The Cadiz sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1864-1911, 1867-11-06
For the Cadiz Sentinel.
BEES.
BY II. w1LKIy, APIARlAN.


il is the old or the young bees that leave IN
swauning, how to guard against moths or
robbers, how 10 feed, winter, &c.i by which
is expressed a strong desire to make bees
culture an ineligible, practical thlng-leads
me to respond through your paper.
Who has not considered bee>culture a
business OF chance, and knowledge OF the
habits of bees a mere speculation!
\ revolution is going OH in this depalt-
ment Of rural economy; and general lntelll-
gence, on this subject has been increased, OF
late, ten fold
Bees are almost our only domcsticated in
sect and aside from this utility, possess
many charms for the naturalist. These
| charms are derived from the variety and
beautiful adaptation of their instinctsSo the
! ends for which they were created. Their
| industry, frugality. disposition to defend
| their homes against their enemies, their
mode of prOpagating their species, their
mechanical skill in constructing their COMBS
| deposi;ing honey and prolen, their care Of
/ their young, the production and destruction
of JronGs at the proper seasons, their econ
omy of animal heat in their hive, the means
! by which they know their home and where
to find their hoN V, their ready recognition
Of the members of their own family, their
means of conveying Intelligence to one an
other so as to secure perfect unity Of action,
! their collecting the most delicious Of sweets
from the most beautiful objects in nature
all consnire to make them an almost ncces-
sary appenaage to every home.
/ The common honey bee is not indigenous
to our country, but was imported at an carly
period in our history 1t has never been
able to pass oyel the Rocky Mountains, but
has been shipped to the Pacific States with
in the last twelve years The Indians call
them the white mans fly and when the
bees begin to appear sorrowfuiIy packs bis
wigwam and bids adieu to his familiar hunt
ing grounds and the graves Of his fore
fathers
The bee moth or worm, first appeared in
the Fast about thirty five years ago, but IS
now found as generally as the bee.
About twenty thousand, or from four to
: five pounds of bees, make Il good swarm
Drones are the male bees, and sometimes
there are several thousand Of them IN
hive, and sometimes none at all Queens
and workers are females Thequcen (there
is but one in a hivc) lays all the eggs. She
, ordinarily, in the strong colonies, commcn>
eos about the first of January, laying at
first bat few dozens each day IN the3centel
Of the hive, wharoShe bees all clust,r tt
keep warm; TOR it is necessary that they
+ should keep up nearly blooaheat all win
tcrl. As the weather becomes warmer the
number Of the eggs laid gradually increase
until about the first OF May, when the mum
Der lead daily, amounts to thousand o1
} more. And thu, She continues to lay un !
tie honey gathering begins to diminish II
August The number Of Cges laid dlmtn'
+, ishes gradually until in Oc'cbcr when i
: ordinarily ceases altogether, and the queer
$ has one or two months rest,
c But some seasons bees do not swarm a
/ all-what becomes Of so many bees II
8 thousand are produced daily, and there are
no more in the hive in the Fall than in tht
a Spring? They die The life Of the worke
e will rot average more than four months
/. whilst that Of the queen is from three year
. to five year. In md summer bees will ven
Y turc out for honey at all hazards, eZposin!
themselves to storms and birds, Fearing ou
c their wings, so that destruction IS rapid
= [ have known whole colonies to perish thu
0 in six weeks. and an entirely new stock t
/: take their ploct This is why a colony vii
, soon dwndIa to nothing if they have n
|, quron to replace their loss.
+ Bees viii not leave thcir hive on occonn
!, Of the loss Of their queen, except IN tn
Il case of u young SWARM, for the first day 0
p two after being hivcd; but will remain an
perform their ordinary duties wilt some
what abatel energy until they all die. W
have no bees in the Call that We have i
g, the Spring except the queens. In the WIN
ter season bees remain Qnict in their hives
nn,l the loss is small; 50 that most OF III
l. bees we had in the Fall We have III tn
;. Spring
10 4 queen is hatched and fully devclopc
in sixteen days from the time the egg
laid a worker Oh common bee require
y twenty one days, the same as chicken.
50 Droues require twenty.lour days to mature
lo The queen lays all the eggs that produc
lo queens, droncs aud workers. There is
le small portion of comb in the side Or in tn
IS lower end Of almost every hive, but e.
% peciihy in large hives, that is devoted
u producing dr2nes; it is knoHn by the cuI
D. or cells being larger than those devoted
J. rearing workers. Measuring the diamett
g. of these cells, you find it to be one foTt
:. Of an inch-that is four to the inch, maxim
VI sixteen cells to the square inch, or countlu
- both sides, thir;y.two young drones can
eS reared in one square inch OF comb. III
y part devoted to rearing workers glvt
" twenty-five cells to the square inch, or MI
r,> young workers to the cubic inch, the Gel
Il. being half inch deep. So uniform is Il
~ size Of the cells devoted to rearing brood
n that some mathemaJicians have insisted c
Sc using them as standard Of measure.
u ~ Cells in which queens are reared are sci
arate and distinct structures generally abol
eS an inch long, in size and shape bearing
= striking resemblance to a peanut. The
IS are generally built on the edge or lower en
O. of comb, the end of the cell projectr
cs downward that is, the queen stands on h
y. y. head until she cuts her way out and
Ut hatchc4. Even from this rude descriptic
p = any one can easily recognize these cells {
nc turning the common box hive bottom sit
ch up. When the queen is hatohed the be-
II destroy her cell; so when | am asked
W Nc showwherc the queen stays, am at 10
re for an answer, she having no throne
u palace, but is content to make her home
III any place in the hive where eggs are to la
an which is always in the center and low
10 parts Of the combs, in the height of Il
: breeding, amounting to more than one-ha
90 of the combs in medium sized hive, al
u may be known by their being darker thu
ol the combs that are used entirely for hone
CONCLUDED NEXT WEEK.
He ----zsass-- eRsans-
'e@ 80 sssapThe New York EGpreSS thus annou
or ces the result Of the recent election
he Virginia: