Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-10-02
The oueen Bee.

life is the queen bee. She is Matched
from the common or worker egg of
the old queen in three days after the
egg is deposited in worker cell. A
drone egg, which also matches in three
days, will not produce queen. Bees
alone know how to perpetuate their
species. Within three days after q
worker egg is Matched, by being fed
with some peculiar kind of food call
ed "royal jelly the young larve COM
mences an unusual growth which
continues until the seventh day from
the time it was Matched, the bees in
the meantime enlarging the cell to
several times the capacity Of a worker
cell, and then sealing it up. In eight
days from this time the queen emer-
yes, not so much larger than worker
bee as her cell would indicate, but
considerably more extended ia length.
BY this means she is readily distin-
guished both from the worker and
the drone. AT the age of from three
to eight days she flies forth to meet q
drone, and never afterwards leaves
the hive except with q colony. She is
emp6atically the mother bee-she
lays all the eggs from which the other
bees are produced, and when she dice,
unless soon replaced, the whole colo
ny perish. During the busy season
she lays upwards OF two thousand
eggs in day, and she not unfre-
quently lives to the age Of three
years, although two years is usually
the extent of her wonderful produc-
tiveness. She has no consort, and she
admits the presence of no rival in her
abode. She has sting, but never
uses it except in combat with another
queen. When q colony becomes over
populous or cramped for want OF
room, instinct induces the worker
bees to construct cells and raise young
queens. Observing this, the old
queen attempts n raid on the queen.
cells, and uniess prevented, destroys
the larva therein. This peculiar and
only opposition to the desire of theft
mistress Is made manifest by SO close.
ly packing themselves together over
and above the cell ss to prevent the
queens access thereto. She then only
awaits an opportunity to lead forth q
colony, which she does on the frs,
| piCnnnus uny, lohluS WIN hct uS0tb
all the old bees of tho hive. After
circling about for a time in the air
the bees always settle together, usual
ly on some bush on tree. lfthe queen
is with them, all that is required is to
give them q hive, and you have &
young swarm, as it is called. If she
was unable to fly, as is not unfre-
quently the case, the new swarm will
soon return to the old hive, even after
having been placed in another. In
the old hive a young queen is soon
Matched, and like the old one, she
too, makes an effort to destroy tho
other queen cells, and if prevented
leads forth her followers, making 9
second swarm, and so on until but
one queen and no queen celIs remain
in the hive.
But all queens are not equally pro-
ductive, nor are their progeny equally
vigorous. They differ probably Al
much as cattle or birds, and the supe
riority Of good queen can hardly bt
over estimated by the bee keeper
Italians, now 40 much sought after
have developed such fecundity and
such strength Of progeny as to threat.
en- the complete annihilation of thu
native black. You have only tt
change the black qneen for an Italian
and in few short weeks you have al
entire colony of beautiful yellow ol
Italian bees.
San Francisco Chronicle Among
the passengers on the overland train
bound for San Francisco, one day last
week, was an Ex-Governor OF the
State of Tennessee, accompanied by
his family. At one Of the small sta.
tions of the Central Pacific road, a
short distance this side of Ogden, the
train was boarded by one of the gam.
bling sharps that infest the line, on
the lookout for victims to fleece, by
means of the swindling devices prac-
ticed by the thievish crew. The fel.
low succeeded in robbing ono of the
passengers of the better part of his
travelling capital, when the transac-
ton attracted the attention of other
passengers, and some commotion en-
sued. The affair not occurring in
San Francisco, there were no police
there to protect the gambler, and he
was seized and fierce demand made
for the restoration of the plumber
with drawing of pistols and threats
of dire vengeance. In the midst of
the tumult lady in the car gave q
shrek aad fell into swoon. 1t was
the wife of the distinguished gentle
man from Tennessee. The attention
Of the gambler was drawn to the in
cident, and Immediately his pistol fell
from his hand az if from stroke of
palsy, and he staggered backward in
helpless condition. On recovering
his nerve, the gambler restored the
money taken from his victim and has
tened 10 the assistance of the lady.
A mutual recognition appeared to
ensue between the gambler and the
party, and the meeting was evidently
sad one. The remaining passengers
in the car perceived sufficient to I'M
derstand that an erring son had un-
expectedly met with his parents, and
that car was relieved of further
swindling attempts the remainder of
the passage.
What Iowa Might Be,
In q speech lately delivered before