BEE CULTURE. 13 
ington, Professor A. J. Cook, and a mighty host of others, 
who, through faith in scientific research and devotion to 
experiments and manipulations, have wrought wonders with 
their Bees. ‘Pulling down the strong-holds” of old-fogy 
opposition, they “waxed valiant in fight” against all forms 
of ignorant and fossilized theories, consigning them to a 
burial with the fallacies of past ages—and, as if by magic 
wand, they have bidden modern ideas and scientific manage- 
ment of the Apiary to “ arise and shine,” sending benign 
influences to the very ends of the earth | 
THE RACES OF BEES. 
Of the different races of the Honey Bee, the German or 
black bee is the most numerous, though it is not older than 
the Italians, which were known to the ancients several hun- 
dred years before the Christian era, and are mentioned by 
Aristotle and Virgil. The Egyptian, Carniolan, Cyprian 
and Javan bees are but little known in this country. The 
Italian being the favorite because of its docility, activity and 
captivating beauty. 
A COLONY OF BEES. 
In its usual working condition, a colony of bees presents 
a scene of the most lively interest, not only to the naturalist, 
but also to every curious observer. Such a colony will con- 
tain a fertile Queen, thirty to forty thousand _ workers, and 
in some seasons, a few hundreds of drones. 
THE QUEEN. 
The Mother Bee, as she is called in many countries, 
especially in Italy, is the only perfect female in the Colony, 
and is the mother of it. Her only duty is to lay the eggs for 
the propagation of the species. She is a little larger around 
the body than the Worker, but not as large as the Drone.— 
Her body is longer than the Worker, but her wings are only 
about two-thirds of the length of the body, her abdomen 
gradually tapering to a point. She has a sting, but uses it 
only upon royalty. 
The Queen usually leaves the hive only when accompany- 
ing a swarm, and when a few days old, to meet the drones, 
