BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
The first swarm is allowed to come forth; and while it is in the air the parent colony is removed from its stand and placed a few inches to one side, with its entrance pointing at right angles to its former position. For instance, if the old hive faced the east, it will now look toward the north. Another hit is placed on the old stand, filled with frames of wired foundation. The swarm is put in this hive, and at the end of two days the parent hive is turned around so that its entrance points in the same direction as the hive that now has the swarm. Just as soon as young queens of the parent colony are likely to hatch it is carried to a new location during the middle of the day or when the bees are flying the thickest. The result is, these flying bees will go back to the hive having the swarm. This, like the other method described, so depletes the parent hive that any attempt at after-swarming is effectually forestalled.
A variation from this plan makes it easier and just as good. Ilive the swarm on the old stand and set the old hive close beside it, both facing the same way. A week later, when most bees are out, remove the old hive to a new stand. That leaves the old colony just as much depleted as the longer way; and the depletion coming more suddenly will more thoroughly discourage all thought of further swarming.
**AGE OF BEES.--**It may be rather difficult to decide how long a worker he would live if kept from wearing itself out by the active labars of the field; six months certainly, and perhaps a year; but the average life during the summer time is not over three months, and perhaps during the height of the clover-lobon not over six or eight weeks. The matter is easily determined by introducing an Italian queen to a hive of black bees at different periods of the year. If done in May or June, we shall have all Italians in the fall; and if we note when the last black bees hatch out, and the time when no black bees are to be found in the colony, we shall have a pretty accurate idea of the age of the bucks. The Italians will perhaps hold out under the same circumstances a half longer. If we introduce the Italian queen in September, we shall find black bees in the hive until the month of May follow-ing\(-\)they may disappear a little earlier, or may be found even later, depending upon the time they commence to rear brood largely. The bees will live considerably longer if no brood is reared, as has been several times demonstrated in the case of strongqueness colonies. It is also pretty well established that black bees will live longer in the spring than Italians\(-\)probably because the latter these heavily laden, ragged-winged veterans making their way into the hives slowly and painfully, compared with the nimble and perfect-winged young bees. If we examine the ground around the apiary at nightfall, we may see numbers of these hopping about on the ground, evidently recognizing their own inability to be of any further use to the community. We have repeatedly picked them up, and placed them in the entrance, but they usually seem only bent on crawling and hopping off out of the way where they can die without hindering the teeming rising generation.
## age of phones
It is somewhat difficult to decide upon the age of drones, because the poor fellows are so often hustled out of the way, for the simple reason that they are no longer wanted; but we may be sufe in assuming it is something less than the age of a worker. If kept constantly in a quenceless hive they might live for three or four months.
## age of the queen
As the queen does little or no outdoor work, and is seldom killed by violence as are the drones, we might expect her to live to a good old age, and this she does, despite her arluous e.g.-laying duties. Somequens idle, seemingly, of old age, the second reason, but generally they live through the second or third, and we have had them lay very well even during the fourth year. They are seldom profitable after the third year, and the Italians will sometimes have a young queen "helping her mother" in her egg-laying duties, before she becomes unprofitable.
If a very large amount of bread is found in a hive, two queens will often be found, busily employed, and this point should be remembered while seeking to introduce valuable queens.
## **Lfalfa, or lucerne**
(_Melicago_ _suitor_). This one of the clovers is very closely related to, and indeed greatly resembles, sweet clever, which latter is de-eviled under the head of Cloveri. Alfafia has,now come to be one of the most important honey-plants of the great West--especially those arid regions that have to be irrigated. It is grown most extensively in Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and is now making rapid strides in California, Texas, and other States.
It has been grown, in an experimental way, in many of the Eastern States; but outside of irrigated regions, and some parts of the West not irrigated, it is not known to yield honey to any considerable extent. While it makes an excellent forage-plant in a few localities in the East, permitting from two to four cuttings, it is grown as a hay, particularly in the Western States mentioned; for there is no other forage-plant that will yield the same value per aere of folder or hay in the regions that have to be irrigated.
## 6 Alfafa.
honey-plant in the world. But notwithstanding the interests of the bee-keeper, the members cut their alfalfa just as soon as it begins to bloom, irrespective of the fact that it is "killing the gouse that lays the golden egg "for the bee-keeper. After cutting, it is stacked in the open field" in a stack that will run anywhere from 10 to 100 tons in capacity.
As one goes through the irrigated regions of.Arizona, California, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado, in a Pullman car going at the rate of 50 or 60 miles an hour, he sees hundreds and hundreds of such stacks; and where one stack has been cut into, or opened up, he sees not the dull grayish-brown hay of the East, but a beautiful grass-green clover hay; and it seems to keep green, no matter how old it is, provided it is not faded out by the intense sunlight that points down with such relentless fury on the Great American Desert. But it is only the top layers that are faded. A few inches below, the hay is of the beautiful green color.
The irrigation needed to grow it for forage makes the crop almost certain; and those bee-keepers located in the vicinity of alfalfa-growing can rely almost as certainly on a crop of honey, the very inset, richest, thickest in the world. Of all the honey we have ever tasted we know of nothing, not even clover (which has formerly held the first rank), that can equal it. It runs from 12 to 13 lbs, to the gallon, while most eastern honeys run from 11 to 12 lbs. This heaviness of body is due to the dryness of the atmosphere in which it grows; for where alfalfa flourishes at its best, hives made of the best seasoned white pine will shink and twist and cheek in a manner that is truly astonishing to a "'tender-foot." A light dry atmosphere a mile above the level of the sea, in the regions of Denver, almost entirely devoid of dews and frosts, a cloudless sky, occasional hot winds, a bright sun that pours down, unobstructed by cloud or mist, causes every thing to dry up, and even honey to thicken--so much so that it is difficult to throw it out of combs with the best extracts. Indeed, we found that some bee-keepers were obliged to place their extractors in warm rooms, and even warm the combs sometimes before extracting, so thick is the honey. And then to do any thing like a good job of extracting one must give the extractor-haskets a h gh rotative speed, and this necessarily puts a great strain on the wire cloth and the bracing of the extractor.
We have already spoken of the superb quality of alfalfa honey. If any one takes a liking to it, as we have done, he will be almost spoiled for eating any other honey. Some of it is so thick and line that it can be almost chewed like so much delicious wax candy. The flavor is a little like that of white clover, with a slight trace of nint that is very pleasant. In color it is quite equal to it, and in every other way it has no superior, although in some parts of the West the color is a lightamber. In the very hot portions of the United States it is disposed to be darker than in the colder localities. The Colorado alfalfa is as a rule the lightest in color.
The nectar from alfalfa is secreted so abundantly during the time it is in bloom that anywhere from 100 to 500 colonies can be supported in a given location. In Colorado, however, it is found more profitable to have aparies containing no more than from 100 to 150 colonies, owing to the very great overstooking in many of the best localities. Bee-keepers have rushed to this land of gold and golden honey in such numbers that in the great alfalfa-growing regions aparies are stuck in very closely, from half a mile to a mile apart, so it is not now profitable to have more than 100 colonies to the yard. In other localities not so much overstocked, from 200 to 300 colonies can be kept in a single aplury.
For a given acreage there is no plant or tree, unless it is basswood, that will support as many colonies. In several localities in Colorado and Arizona, within a radius of five miles there will be anywhere from two to seven thousand colonies, the like of which can not be found anywhere else in the world, probably.
In Kansas and Nebraska, in the unirrigated regions, it is being grown more and more; where, too, it is so dry, and the soil so alkaline, it was supposed nothing would grow. It has been found that the roots of the alfalfa will pierce the hardpan, reach down into the moist subsoil, and leach out the alkali. Some of these lands have thus been transformed into productive ranches. With the onward march of the alfalfa has come the busy bee to take its share of the wealth.
There is scarcely a prettier sight than alfalfa when in bloom. The beautiful bluish or violet tinted flowers present a mass of color that is truly striking to one who has never seen the like of it before; and the fields are measured, not by the acre, but by the square mile. Indeed, we rode through one ranch in a Pullman car, going probably 50 miles an hour, that seemed all of 40 min
## Appendix A Aafafa
It truly, is the harvest of both rancher and bee-keeper.
No time is lost. The rancher is eager to get the whole cut as _soon as possible_. The bee-keeper, on the other hand, hopes that his rancher co-halorer may make a _slow_ work as possible; for as the moving-ma-chines go through the fi-ld, the bee-keeper sees a gradual decrease in the flow of nectar. At the rate the nouvers are progressing he can tell to a day when the hay will all be cut, and when the honey or the nectar will cease to flow. In producing con b honey he supplies his colony with just enoughs sections so the bees may fill every one of them at the close of the honey-flow which he knows in advance to a day. When the hay is all cut, then he awaits the new growth, the new bloom, and then, again, there is a scramble for honey on the part of the bee-keeper and the bees, and another scramble to get the hay down before it grows to be too old or out of bloom.
There is a growing tendency of late for the ranehman in some localities to cut the hay _before_ it comes into bloom. It is claimed that the early cutting makes a better quality of hay. However that may be, if the practice should become universal one of the greatest honey-plants of the world will be cut off from the bees. In any case, fortunate is that bee deeper who is located in the vicinity of those alfalfa-fields devoted to the growing of alfalfa _seed_; for all such have the benefit of the entire blooming until the flower fades and the seed-pod takes its place. It is in these regions especially that a large number of colonies per yan can be supported.
Most of the best alfalfa-fields in the West have been taken by bee-keepers; and unless one can take a range vacated by another by death or otherwise, or get it by purchase, it is a matter of common honor that the new corner, should keep out; still, there are some who will squeeze in just a few colonies and gradually enerach upon the territory until there is not much in it for any one.
To one who is unacquainted with the plant, alfalfa looks a good deal like sweet clever; and when the two plants are young it takes even an expert to detect the difference; but as they grow older the alfalfa assumes none of a heavy hunsly character; and the other, sweet clever, takes on more the appearance of a treelike weed.
## Appendix B Anatomy of the bee.
### Cultivation of alfalfa.
While it seems to grow best in the raid regions watered by irrigation ditches, it also grows in localities where there is not too much rainfall or the soil is not too wet. It seems to do best on a light sandy soil with a loose or porous subsoil, and the roots run for 4 to 12 feet down--on the average perhaps 5 or 6 feet. The seed may be so on broadcast or in drills about 12 inches apart. The amount per acre varies greatly. Some think that 10 lbs, is sufficient, while others argue in favor of 30 lbs. The average amount seems to be from 15 to 20 lbs. If too small an amount of seed is sown, the plants grow large and coarse; whereas if a larger amount is used, a larger number of plants result in smaller stems and better hay.
Alfalfa is what is called a perennial--that is, it lives on from year to year, and the great difficulty of growing it in the East is to get it to make a stand. If it can be once started it will grow on from year to year with very little trouble.
The average life of the plants under ordinary conditions seems to be about twelve years, although some claim they will live as long as fifty years; but good authorities seem to doubt the statement.
Of late years the culture of alfalfa has been taken up in the Central, Southern, and Eastern States to a considerable extent, and with some success. It ought to be understood, however, it is most useful where "soiling" is practiced. European farmers who live in a similar climate prefer sainfoin to alfalfa, claiming it produces a finer hay, and is otherwise more suitable. For southern Europe soola is pref-red. All three are similar in habit and enlure, but alfalfa is the rankest grower. See sainfoin.
For some of the data just given, and for the half-tone illustration shown on page 8, we are indebted to Bulletin No. 85, entitled "Alfalfa," from the state Agricultural College, Fort Collins, Col., by Dr. W. P. Headen, Chemist.
### Anatomy of the bee.
For the main facts of this article we are indebted to "The Honey-Iee," a scientific work by Thos, Wm. Cowan, editor of the _British Bee Journal_. Material gathered from other sources is only acknowledged.
We will first call attention to the alimentary email--that is, the organs of digestion andassimilation. What is digestion? Cowan says, "It is the separation of the nutrient part of food from the non-nutrient, and the
tain cells which perform certain ollices; but without more definite engravings it will be impossible to describe them in detail.
The next organ is the small intestine, or, as it is sometimes called, the "ileum." In the human body the small intestines are much more elaborate. It is into this that the food, after its digestion, passes, and where, by absorption, the nutrient particles not already absorbed pass into the blood, and so on throughout the system.
It will be noted, also, at \(l\), some small radiating filaments. These are called the malpighian tubes. It is not certain what their office is, but it is thought that these are the urinary organs.
\(\Delta\)t the end of the small intestine, \(k\) (page 10), will be seen an enlargement, \(m\). This is called the colon. Although the appearance of the colon in the bee is different from that in the human body, yet its functions are very much the same; and if allowed to become dammed up by exceta (that is, by retention during winter) it is liable to cause disease in the bee, just the same as in the human body. See Dry-sentery. Mr, Cowan, the author of the book mentioned at the outset, says:
\(ullet\)From the colon, what remains of the undigested food is expelled by the anal opening. For this purpose strong muscles exist, by which the colon is compressed and the excretion ejected.
The quantity of the excretion vadded, usually ef a dark-brown color, is regulated by the nature of the food; and hence, an improper substitute for honey (such as glucose) producing a larger amount, while good honey and good syrup reduce less, a larger proportion of it being digested and absorbed. It is, therefore, important that bees should have good food, as, in a healthy condition, workers never void their frees in the hive, but on the wing. In the winter it is retained until voided on their first flight.
So you see, then, that bad food makes mischief, just the same as it does in the human body, and it is in this colon that the overlus of feces is stored during winter.
How the bee "makes" honey.
After the nectar is gathered it is then transferred from the tongue to the esophagus and thence to the honey-stomach, \(g\) (page 10). It has been shown by experiment that there are many more pollen grains in the nectar than in honey; hence the little stomach-mouth, \(h\), comes into play in separating the grains from the honey. On arrival at the hive, the bee regurgitates--that is, expels the contents of the honey-sac into the cell; but during its stay in the honey-site the nectar has undergone a change.
But the bee may not regurgitate the honey, for it may pass directly into the chicken. We see, therefore, that, when a \(t\). Along at irregular intervals will be seen (thickened masses called "ganglia." These are really little brains, and, as in our own bodies, preslide over the involuntary muscles. The largest ganglion is the brain, at \(a\)--the seat of voluntary action and intelligence. One is surprised in reading through chapters found in of Mr. Cowan's work how thoroughly scientists have studied the structure of the nervous system as found in the bee. Even the tiny brain has been dissected, and its various functions pointed out--that is, what parts communicate with the antennae, what part with the eyes, etc. It is interesting to look over the sizes of diff rent brains found in different insects. We quote here a paragraph found on page 70 of Mr. Cowan's book:
It is generally admitted, that the size of the brain is in preparation to the development of intelligible direct and bipolar, who made careful measurements, gives the following sizes: In the worker be the brain is the \(y_{1}\) of the body; in the unit, \(z_{1}\); the brain, \(z_{1}\), and the cochachter, \(a_{1}\); the dytheus, or water-bestete, \(a_{2}\).
In man the proportion is \(1\) to \(40\), but we all know that he is of the very highest order of intelligence. However, it is not surprising to learn that the bee has the largest brain of any of the insects, exceeding by far even that of the ant, whose intelligence has been admired over and over again.
THE Respiratory System.
It is also interesting to inquire how the bee breathes. By referring to the engravity (page 10) we observe a couple of large areas, called the "trachen," corresponding somewhat to the lungs These are located on either side of the abdomen, as at \(t\). They are then divided and subdivided into small,
## Astronomy of the Bee.
Royal Jedly, what it is.
It was formerly supposed that royal jelly was a secretion from certain glands; but that idea has been completely upset by Schienenz, Von Planta, and Schonfeld who have proved that it is ehyme from the chicken-stomach.
This chyne is produced in what is called the ehyle-stomach, shown at \(l\), in the cut on page 10; and worker larvae are fed on this concentrated food for three days, after which they are weaned. "On the fourth day this food is changed and the law is weaned; for the first pa has a large quantity of honey added, but no undigested pollen, as Prof. Leuckhart had stated. The drone larvae are also weaned, but in a different way; for, in addition to honey, a large quantity of _polien_ is added after the fourth day." And right here we can not do better than quote from Mr. Cowan:
Microscopic examination showed that, in the queen and worker larvae, there was no undigested pollen; whereas in the drone larvae, after the fourth day, large numbers of pollen grains were found. In one milligram, no less than 15,000 pollen grains were counted, and these were from a number of different plants. "This work of Dr. Planta", we think, conclusively proves that the food is not a secretion, and that the nurses have the power of altering its constituents as they may require for the different bees. "Royal jelly is, therefore, ehyle food, and this is also most likely the food given to the queen-bebe. Schoenfeld has also recently shown that drones are likewise dependent upon this food, given to them by workers, and that, if it is withheld, they die after three days, in the presence of abundance of honey. This, the kinks, accounts for the quick way in which drones perish at the end of the season. It will now be easily understood, that if weaning of the worker larvae does not take place at the proper time, and if the first nourishing food is continued too long, it may be the cause of developing the ovaries, and so produce fertile workers, just as the more nourishing food continued during the whole of the larval existence in the case of a queen develops her ovaries, or even in the absence of a queen the feeding of workers on this rich food may tend to have the same effect. This, then, is the solution of royal jelly and food food.
For a more exhaustive treatment of the whole subject, see Cowan's work, The Honey-bee, Cook's Manual of the Apiary, or Cheshire's Bees and Bee-keeping, Vol. I,
## Auger of Bees.
We confess we do not like the term "anger," when applied to bees, and it almost makes us angry when we hear people speak of their being "'und." as if they were always in a towering rage, and delight to millet severe pain on everything and everybody coming near them. I bees are, on the contrary, the pleasantest, most sociable, genital, and good-natured little fellows one meets in all animated creation, when one understands them. Why, we can tear their beautiful comb all to bits right before their very eyes, and without a particle of resentment; but with all the patience in the world they will at once set to work to repair it, and that, too, without a word of remonstrance. If you pinch them they will sting; and anybody who has energy enough to take care of himself would do as much had the weapon.
We as yet know very little of bees comparatively; and the more we learn, the easier we find it to be to get along without any cleashing in regard to who shall be master. In fact, we take all their honey now, almost as fast as they gather it: and even if we are so thoughtless as to starve them to death, no word of complaint is made.