126 
MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES, NO. IS, ETC. 
MANAGEMENT OF HONEY BEES—No. 18, 
The Age of Bees. —Much diversity of opinion has 
been expressed upon the natural age of bees, and 
perhaps the extreme length of time that they have 
in single, or particular instances survived, has 
never been fully demonstrated to an extent that 
may be properly cited, as proof of their exact lon¬ 
gevity. But from certain facts, within the notice 
of every apiarian, we may safely come to this con¬ 
clusion,—that they seldom, if ever, live to see the 
hrst annual return of their birth-day. 
Of this fact, we may be assured, if we reason 
from analogy only, inasmuch as the insect tribes 
generally terminate their existence within a year; 
but we have stronger proof than this. We know 
that if a swarm of bees be placed where their limits 
of operation are unrestricted: for instance, in a 
very large hive, or in a room, that they do not 
throw off any swarms in such a case, but at the 
same time, the increase of bees, every spring and 
summer, is not less, and perhaps more than would 
be the case, had they been placed in an ordinary 
hive, where several swarms would be annually 
thro wn off. This being a fact, it follows that if the 
life of the bee extended to two, three, or up to ten 
years, as some naturalists have asserted, that the 
aggregate number of bees accumulated in locations 
of unrestricted limits, would, in two or three seasons 
he enormous; but such is not the case. The gene¬ 
ral annual increase of every stock of bees (the term 
stock is given in their second year, and thereafter), 
we may fairly put down at 20,000. The usual 
number of bees in a hive on the first of March, may 
he estimated at from 2,000 to 5,000, according to 
the prosperity of the stock 3 if the bees exist longer 
than one year, or even 9 or 10 months, the follow¬ 
ing spring would find every stock with surplus 
room, to consist of all the increase of the preceding 
season, together with a portion, at least, of the old 
bees in existence the previous spring, making in 
the aggregate, say, from 20,000 to 25,000 bees. 
Now, instead of such a result, we invariably find 
about the original number in existence at the 
opening of each successive spring, and if we com¬ 
mence with 3,000, and the bees prosper for a period 
of ten years, giving an annual increase of 20,000, 
and not throwing off a single swarm during the 
whole period of ten years, producing in that time, 
the enormous number of 200,000 bees, yet on the 
first of March, of the season of their tenth year, we 
should find hut our original number of 3,000 bees. 
This is true of any number of intervening years, 
down to the second year of their existence. From 
my own experience, in this matter, I think I can 
safely say, that the natural age of the honey bee is 
within nine months. Like the human species, their 
days are cut off at all periods of life, and they, top, 
may truly say,—“In the midst of life, we are in 
death.” 
The foregoing applies only to the age of that 
class of bees, termed the workers, the queen and the 
drones being a minor class, and their age should not 
be brought into the general question of the natural 
age of the honey bee. The queen lives beyond a 
year, but under two years. The drones generally 
die a violent death at the age of two, or three 
months, or a natural death at the age of about six 
months. Of the ages of the queen and the drones 
much may be interestingly said, I think, but this 
is not the place to write a complete natural his¬ 
tory of the honey bee. 
I commenced these numbers upon the manage¬ 
ment of the honey bee, without the most remote 
idea of writing to the extent to which I have written. 
To while away the tedium of an unemployed hour, 
I hastily threw together the crude off-handed re¬ 
marks of my first essay—I have in the -same unpre¬ 
pared manner, without method or pre-contemplated 
arrangement, given to the public my subsequent re¬ 
marks, without even giving the subject a thought, 
until, perhaps, the last hour allotted for their pre¬ 
paration • and I learn very unexpectedly that my 
crude essays have been read with some interest, 
and in consequence of the very favorable manifes¬ 
tations of approval of my feeble attempt at elucidat¬ 
ing this subject, I shall prepare a work for the 
press, in which I shall endeavor to present the 
whole subject, in a methodical manner, embracing 
the substance of the numbers herein published, and 
such other matter as I shall deem of interest to the 
American bee master, of which there is an ample 
field. 
I shall endeavor to render it a work that will lead 
the uninformed on the subject, from the beginning 
to the end of bee management, in a plain, definite, 
comprehensive manner ; and to weave through its 
pages an interest that shall not only instruct its 
readers, but awaken the dormant feeling upon the 
value and science of the management of bees, that 
is too prevalent. Although it is not a place here to 
write a prospectus, yet I would say, that a plain 
intelligible work, fully adapted to the uses of the 
American people, has never yet appeared. The 
indefinite verbosity of foreign authors upon this sub¬ 
ject,leaves the mind vague and unsatisfied. How far 
1 shall succeed in supplying the vacuum, time will 
determine. 
In consequence of this comtemplated work, I 
now close my remarks in the Agriculturist • and l 
should he happy to receive communications from 
gentlemen in every section of the United States, de¬ 
tailing any experiments, or facts worthy of particu¬ 
lar notice, that may have come under their observa¬ 
tion. and address the same to me, No. 143 Water 
street, New York. This will, perhaps, enable me 
to give to the public, a work embracing important 
facts coming under the observation of different indi¬ 
viduals in different parts of our own country. 
T. B. Miner. 
Ravenswood , L. /., April , 1848. 
Benefit of Salt in the Food of Sheep.— 
From some experiments made at the Agricultural 
Institute, at St. Germain, in France, it appears that 
the sheep, which gained in weight 31 lbs. a month, 
increased double that amount in the same length of 
time, when about one tenth of an ounce of salt was 
added to the food of each per day. 
What Constitutes Good Farming. —About 
2,000 years ago, when the old Roman, Columella, 
was asked what constituted good farming, he an¬ 
swered “ first, good plowing.” On again being 
asked what came next, he replied, “ good plow¬ 
ing;” thus strongly impressing the occasion for 
good tillage over every other consideration. 
