THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



117 



to larjje hives; and in the course of 

 his discussion he takes occasion to 

 deny that there are even such things 

 as "useless consumers. " This is an 

 old question, but, apparently, it still 

 needs discussion. Mr. Getaz, in consid- 

 ering another point, lays down certain 

 principles that may be of use in consider- 

 ingthis. He says ( Gleanings, 89 1 "Sup- 

 pose the honey-flow begins July ist. The 

 worker-bee emerges from the cell three 

 weeks after the egg is laid. Two weeks 

 after, she begins her field-work. This 

 field-work lasts four weeks and then she 

 dies. ... It follows, then, that the 

 oldest field bees in the hive July ist are 

 those that hatched from eggs deposited 

 nine weeks before — that is April 2Sth; and 

 the youngest those from eggs deposited 

 five weeks before July ist, or May 26th; 

 so, in order to have the largest number 

 of field bees before July ist, it is necessary 

 that the queen should lay her full capa- 

 city of eggs from April 28th to May 26th." 

 Mr. Getaz uses this to emphasize the ne- 

 cessity of having colonies strong when 

 they come out of winter quarters; but 

 that does not destroy its validity for use in 

 elucidating another point. 



In the more thickly settled parts of 

 Michigan the clover and basswood honey- 

 flow usually ceases about the middle of 

 Julv; and, since the swamps have been 

 drained and cleaned up, there is very 

 little nectar to be depended upon after 

 that date; and, if one should be so fortu- 

 nate as to get some in the fall, it is all 

 needed as an encouragement to the rear- 

 ing of the greatest amount of brood pos- 

 sible to supply the hive plentifully with 

 bees for winter. It is evident that the 

 more old bees there are over and above the 

 numbers necessary to care for the brood 

 anfl gather the nectar, the less of it will 

 the brood get; for the great prouability is 

 that the lesser numbers will fully stock 

 the field. 



Now let us go back. .\s the honey- 

 flow ceases about July 15th, it is clear, 

 from the facts laid down by Mr. Getaz, 

 that no bees from eggs deposited after 



June loth do any thing at all to aid in 

 gathering the crop. And yet, it is from 

 this time on, for three or four weeks, that 

 the bees, if given a large hive and left to 

 themselves, rear by far the greatest 

 amount of brood of any time of the year. 

 .\11 of these bees, over and above the 

 number that would have been reared in a 

 small brood chamber, wear themselves 

 out uselessly during the latter part of 

 July and August, scouring the almost 

 barren field. And, although they have 

 been of no use, practically, their produc- 

 tion and maintenance have cost heavily. 

 That bees then will fill a large hive with 

 brood after the date mentioned is no val- 

 id recommendation for a large hive for 

 this and similar localities. And this is 

 what "that foolish talk about 'useless 

 consumers' amount to, " I answer, for 

 Mr. Getaz says "And what does that fool- 

 ish talk about 'useless consumers' we hear 

 so often amount to? No, sir; these 'con- 

 sumers' repay a good deal more than 

 their board when the following spring 

 comes." I am not sure that he under- 

 stands, if I am to judge from his lan- 

 guage, at what time of the year the useless 

 consumers are reared that occasion the 

 "foolish talk." Surely, he cannot think 

 that those consumers I have referred to 

 can have any appreciable, favorable in- 

 fluence over the strength of the colony 

 the following spring. If it could be 

 shown that a large hive could be of any 

 service in bringing bees through the win- 

 ter in good condition, or in increasing 

 the amount of brood previous to the loth 

 of June, a strong point in favor of a large 

 hive would have been gained; but, un- 

 fortunately for such a hive, a small one 

 is found amply sufficient to hold all the 

 brood that can be accumulated by a good 

 colony, in this locality, previous to the 

 loth of June; and, hence, it is large 

 enough. Ivven C. P. Dadant, the great 

 chamjuon of large hives, admits (Glean- 

 ings, 91) that it is debatable whether a 

 large hive is the better one for a Northern 

 locality such as this. Referring to the 

 28th of April, the editor, in commenting 



