but he was just like any other 

 drone. A drone egg can not produce a 

 queen or a worker ; but the point you made, 

 that a worker egg may, by some means 

 known to the worker bees, be made to pro- 

 duce a drone, may be true. I do not think 

 that either the microscopes or the micros- 

 copists of the present age are equal to the 

 task of helping us much in the matter. — I 

 have seen the workers thus examine a queen 

 just given them, and I have also seen queens 

 extrude eggs which were greedily taken by 

 the bees ; but I never knew what they did 

 with them.— As you state it, I confess it 

 seems possible that drones may be old 

 enough to fertilize a queen when the eggs 

 for both were laid on the same day. A 

 queen may be fertilized when 21 or more 

 days old, but they are usually laying at 10 or 

 IZ days. 



RAISING QUEENS, WITH A l^AYINCi 

 QUEEN IN THE HIVE. 



fiOW FAR ARE WE ABLE TO DO IT? 



ESEE that Mr. Alley is about to give, in a book, 

 his method of raising queens in full colonies 

 with laying queens. I am glad of it. I expect 

 to learn some profitable lesson from him. But be- 

 fore his book appears I desire to give, through 

 Gleanings, what little I have learned on that sub- 

 ject. 



While extracting honey I first noticed, that, when 

 combs containing incipient queen-cells, with eggs or 

 larvae, were giveh to other colonies, that these cells 

 were not destroyed, but completed. From this I 

 took a hint last summer, and in a few instances gave 

 cells just started, to some strong colony, putting 

 the comb containing the cells into the upper stories, 

 or some part of the hive not frequented by the 

 queen. In this way I succeeded in getting young 

 queens raised in hives containing laying queens. 

 (The colonies I selected to raise these queens were 

 the strongest I had. 



My experience is limited to a few trials, but it is 

 enough to assure me that the method is practicable. 

 1 think It would be an advantage to shut the queen 

 ofif from the part of the hive in which these cells 

 are placed. I removed the cells a few days before 

 the young queen emerged. If left to hatch in the 

 hive, it might be necessary to protect the cells by 

 cages placed over them. If the lower part of the 

 hive is used, the queen could be shut out of the side 



the cells are in, by a division-board. If the upper 

 story is used, a perforated zinc could be used to 

 keep the queen from ascending. In the few experi- 

 ments I made, I did not shut the quean off. 



These incipient cells could be arranged in rows on 

 the edge of a comb . If Mr. Alley has some method 

 of getting these cells started as well as completed in 

 these full colonies with laying queens, then he has 

 achieved what I have never tried to do. 



Milroy, Pa., Dec. 18, 1883. J. W. White. 



On p. 12 we have an article on the same 

 matter ; and below we have something that 

 pretty well supplements what you have giv- 

 en us, friend W. 



HOW TO GET QUEEN-CELLS WHERE YOU WANT THEM. 



The best way to graft for queen-rearing is to shave 

 the comb down as close as possible, without cutting 

 the eggs. Cut off the bottom of the queen-cup, and 

 set it over an egg; press slightly into the comb; 

 then, if properly done, you have an egg in the cup 

 just in its natural position. If you make the cups 

 by molding, make them cone-shaped, then cut off 

 the apex. You can stick on as many as you wish 

 queen-cells. F. Della Tobrb. 



Baltimore, Md., Dec. 19, 1883. 



Friend 1)., may I ask if you have practic- 

 ed this enough to fell sure it is practicable V 

 Perhaps some of the fi lends have forgotten 

 that this is an old subject. The following 

 is an extract from Gleanings, 1878, p. 323 : 



Well, now, you see we will just take a comb-guide 

 and fasten little knobs of wood along the edge like 

 thi8(Fig. l):— 

 A..J^..|Si■.|^"|Sl^.J 



Fig. 3. Fig. 1. 



ARTIFICIAL QUEEN-CELLS. 



The pointed pieces of wood may have a pin point 

 in their lower ends, that will hold them to the comb- 

 guide until the whole machine is immersed in melted 

 WHX up to the line A B; take it out, remove the 

 sticks, and you have a string of queen-cells like Fig. 

 3. Take these to your best imported stock and put 

 small larvte into each cell; hang it in a queenless 

 and brooflless hive, and I will warrant a string of 

 nice queen-cells, nicely capped over in due time. If 

 we have a powerful colony, several such sticks may 

 be used; tor a full stock can supply as many as fifty 

 cells with food all at once, and in the height of the 

 season it may be even more. Nice queen-cells to or« 

 der, strung on a stick, for 10 cts. per dozen, sent by 

 mail, postpaid 1 



FRIEND HEDDON AND HIS APIARY. 



WHAT THEY THINK OP HIM AT HOMtt. 



^y^E extract the following from an arti- 

 m cle in the Beimhlkan, Dowagiac, 

 -' Michigan : — 



One of the most important business Interests in 

 this city is He'ddon's apiary and bee-keepers' sup- 

 ply manufactory. The proprietor of this institu- 

 tion, Mr. Heddoii, began bee-keeping as a special 'y 

 in 1869. and was the first speclalistin Michigan, there 

 being but few in this country at that time. His cap- 

 ital stock did not exceed l|500, but the business has 

 increased steadily since, giving him a nice profit, 

 which Mr. Heddon has for the most part kept in the 

 business. He has owned at one time as many as 

 three apiaries and 550 colonies of bees, having now 

 400 colonies in his apiary in this city. He has always 

 produced both comb and extracted honey, formerly 

 giving preference to the latter, but of late years 

 producing mostly comb. The wholesale prices have 

 ranged from 13^ to 35 cents for comb, and 10 to 18 

 cents for extracted. His honey has always been 

 put up in better style than any other producer iu 

 the U. S. The following is from the largest honey 

 dealer in the West:— 



