THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



231 



Congratulations for the Experimental Api- 

 ary. —Prejudiced Enthusiasm of Some 

 Inventors.— Costly Experiments. 



.JAMES HEDDON. 



It LLOW me to 

 t\ express my- 

 self as highly plea- 

 sed with our suc- 

 cess in getting 

 even the small ap- 

 propriatiou of $500 

 M year for apiarian 

 experiments, and 

 not less plea-ed 

 over the selection 

 of Senator Taylor 

 as superintendent. 

 As 1 look at the matter, the salary is small, 

 when we consider the work to be performed; 

 a work which we all know Bro. Taylor will 

 do, if he loses money as a result. I would 

 suggest that bee keepers aid the splendid 

 and valuable effort by donating such imple- 

 ments as they believe of value, and desire 

 should gain the reputation they merit. 



I am looking for much amusement aris- 

 ing from tests of articles that no one but the 

 inventors can find to be practicable. Much 

 the same may be looked for along the line 

 of processes. Perhaps, it sometimes occurs 

 that a discoverer may partially succeed with 

 •an implement, or method, with which no 

 one else can, but if there are any such in- 

 stances, they are so rarely met with, that we 

 hardly experience one in a life time. It is 

 usually the case that the inventor is of an 

 impractical turn, and certain it is that his 

 inventions and devices are of no value in 

 the hands of the practical, successful bee 

 keeper. 



Most experiments to be of value must be 

 made upon a more comprehensive scale than 

 the small bee keeper can conduct or the 

 successful honey producer can usually 

 afford. Fifteen to twenty years ago, when 

 we had little bee literature, I had one or two 

 large apiaries, and my thirst for knowledge 

 in place of the wild theories I found in 

 journals, was such that I made some com- 

 prehensive experiments, and I found out 

 then what it cost. The price was high, but I 

 had to have it in my business. If you desire, 

 I will write two or three articles for the 

 Review, detailing; the results of some of 

 these experiments. I will leave others to 

 discuss this subject, trusting that perhaps I 

 have touched one point that few others will. 



I desire to be placed on record as predicting 

 most satisfactory results from our exper- 

 meut station. Let each and every one of 

 us aid Bro. Taylor all we can. 



[Certainly, friend H., if those old exper- 

 iments have a practical bearing upon the 

 bee-keeping of to day, we should all be glad 

 to hear of them. We would also like to have 

 you and others say what experiments you 

 would be pleased to have taken up by experi- 

 menter Taylor.— Ed.] 



Frolicking Drones and Their Trysting Places 



W. A. PKYAL. 



" Theirs not the reason why. 

 Theirs but to do and die." 



T S it is yet a mooted question whether 

 ^) drones congiegate in certain spots 

 and there hold high carnival, as it 

 were, while they await the advent of a queen 

 who would a wooing go, I think I will at- 

 tempt to throw a little light upon the sub- 

 ject. 



There is a spot on a hill about a hundred 

 feet high and not more than 300 yards from 

 where my bees are located, where, for almost 

 as long as I can remember, drones have 

 gathered in the afternoon. The air would 

 be full of them and the buzzing they would 

 make was something that could be heard for 

 quite a distance away. Their buzz was more 

 musical, If I may so express myself, on this 

 occasion than when they were flying about 

 the apiary. We are all quite familiar with 

 the buzz of these lazy fellows when they are 

 near their own doorstep, but I should judge, 

 from what I have seen in the bee journals, 

 that few have heard drones enjoyin a dizzy 

 dance in mid air. It is truly a dance of 

 death to many of them, as after results often 

 prove. 



This place I speak of is in what may be 

 called the thermal belt on the hills to the 

 north of the apiary. I should think that the 

 several currents of air that circulate about 

 the hill and the little valleys formed by 

 these hills, meet here and form a gentle 

 whirlwind which, while warm, is inviting to 

 the drones. I am the more convinced of this 

 belief for the reason that there is another 

 spot where the same sort of a drone picnic- 

 ground is maintained. This second place is 

 at the southwest base of the aforesaid hill. 

 The spot is noted for being one where a warm 



