THE lEMERICMPf BEE, JQURKSIL,. 



777 



this way : All reasoning animals 

 study out ways to better their sur- 

 roundings. This is the int<ignin royal 

 of reason. Well, bees do just the 

 same things over and over that they 

 did thousands of years ago. They live 

 in hollow trees, and hang suspended 

 on limbs now, when in a wild state, 

 just as the}- did then ; and build in the 

 crevices of rocks just as they did in 

 Bible times. Why, if bees had been 

 endoweil with reason, there would be 

 no free man on the earth to-day. 

 Armed as they are with a deadly 

 weapon — a weapon that will kill a 

 horse or a man as surely as a l)ullett — 

 they would be marching us around 

 with a guard of bees on eveiy side, 

 and telling up jmintediy what to do, and 

 how to do it — to improve their houses, 

 to train up their young, and to prepare 

 their dainty dinners. 

 Vermont, Ills. 



BEE LIFE. 



The Length of the Term of Bee 

 Life €on§idered. 



Written for the Journal of Horticulture 



BY A LANARKSHIRE BEE-KEEPER. 



Notwithstanding all that has been 

 written upon the natural term of bee 

 life, there is still much misconception 

 regarding the limit. From the fact 

 that many articles have been written 

 on preserving the life of bees, is proof 

 that their management is by many but 

 imperfectly understood, and that many 

 bees die at au early age through ignor- 

 ance on the part of the owner. There 

 is no time throughout the whole year 

 that the apiarist is justified in pursu- 

 ing a course that is likely to shorten 

 bee life. Where profit is expected it 

 should be the aim at all times of the 

 bee-master to prolong it. 



Although care to prolong bee life is 

 necessary at all times, yet during 

 autumn a little extra attention is ab- 

 solutely necessary before we can rea- 

 sonably expect our favorites to tide 

 over the winter months successfully, 

 and obviate the untimely deaths we 

 read so much about. That bee life 

 can both be ])rolonged or cut short 

 tliere is no doubt, and the bee-keeper 

 has the control of that to a great ex- 

 tent, as can be witnessed by compar- 

 ing results under different manage- 

 ments. 



I have expressed my views strongly 

 as to what constitutes the best preserv- 

 ing hive, the first principle in apicul- 

 ture. I have also shown thai the short 

 term of bee life, as set down l)y 

 modern writers, is misleading; in 

 short, the six-weeks theory cannot be 

 supported by any evidence. However 



desirable the youthful element may be 

 in the hive at certain seasons, it is 

 positively injurious at others. It is a 

 fact well known that bees, on or about 

 the fifth day of their existence, if the 

 weather is warm, fly out and void 

 their excreta, which, if delaj'ed be3'ond 

 a reasonable time, they become rest- 

 less and cold, communicating the rest- 

 lessness to the adult bees ; and the 

 young ones, unable to fly, either leave 

 the hive to die outside, or are chilled 

 to death inside. Young bees cannot 

 endure the same length of confine- 

 ment, if they have never had an air- 

 ing, as adult bees, and are often the 

 direct cause of the entire loss of the 

 colony that bred them. 



Late feeding is a mistake, and many 

 a ■ bad result has arisen therefrom. 

 Late breeding we cannot always pre- 

 vent, but it should not be encouraged. 

 It has always been our object to be in 

 possession of bees that neither require 

 feeding nor coddling. Some years 

 since, and for years in succession, a 

 cotemporary advised feeding in Octo- 

 ber, and we know something of the 

 evil that beset those who took that ill- 

 timed advice. 



Bees, as a rule, cease breeding with 

 the decline of the hone}- season, which 

 usually occurs about the end of Au- 

 gust, except in the case of those hav- 

 ing young fertile queens, which, unless 

 fed, will not breed beyond the au- 

 tumnal equinox, but will sometimes 

 begin again soon after the shortest 

 day. When this is the case, and a 

 mild Februarj' follows, there will be a 

 chance for the young and tender bees 

 to get an airing. Then all may go 

 well ; but should the weather be im- 

 favorable and protracted, so as to pre- 

 vent the flight of the j'oung bees, the 

 colony may succumb to the influence 

 of the evil. But. happilj-, early breed- 

 ing is not so fatal or injurious to bees 

 as late breeding. 



I have for some time past been pay- 

 ing particular attention to colonies 

 with late-bred bees, not for the pur- 

 pose of getting information, but to be 

 enabled to give tliat to others from 

 accurate observations. Since Nov. 10, 

 the last day bees carried pollen for this 

 year, I have collected all the dead bees 

 from several hives, having taken the 

 precaution that none should be carried 

 oft' by the birds, by netting the front of 

 the hive. I collected the ejected dead, 

 and found, as I fully expected, ' not 

 more than 10 per cent, of adult bees 

 out of more than ten thousand. These 

 I laid down near a hive, and in less 

 than an hour the sparrows and titmice 

 had carried every one away. My rea- 

 son for menti(uiing the alacrity the 

 bees displayed is to impress bee-keep- 

 ers that, though their hives may show 

 signs of dead bees, they may be 



actually dwindling rapidly through 

 some autumnal mismanagement. 



The foregoing will, perhaps, impress 

 the beginner with the evils of late 

 feeding and breeding, and convey to 

 him the cause of dwindling. This is 

 sometimes aggravated b}' uncalled-for 

 molestations, and a superabundance 

 of cloth coverings, whicli often cause 

 internal damp and disease in the bees. 

 Thus, by excess, they aggravate evils 

 that sensible bee-keepers would ob- 

 viate by using, in moderation, the 

 proper quantity of a suitable material, 

 which helps greatlj- to prolong the life 

 of bees. 



PROTECTION. 



Regulation for the Proteetlon 

 of the Rights of Bee-Keepers. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY DR. C. C. MILLER. 



I have been sometimes amused, 

 sometimes unmoved, and sometimes 

 pained at the inevitable misconstruc- 

 tion and misrepresentation that gen- 

 erally occur whenever ray views as to 

 legislation for bee-keepers are men- 

 tioned. Do I express mjself so indis- 

 tinctly on this subject that I cannot be 

 understood P Quite frequentlj- the 

 misrepresentation is in attributing to 

 me views that I never held. I clip the 

 following from the Western Plowman : 



For some years a discussion has been 

 coins on in the bee-papers as to bee-keepers 

 buying the " honey rights " of their respec- 

 tive districts, to the exclusion of all others, 

 by paying a small rent to the owners ol the 

 laud on which the tiees are supposed to 

 forage. Dr. C. C. Miller, of Marerii;o, Ills., 

 is at tlie head of such a proposition, and 

 seriously proposes to have a law enacted to 

 that effect. Lately some others have come 

 to his assistance, and they seem to seriously 

 think that some such law should be passed, 

 and would be of practical advantage to 

 both bee-keepers and land owners. How 

 such a question can be seriously considered, 

 and why it should be urged by bee-keepers 

 is astonishing. Such a law ought to be en- 

 titled, "An act for the extermination of 

 bee-keeping," as that would be the inevit- 

 able result if it could be enforced. Bee- 

 keepers have certainly expenses, and diffi- 

 culties enough now, without adding new 

 burdens, especially if self-imposed. Hut let 

 us look at the justice of the proposition. 



Bees have been kept for thousands of 

 j'ears, and their rights to go and gather 

 the nectar from lorests and fields have 

 never been questioned. Such rights have 

 iievnr been deeded in fee simple to any 

 land owner, and consequently they do not 

 own tliem, and have nothing to rent or sell. 

 But even admitting that they had a right to 

 the honey produced, and wliich would go to 

 loss but for the bee-keeper, then in order to 

 protect such property tliey would be com- 

 pelled to build a legal fence which would 

 of course be such a fence as no well-be- 

 haved bee could get over. That this can- 

 not be done is very evident. Then such a 

 proposition is contrary to public policy. 

 The bee-keeping industry interest is now 

 worth more than $3.5,000 annually. Many a 

 poor man, and woman too, are now able to 



