HISTORY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 03 



The number in a hive is sometimes very large, 

 amounting to hundreds and even thousands. In 

 apiaries where a considerable number of colonies are 

 kept, but few drones should be raised in one hive ; 

 these will suffice for all practical purposes, as the num- 

 ber in the aggregate is large. Any more than are 

 necessary to impregnate all the young queens is a 

 detriment to the welfare of the colony, being large 

 consumers of honey without producing any ; hence 

 it is important to regulate the number. This can be 

 done very readily, in the movable comb hives, by 

 removing drone combs and cutting out drone-brood, 

 when there is an excess in any one hive. "Where 

 only one or two hives are kept, a greater proportion 

 is necessary, to insure the meeting of the queen in 

 the air by a drone, without subjecting her to the risk 

 of being lost by roaming too long in search of one. 



DRONE-LAYING QUEENS. 



Occasionally a queen is found whose eggs bring 

 only drones, even if deposited in worker cells. We 

 have had several cases of this kind during the last 

 few years ; two cases occurred the past summer. In 

 one case I imprisoned the queen in a cage, and kept 

 her in a hive that had a fertile queen ; the workers 

 fed her and treated her kindly for a period of three 

 weeks. I then put her into a small artificial swarm, 

 that was destitute of a queen, but she very soon 

 began again to lay drone eggs, when I destroyed her. 

 She seemed perfect to. all appearance, no deformity 

 could be discovered, and she could fly with ease. It 



