AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
295 
or destroyed, an artificial queen is supplied by the 
workers The process, as given by most authors 
is, that the workers take the egg or larva of a 
worker, when nut more than three days old, and 
out of this they make an artificial queen by prepar¬ 
ing a suitable cell, and feeding it with royal jelly ; 
thus ascribing to the workers the power of creat¬ 
ing a distinct bee, entirely different in form and 
structure from themselves, which is a power 
possessed by the Creator alone. According to 
this theory the change of sex is produced by the 
peculiar food given them in their embryo state, 
called royal jelly. 
All of the difference between the manner of 
making an artificial or a natural queen is, that in 
a natural one the cell is commenced and about 
one third built, before the egg is deposited, but 
for an artificial queen, an egg is selected from 
among the worker cells, and two other cells 
immediately surrounding it, together with their 
larvae, are destroyed, and this space is made by 
the workers into one cell, in which their future 
queen is fed and raised, the change from a work¬ 
er egg to a queen bee being effected by the 
semen of the drones. 
Dr. Donhoff, a celebrated German writer, 
reared a worker’s larva from a drone egg, which 
he had artificially impregnated with the semen 
of the drone. (See Langstroth on the Honey Bee, 
pp. 41,42) Huber, by introducing some royal 
jelly into cells containing worker eggs, obtained 
queens. (Langstroth, pp 191, 192 ) 
Dzierzon, and many other apiarians hold to the 
same opinion, that is, that this peculiar jelly, 
which possesses the necessary power to change 
the sex of the bee, is nothing more than the se¬ 
men of the drone. The Creator has not caused 
so many drones without their use in the repro¬ 
duction of their race. 
I submit the foregoing for the careful examina¬ 
tion of those who take an interest in the sexes, 
or the practical operations of the bee. E. Kirby. 
Henrietta., N. Y., Sept. 9, 1859. 
Mr. Kirby’s theory, that the semen of the drone 
forms a portion of the food of the royal larva, is 
at war with physiological facts, and is not sup¬ 
ported by any observations with which we are 
familiar. It is also inconsistent with the produc¬ 
tion of artificial queens in hives, which are en¬ 
tirely without drones, and with the fact that the 
royal eggs, as seen in observing hives, are depo¬ 
sited by the queen without the accompaniment 
of jelly. 
-- i — o ■—---- 
Consecutive Swarms of Bees. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist 
In the August Agriculturist, page 231, J. B., 
mentions an instance of bees swarming on two 
consecutive days. As I have had an instance of 
this kind, under somewhat different circumstan¬ 
ces, I will give the particulars, as I wish to make 
inquiry. June 20th a swarm issued and cluster¬ 
ed in two places. A neighbor was called (being 
absent myself) and the swarms hived in seperate 
hives. One returned to the parent hive in about 
an hour, the other is now a good swarm. Twelve 
days later, piping was first heard in the parent 
hive which continued to the fourteenth day from 
the first issue, when the second swarm came out 
and was hived. The next day (15th day from 
1st swarm) the third swarm came out, was hived 
and i-s now (August 8th,) doing well. As the 
piping of at least two queens was heard after the 
third swarm left, I watched closely for another 
swarm or for dead queens. Nothing was seen 
until the next morning (16th from 1st swarm), 
when I went early to look for dead queens, and 
while there, saw the bees drag two from the hives. 
I afterwards found another, and witnessed a part 
of the deadly conflict between the 4th and 5th 
queens. Now as there must have been at least 
seven young queens raised in this hive, I would 
like to enquire of your correspondents if they can 
give the probable condition of those queen cells 
at the time the old queen left. I make this in¬ 
quiry for information. J. F. Lester. 
McHenry Co., III. 
-- I . J g<gte--MS- 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Marketing Grain. 
“ John,” said a miller to his youngest son (so the 
story runs) “ go and take toll from that last grist.” 
“ Yes sir,” answered John. Shortly after, Thom¬ 
as came in, and the miller sent him to see if 
John had tolled the grist. Not seeing John, he 
made sure by tolling it himself. Soon, the miller 
exclaimed, “ I can’t trust those plaguey boys,” 
and thereupon the grist was tolled the third time 
by his own hands. It is easy for the farmer to 
guard against such accidents, but a tax like this 
upon his every grist, would be light compared 
with the amount he indirectly pays to those who 
stand between him and the. consumer of his sta¬ 
ples. As the grain business is conducted at pres¬ 
ent, the crop usually passes from the farmer, first 
to the local speculator, who himself, or by his 
agents, visits the neighboring towns and pays 
prices, as much below the market rates, as he can 
persuade farmers to accept. Shrewd and un¬ 
principled men engaged in this business, use 
every effort to hear the local market, that is, by 
false quotations of rates in the newspapers, and 
other tricks, to reduce the price in the neighbor¬ 
hood where they are operating. Combinations 
are sometimes made by operators to control the 
prices to be paid in the district where they are 
buying, and those obliged to sell, have no alterna¬ 
tive but to pay the extra “ toll.” But the grain 
thus purchased, seldom goes direct to the mill or 
to the consumer. Another, and sometimes two 
or three sets of dealers, one above the other, are 
operating on a larger scale, purchasing from the 
local speculators, and calculating on a remuner¬ 
ative profit. Probably two thirds of the grain 
raised, thus passes through the hands of two par¬ 
ties before it comes into actual use, and neither 
of these parties adds a penny to its value by 
manufacture or otherwise, although they do add 
to the price. It is said in defence of this class of 
buyers, that they bring a market to the produ¬ 
cer’s door ; that the miller and those of whom 
the consumer buys, can not attend to gathering 
up the scattered parcels. Now if the farmers of 
every town, or of several adjoining towns would 
appoint a day, say, once a month when they 
would meet purchasers, in other words establish 
a grain fair, millers and others would find it well 
worth their while to be in attendance, and the 
services of middle men could thus be dispensed 
with. Such a plan would also insure greater uni¬ 
formity of prices. Now, each individual has a 
kind of private corn exchange, the rates of which 
are controlled by his circumstances, sources of 
information, etc., and it is often difficult for him 
to know what a fair market price really is. By 
a combination as above suggested, producers 
could have control of the markets sufficient, at 
least, to meet the combinations made by buyers, 
and thus stand upon equal ground. 
„ Grain Grower. 
Remarks. —There is some truth in what “Grain 
Grower ” asserts, but the evil is not quite so bad 
as he would make it. The grain buyers not only 
bring a market to the doors of the producers, but 
in the long run they pay about as much to them, 
as they could possibly ge4 by any other means. 
The grain and flour dealers sometimes make 
money, but about as often lose it by paying the 
producer more than the future markets will bear. 
Take the past twelve months, for example, and 
you find that nine-tenths of dealers have lost 
money, and very many have even become bank¬ 
rupt—they paid too high for their grain and flour 
—to the advantage of producers. There is gen¬ 
erally a competition among buyers. We have sat 
upon many a load of wheat in the street, until the 
buyers ran up their bids for it, quite above the 
“reported prices.” The “ fairs ” might do well, 
but there is the danger that so many sellers 
brought together might be apt to undersell each 
other.— Ed] 
- *xt * > - »■ ■ ■ ■ 
Letter to Esq. Bunker from his Neighbors. 
[We are rather anxious for our friend Bunker. We 
have already printed, on the inside sheet of this number, 
page 303, a very complacent letter from the ’Squire, and 
we fear, he will be rather disturbed by the follow ing let¬ 
ter, which comesjust as we go to press. There is trouble 
about that “ mash ” (marsh), referred to last month, and 
to be fair, we must give the aggrieved gentlemen a chance 
to speak.— Ed.] 
To Timothy Bunker Esq.— You are getting 
people all by the hair, up here in Hookr.rtown, 
which don’t look well in a Justice. Them per¬ 
sonalities must be stopped, or we shall have to 
put a stopper on your being justice of the pease, 
enny mower. 
There is tew sides to all questions, and as 
many as tew to that mash. Jf taint a humbug, 
it’s a grate hobby, and is bound to run itself 
strate intu the ground. Then, we guess some¬ 
body else will be riting funny things in the pa¬ 
pers, abeout thare naburs, beside Square Bunker. 
One of ’em, a district Committee man, who 
knows all abeout skools, sez, that he never knew 
a mash yet that dident turn Injun, and he guess¬ 
es Square Bunker cant work mirakles, to keep 
his’n from ’postatizing. He sez, that you've 
spent a deal of money, and it’s nothing but mon¬ 
ey, that makes this mare go, as in other kases. 
Bimebye the tide gate will get broke, the ditches 
will fill up, the clover will die eout, and eel-grass 
begin to grow again—and some fine morning 
you’ll be looking for that mash, and find it under 
water. 
Jake Frink sez, that crabs, and salt water tad¬ 
poles, will be swimming all over it arter a little 
while. Jake feels as kross as Tophet, a-t being 
called ny;k-names, and we guess he ain’t the only 
ones nuther. His son Hezekiah, that you have 
black-guarded so much, isgwine to marry a ’spec- 
table widder, and he don’t wan’t to be nick-named, 
enny mower. 
There’s tew of your naburs, at least, who take 
the paper, that want this business stopped. 
When we inquire abeout tide gates, or enny 
sich like konsarns, we don’t want to be maid fun 
of, and shant.—How would you like it yer self, 
Square Bunker, to have your naburs twit you 
abeout them long-legged boots, or that old hat, 
that cum deown from Noah’s ark, and them oth¬ 
er klothes, that aint exactly the rig for a justice ; 
or abeout Kier Frink’s beating you at shooting 
musk-rats, and he has done it menny a lime. Don’t 
you kno’ yer self, that twitting on facts, riles up 
people dreddfully, and is like fire and brimstone 
on the raw flesh ! Neow, ye see, Square, folks 
as lives in glass houses should not throw stuns. 
We jest want to let you kno’, that we’ve got 
stuns to throw, and shal sartintly throw ’em i« 
you don’t stop them personalities. 
Verry Detarminedly, Your Naburs, 
Geo. Washinoton Tvcksr 
Benj. Franrun Jokes, 
Hookertown, Ct., Sept. 10, 1859. 
