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SOx^lG OF Xlie BEES. 



D. AIKEN. 



We watch for the light of the morning: break, 



And color of the grey eastern sky. 

 With its blended hues of saffron and lake, 

 Then say to each other, "Awake 1 Awake 1" 

 For our winter's honey is all to make, 

 And our bread for a long supply. 



Then off we hie to the hill and the dell, 

 To the field, the wild-wood and bower. 



In columbine's horn we lore to dwell. 



To dip in the lily with snow-white bell. 



To search the balm in its odorous cell. 

 The thyme and the rosemary flower. 



We seek for the bloom of the eglantine. 



The lime, painted thistle and brier. 

 And follow the course of the wandering vine. 

 Whether it trail on the earth supine. 

 Or 'round the aspiring tree-top twine. 

 And reach fur a stage still higher. 



As each for the good of the whole is bent, 



And stores up its treasure for all. 

 We hope for an evening of heart's content. 

 For the winter of life without lament. 

 That summer is gone, with its hours misspent. 

 And the harvest is past recall. 



—Bee-Keepers' magazine. 



DRONES. 



At what Age are Drone-Bee§ 

 Disposed to Mate ? 



WritUn for the American Bee Journal 

 BY KEV. L. L. LANGSTEOTH. 



Since writing my last article, on 

 pikge 55, I have had the pleasure of 

 seeing the first volume of Mr. Che- 

 shire's admirable contributions to the 

 physiologj" of the honey-bee. Without 

 defining the time when the drone is 

 disposed to mate, Cheshire demon- 

 strates microscopically that the drone 

 cannot be fit for this office until it is 

 several days old at least, and my ob- 

 servations seem to show that sexual 

 desire comes much later. 



Mahan, as stated in my work on 

 bees, seems to have first made the im- 

 portant observation that drones leav- 

 ing the hive to mate, have a large sup- 

 ply of honey, which on their return is 

 found to have been almost entirely 

 consumed. I did not ascertain how 

 many marital excursions the drones 

 would average on a single day, but as 

 they are often flying in favorable 

 weather about three hours, it seems 

 probable that a drone makes three 

 such trips at least. To do this, the 

 drone must consume twice as much 

 honey as a swarming worker whose 

 honey-sac carries from the hive almost 

 a week's supply. The importance of 

 preventing any over-production of 

 drones is therefore obvious without 

 further comment. 



Let me here make some .suggestions 

 to those who think it best to exclude 

 all drone-comb from most of their col- 



onies. I say suggestions, because I 

 fully realize that after being wholly 

 precluded by ill-health, from the prac- 

 tical management of bees, for most of 

 the last fifteen years, it would ill be- 

 come me to speak in too confident a 

 tone. In limiting the production of 

 drones to just as few as we think will 

 be needed for the timely fertilization 

 of our queens, maj' we not ^o contrary 

 to those wise precepts, " There is that 

 scattereth and increaseth yet more ; 

 and there is that withholdeth more 

 than is meet, but it tendeth only to 

 want ?" It is very easy to take it for 

 granted that every bee in a healthy, 

 populous colony, will do all that it 

 possibly can for the prosperity of the 

 hive, even in the entire absence of 

 drones. So it is easy to assume that 

 every bee in an "artificial" .swarm 

 will work just as well as it would in a 

 natural one. But who that has had a 

 large experience with both methods, 

 can deny that for the production of 

 comb honey at least, the natural 

 .swarm has that spur in the head, which 

 artificial processes never seem to give 

 it ? Is it not reasonable to think, that 

 for its highest prosperity, everj' colony 

 of bees should be in a normal, that is 

 to say in a natural condition ? 



What can be more certain than that 

 strong colonies with very few or no 

 drones, in the very height of the 

 honey-harvest wlien such colonies 

 crave them so much, are not in a 

 proper condition to stimulate them to 

 do all that they are able to do ? Their 

 owner may know that in his apiary 

 there are drones enough for all needed 

 purposes ; but how is he to impart this 

 information to the droneless colonies, 

 when every healthy colony, by the fiat 

 of the Creator, seeks such conditions 

 as would be proper, if there was not 

 another family of bees on the face of 

 the earth ? So far, therefore, from 

 grudging to any colony a goodly num- 

 ber of drones, I would prefer to have 

 one-third drone-comb in one of the 

 central combs of the hive of each 

 breeding colon}'. 



I will conclude this article by giving 

 some observations which show that to 

 insure the mating of queens, many 

 more drones seem to be needed than is 

 commonly supposed. At the time I 

 made my observations in 1885, a drouth 

 had cut oflf the gathering of honey for 

 so long a time, that I had no reason to 

 suppose that any drones could be 

 found for the mating of my queens, 

 except such as I had bred and kept 

 alive by daily stimulative feeding. 

 Now for over two weeks, I had more 

 than a dozen young queens which flew 

 out nearly every day for mating, and 

 some of them I know made several ex- 

 cursions on the same day. I had over 

 I 200 drones, and yet only a single queen 



laid any eggs. When the weather be- 

 came too cool to expect any favorable 

 results, I dissected the other queens 

 and found that none of them had 

 mated. Now when my apiary was so 

 largely devoted to queen-breeding, and 

 I had thousands of flying drones, I 

 had great success in the mating of 

 queens at the same time of the year, 

 and under circumstances no more 

 favorable than when in 1885 I so sig- 

 nally failed. 

 Dayton, O., Feb. 10, 1888. 



STATISTICS. 



Securing the Statistic§ of Bee> 

 Keeping. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY J. M. YOUKG. 



As the Statistician of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture wishes statistics 

 about bee-culture, so that a full and 

 complete report can be made of this 

 special industry, it is the duty of every 

 bee-keeper throughout the country to 

 assist in making out a report in regard 

 to bees and honey. This matter has 

 been referred to me to obtain as far as 

 possible, this information from eastern 

 Nebraska. 



The matter of obtaining correct 

 statistics is one of no small moment, 

 and yet if every bee-keeper who reads 

 this yfiW lend a helping hand, and 

 " put a shoulder to the wheel," a vast 

 amount of information may be gained 

 with but little labor. These reports, 

 when all are in, or as many as we 

 think we can get, will be forwarded to 

 the Statistician of the Department of 

 Agriculture, and very likely be pub- 

 lished. Therefore every friend to the 

 progress of bee-culture is earnestly re- 

 quested to assi.st in making these re- 

 ports as complete as possible. Let every 

 bee-keeper in eastern Nebraska, who 

 may read this article, send to me his 

 name and full address ; the number of 

 colonies of bees that he had in the fall 

 of 1887 ; how many in the spring of 

 1888 ; how wintered, in-doors or out- 

 doors ; and, if possible, how many 

 pounds each, of comb and extracted 

 honey obtained last year ; the number 

 of pounds of beeswax, and whether 

 movable-comb or box-hives are used in 

 the apiaries. 



Send to me not your own statement 

 simply, but that of your neighboring 

 bee-keepers who you have reason to 

 believe do not read bee-papers, and 

 who are not likely to send in their own 

 reports. If you do not choose to write 

 a letter, the whole thing can be written 

 on a postal card. Write very plainly, 

 and address, J. M. Young, Rock Blufl's, 

 Cass Co., Nebr. 



