The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1873-12-05
NUMBER "a.


The king is stingless; EARNED only
with his majestic port" Modern science
regards this so called king as mother
and monarch Of the hive. 1t is found
that she lives four years, and is Matched
from the egg in fourteen days; while the
workers require twenty-one days, and
drones twenty-four. These strange fig
ures arr part of the mystery attaching
TO bees; but a still more curious fact
connected with this point is, that the
bees have the power at viii of develop
ing common eggs into queen bees.
This Is done by removing an egg into a
royal cell, and feeding the little grub
with a substance Of milky gelatinous
appearance, known ms "royal jelly"
These facts have been ascertained with
out doubt by Mr.. Pettigrew, one of the
most successful keepers of the day;
though what the exact analysis Of this
"royal jelly" may be is utterly unknown.
The chief function of the queen in the
hive is to lay eggs, from which the fu-
ture population will spring. A healthy
queen during her life is estimated to lay
the enormous number of 100000 eggs.
Ofteh in the heat of summer, for months
together, she will lay 1000 a day.
Whether these eggs are all alike, or
whether some are distinctly drone-eggs
is one of the numerous questions on
which all bee-keepers are at issue. The
working bees form the life and prosperi-
ty of the hive. To them belong in
dustry, labor, patience, ingenuity-in
short, all the virtues of the race; and
while each knows his own duty, and
does it, the efforts Of all are directed to-
ward the veal of the community. The
working bee never lives longer than
nine months; they labor so necessarily,
that it is supposed they never sleep.
The daily consumption and waste Of a
large hive of bees in summer may be
taken at two pounds of honey; it will
show the industry of the working bees
to bear in mind that, beyond this, such
hive in favorable weather will often
accumulate honey to the amount of four
and six pounds daily. Indeed, it is upon
record that hive once gained twenty
pounds weight of it in two days! 1t
is curious that even wild hive of bees
can soon be taught to recognize and re-
frain from attacking people who APP
proach them. No wonder that the an
clients esteemed them divine; that their
poet laureate, according to the Platonic
philosophy, assigns them ga participa-
tion in the Supreme Mind and in heav-
enly influences, and that another speaks
of their powers Of presaging wind and
fine weather. Modern science points
out that the fructifying of many flowers
is due to the labors of bees in mingling
the pollen, and most gardeners must
have noticed the difficulty Of preserv-
] ing n pure strain or any plant when
these active workmen have access to 9TH
er varieties of it. Within the hectares
of many flowers the bee finds the thin
sweet juice which we know as honey
but when this is carried home and de.
posted in wax cells, it requires to be
swallowed again by the bees, when il
undergoes thickening process, and be-
comes honey proper. Honey gathered
almost exclusively from one kind oi
plant or flower acquires its special flavor
Thus clover-honey is clear and pleasant
both to the eye and palate, but thai
made from sycamore and gooseberry
flowers far exceeds it. Heather honey
is much darker than other kinds.-Bet
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