367 
1847. THE CULTIVATOR. 
FALSE THEORIES IN RELATION TO BEES. 
A knowledge of facts constitutes science. Correct 
observation alone, can lead to a knowledge of any 
science 5 from such knowledge only, will correct prac¬ 
tice result. 
The honey bee has been a prolific theme for guessing, 
among ancients as well as moderns. Numerous con¬ 
tradictory theories are advanced, extremely perplexing 
to the inexperienced apiarian, some of which must be 
refuted or reconciled by attentive observation, before 
uniform success can be expected. To refute some of 
these incorrect theories by a relation of facts, is the 
object of this communication. 
That my observations may not appear too limited, I 
will say that I have had the care of bees for more than 
twenty years; and since 1840, of over one hundred 
hives. Some six or eight years since, I inquired through 
your paper, for the cause or remedy for young bees 
dying in the comb, which was replied to by seve¬ 
ral, assigning cold for the cause. I then gave some 
reasons for doubting that theory, which I think still hold 
good, and seem to be confirmed by further observation. 
But as that cause is still urged, I will state my objec¬ 
tions. 
Mr. Howard, in the January number gives his rea¬ 
sons very forcibly, that there is no disease in the young 
bees to prevent their hatching. In my experience, 
whenever I have discovered any dead larvae, however 
few, they have never failed to increase and ruin the 
hive. When I first had diseased bees, I pruned out all 
the brood comb, leaving such only as contained honey. 
The bees made new and filled it with brood, which in¬ 
variably became diseased. This suggested the idea 
of its being a contagious disease, and tfiat the honey 
in such hive contained the poison. I have accordingly 
taken such honey and fed it to healthy young swarms, 
while raising young brood, as many as a dozen times, 
and never knew an instance where they escaped the 
contagion. 
Mr. H. further says, that according to his observa¬ 
tion, a full colony will secure themselves from cold, 
and of course, then, from the dead larvae. Three years 
ago in March, I had a good swarm leave the hive and 
go in with another good one, and as there was a plen¬ 
ty of honey, I expected an early swarm, but got none 
at all. They gradually diminished till the last of 
June, when not more than half a swarm remained, and 
upon examination, I found the comb filled with larvae, 
nine-tenths of which were dead. In 1840,1 had two 
large swarms come out together, which were put into 
a barrel, and in the fall they were diseased. Several 
young swarms shared the same fate. The strongest 
are just as likely to become diseased, as the weakest 
colonies. 
Mr. H. also says that the spring of ’46 was the first 
in which his stock have suffered before swarming. I 
have not escaped a year in fifteen without having seve¬ 
ral, and last year no worse than others. When swarm¬ 
ing time arrives, and I have any that have not in¬ 
creased as usual, on examination, I generally find 
diseased bees, and as my only remedy, drive them out, 
satisfied that they will grow worse after catching the 
distemper. So well assured am I of this fact, that I 
make two general examinations. About three weeks 
after the first swarm has left a hive, the young that 
are alive are generally hatched. If I find any of the 
breeding cells closed, (which is always the case with 
dead larvee,) I open them with the point of a knife, and 
if dead give the bees a new habitation at once. Again, 
in the fall, every hive is looked to, and a half dozen 
diseased larvm condemns it at oncej for a stock hive. 
I will give any person twenty-five dollars who will 
give me an unfailing preventive or remedy for this 
disease; and I can well afford to do so, as I lose yearly 
by it twice that sum. 
. I have objections to some theories offered by Mr. 
Weeks, but before I state them, I must say that I am 
greatly indebted to him for information through the 
Cultivator, on the subject of bees. I would not ex¬ 
change what I have learned for all the paper has ever 
cost me. But error, from any source, ought to be 
corrected. First, then, he says— (( two causes, and 
two only can be assigned why bees ever swarm; the 
first, the crowded state of the hive; the second, to 
avoid the battle of the queens.” I object to the first, 
because it is insufficient in all cases to make them 
swarm, and swarms do actually come out independent 
of either of these causes. I do not say bees being 
crowded will not sometimes bring out swarms, but 
some other cause must exist in such instances as the 
following. I have known all the bees to swarm from 
a hive, when a pint measure would contain the whole 
of them. Ten years ago, I had bees in a large box; 
before it was a quarter full, a regular swarm left. 
Last spring, to give the principle a fair test, I placed 
under five full hives of ordinary size, others of equal 
dimensions, without a top, so that the bees could con¬ 
tinue their combs to the bottom if they choose, but not 
one has done so; each has swarmed without filling 
the lower hive an eighth part full. Want of room 
could not be the cause here, nor could they have 
swarmed to avoid the. battle of the queens, for I have 
good reason to believe that the old queen led each 
swarm. 
I have known bees so crowded that a great portion 
of them, were obliged to remain out all summer, 
and yet they did not swarm at all. I have known 
swarms come out and return two or three times, and 
then continue in the old hive all summer, notwithstand¬ 
ing the young bees continued to hatch and increase the 
crowd in the hive. The fact is, no single theory will 
account for all swarms. I have noticed, however, that 
all regular swarms must be in a season when there is 
plenty of honey, and this is generally between the mid¬ 
dle of May and the middle of July. We often have 
swarms in this section in August, between the 15th 
and twenty-fifth, when the bees are at work on buck¬ 
wheat. At such time? all good swarms will raise a 
brood of drones, whether the queen be young or old. 
Although this contradicts the theory that the queen 
must be at least eleven months old before they lay 
eggs for the drones, it is certain they will raise them 
at any time when they get plenty of honey, and as it 
gets scarce they will destroy them—consequently the 
last of July is a time of massacre. In the summer of 
’42> they killed them the fore part of June, and we got 
no swarms, but the hives were crowded with bees.. I 
never had a swarm when they were destroying the 
drones. 
Mr. Weeks says —“ when the first swarm leaves the 
hive, no queen, in any stage of existence, is left.” But 
I have examined hives the same day that the first 
swarms left, and found cells finished containing queens 
This has been the case in four hives out of five. I 
have driven out a swam after several days of bad 
weather, and foupd queens’ cells finished. Four hour? 
of sunshine in the middle of the day, would probably 
