AMERICAN i AGRICULTURIST, 
5249 
WONDERS OF THE BEE-HIVE. 
Number V. 
While we are studying the multitudinous con¬ 
trivances that add to the pleasure of our rural 
homes, let us not forget that there is one which, 
while least expensive, will at the same time af¬ 
ford both entertainment and profit. In the Aqua¬ 
rium, we have a glass box into which are intro¬ 
duced the gold fish, the shell fishes of different 
kinds, together with sea-weeds and other products 
of the briny deep in great variety. Not less en¬ 
tertaining is our glass-box, constructed for an 
OBSERVING BEE-HIVE. 
Rarely do we look into one of these hives 
without finding some new thing to excite our ad¬ 
miration. It is very easy to construct such a 
hive, and when once made and peopled, it de¬ 
mands no great care for a whole season, while by 
day and by night all the work that is going on 
within may be. kept in constant view. It is 
enough for our present purpose to say that our 
observing hive contains a single piece of comb 
about twelve inches long and eight inches broad, 
each side of which is protected by a plate of 
glass; and though the bees are exposed to the 
fuE light of day, and occasionally to artificial 
light in the evening, their operations have gone 
iu without interruption from week to week 
through the summer months; so that we write 
not by guess work, as too many have done, but 
according to what our eyes have seen. 
A family of bees, when properly constituted, 
consists of one mother-bee, several hundred sons, 
and thousands of daughters, beside some thous¬ 
ands of baby bees in every stage of development 
from the newly-laid egg to full maturity. 
The most numerous class consists of what we 
call the workers. They are of the 
female sex, but are not perfectly 
developed, and are exempt from 
the responsibility of reproducing 
the race. They are occupied con¬ 
stantly, however, in the care of 
the young, and in providing for 
the wants of the whole commu- Worker, 
nity. They bring the honey from the fields 
for daily use and for the Winter’s supply, they 
collect the pollen or bee-bread for the brood, and 
the propolis, which answers the same end as 
putty in closing up cracks. They also feed the 
brood, and keep them warm, and at the right time 
cover up the cradles with well-fitting blankets,— 
beside doing many other things which it is un¬ 
necessary to mention now. We need hardly in¬ 
troduce the portrait of a worker-bee to our read¬ 
ers, as it is well known to be the only one of the 
family that is in the habit of making calls. The 
mother-bee is too busy at home to venture out in¬ 
to the gardens in search of flowers, or penetrate 
into pantries, allured by sweet odors; and the 
Bons, we are sorry to say, are a lazy set, that after 
eating a comfortable breakfast, sally out for a 
short time at mid-day, merely for a little flirtation 
with any one of the other sex who may be at lib¬ 
erty to receive their attentions. 
The mother-lee is usually called the queen, from 
long-received tradition that she is invested with 
authority as a sovereign. There is no evidence, 
however, of the exercise of anything like authori¬ 
ty on her part. There are no laws and no penal¬ 
ties, and not even any domineering, nor any con¬ 
test for superiority. Every thing goes on, so to 
speak, like clock-work, and the wonder is that 
every bee should enter so fully and exactly into 
the plans of the rest. The absence of the queen 
from a hive, however occasioned, makes an ex¬ 
citement as soon as it becomes known. She is 
the rallying point in times of alarm, and there are 
some indications of attachment to her person. 
Many years ago, a Mr. Wildman, in England, cre¬ 
ated great astonishment by the almost magical 
power which he had over swarms of bees ; the 
secret of his control over their movements was, 
that when he had once secured possession of the 
queen, their instinct made them all alight where 
ever he placed her, clustering like a body guard 
around her person. If he held her in his hand, 
they immediately flocked together there, and if he 
put her on the branch of a tree, 
that became the attractive point. 
The shape of the mother-bee, 
as our engraving shows, is quite 
different from that of the work¬ 
er. She is longer and larger, 
and more slender and wasp-like 
Queen. j n form. Her wings are also 
shorter ir proportion, and her movements on foot 
are more rapid. She is rarely seen in ordinary 
hives, but in the observing hive may be kept in 
constant view. Her chief employment is to lay 
eggs, and the process is very curious. As she 
traverses the comb, the bees disperse before her, 
and she thrusts her head momentarily into the 
cells, till she discovers one that answers the pur¬ 
pose. Passing over it, she puts her abdomen into 
it, and a moment after, turns part way round with 
a kind of convulsive movement, after which she 
withdraws her body, and proceeds to another cell; 
the whole operation, as we have noticed it, occu¬ 
pying about half a minute. As she leaves, a 
small white oblong egg, slightly curved, is seen at 
the bottom of the cell, fastened to the wax by one 
end. We have lately seen three, four, and even 
five eggs in the same cell, and for a time supposed 
this to be an occurrence not described by any wri¬ 
ter on bees. We find it alluded to by Wighton in 
his “ History and Management of Bees,” who 
says, “sometimes there are two or three eggs in 
one cell. This is owing to the queen being very 
prolific.” We are disposed, however, to give a 
different explanation of the fact. In the hive 
where this was observed, there was a great abun¬ 
dance of empty cells, some of which had been 
used for brood, but the population was somewhat 
reduced, and the queen seems instinctively to 
have kept within the limits which the bees were 
able to cover and protect. It was not found, how¬ 
ever, that in any case more than one of these 
eggs was allowed to remain many days in the cell. 
The mother-bee must be without a rival, and if 
she perishes, her family are not willing to receive 
another put in her place, at once. We introduced 
a strange queen into a glass box with a few work¬ 
ers that had been separated from the main hive. 
They at once showed fight and maimed her, by 
biting off one of her legs. At another time, we 
put a strange queen into an observing hive which 
had one of its own. Quick as a flash a crowd of 
bees gathered around the stranger, and formed a 
cluster as compact as possible, and as large as a 
butternut, entirely concealing her from our view, 
while the other queen, though only an inch or two 
distant, seemed to be entirely unconcerned and 
unaware of the excitement. After six hours, we 
opened the hive, and tearing the cluster apart 
with no little difficulty, released the prisoner, who 
was still alive, though so nearly exhausted that 
she died soon after. In this affray the workers 
alone took part, though Huber had led us to ex¬ 
pect a duel between the two queens. On his au¬ 
thority it is said “ if a supernumerary queen be 
introduced into the hive, she is laid hold of by the 
bees, who continue to be spectators, and even pro¬ 
moters, of the combat, in which one or the other 
of the queens is destined to perish.” Undoubted¬ 
ly such combats do sometimes occur, at least be¬ 
tween queens which have come to’maturity in 
the same hive. 
The drone also must have a 
place among our pictorial re¬ 
presentations. A noisy fel¬ 
low he is, but good natured 
and well disposed, of larger 
size than the other inhabi¬ 
tants of the hive, n\ore un¬ 
profitable and unwelcome. 
He is a mere consumer, and 
as the summer passes away, 
gin to feel that “ his room is 
pany.” The hints to this effect are pretty plain, 
and if not successful, are followed by the most ex¬ 
treme and disagreeable measures, such as nib¬ 
bling off his wings, driving him out of tho house, 
and turning the key on him at night. No mercy 
is shown, and it is said that often in large apiaries, 
the bees of every hive, as if with common con¬ 
sent, take the same day for the expulsion and 
slaughter of the drones. And so the mother and 
her daughters keep house together through the 
winter, living on the fruits of their own labor- 
and ignoring all the “ rights ” of those who have 
contributed nothing to the interests of the com¬ 
monwealth. In this at least they mete out jus¬ 
tice, and whether by authority of law or not, 
their action as a vigilance committee have con¬ 
siderable claim to be endorsed as reasonable and 
proper “ under the circumstances.” 
A SIMPLE ELI AND ANT TRAP. 
Mr. Jno. R. Smith, of Hackensack, N. J., has 
furnished us with a simple composition which he 
says is much used in England as a sort of trap to 
catch flies, ants, and other insects. The compo¬ 
sition is spread upon paper, and sold by pedlars at 
a penny a sheet. Mr. Smith has used these 
sheets, made by himself, around the trunks of 
trees, plants, &c., the varnish side out, to prevent 
the ascent of insects. It is made thus : Melt re 
sin in any vessel over the fire, and while soft add 
to it enough sweet oil, lard oil, or lamp oil, to 
make it, w'hen cold, of the consistency of molas 
ses. This, spread upon writing paper with a 
brush, will not dry in a long time, and is so sticky 
as to hold fast the legs of any insects attracted to 
it, or accidently coming in contact. It’ may be 
placed about the house, the pantry, or elsewhere, 
and will soon attract and hold fast ants and other 
vermin. It also used on table legs, and the edges 
of shelves, to prevent the ascent of ants, &c. 
One of the highest recommendations of this prep¬ 
aration over the ordinary fly paper is, that it ts 
not poisonous. 
WATERING PERSPIRING HORSES. 
A Subscriber in Warren, R. I., inquires our 
opinion in regard to “giving water to horses 
w’hen they are sweaty.” If horses are to be driven 
or worked at once after drinking, it will do no harm 
to give them water to a moderate extent when 
hot or sweating; but if they are to stand still 
for a half hour, more or less, and especially 
if exposed to cold air during this time, they 
should not be allowed to drink over two quarts oi 
water till they get cold, which will not be in less 
than from one to two hours, ordinarily. 
Drone 
not a producer, and 
the worker bees be- 
betterthan his com- 
