The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1893-11-02

f1OW LUNG BEES LIVE.
xAls = lnpersant In N Api.ry IL S1sse..
Il Attained.
The age attained by honey bees is inn
portant In the management of an auiary.
Bees are no. a source of income to their
owner VIXEN there is no work for them
m the fields, yet they must eat. There
fore it is wisdom to rear bees so tia.
they may be IN their prime sogather the
harvest. And the same applies 10 queens
II they have out6ved their usefulness
and in the spring lay but few eggs, there
viii not be sufficient workers to store
surplus honey. If the bees supersede
their queen In the spring, the young
queen viii not be fertile and having in
time to rear bees to take advantage of
the early honey flow. And what profit is
there in hive full of bees at the close of
the season: They may not gather a cell
of honey during their lifetime. In lieu
of being producers they are consumers.
according to beekeeper in The Prairie
Farmer, who says:
Queens have been known to live and
do good work until 5 years of age. but
this is an exception and not the rule.
Producers who keep bees for the money
that there is in them as a rule do not
think that it is profitable TO keep bees
after three seasons work and supersede
them at the close of the third season. be
cause old queens. like old hens. lay but
few eggs. Il is often disastrous to the
honey crop to introduce young eueensin
the spring. They should be in the hive
ready for business at an early day to in
sure success OF the seasons work.
Drones' lives are of summers length,
and they are found in the hives from
May until November. They sometimes
remain during the winter in queenless
colonies and are not infrequently absent
during the summer. Their presence or
absence depends ON the present ard pros
pect,ve condition of the colony. If they
are needed OR likely to be needed. then
they are present and make it known by
their loud noise.
The worker bees never attain great
age. Those reared in autumn may live
for eight or nine months. and If in queen
less stocks. where little labor is PERFORM
ed, even longer, while those reared in
spring will wear out in three months
and when most busy viii often die in
from so to 45 days. None of these bees
survives the year through, SO tlere is a
limit to the number which NAV exist in
colony.
The age to which bees attain is proved
by the changing of black queen for an
Italian, or vice versa. For instance, if
we take away black queen about the
middle of June and introduce an Italian
queen in her place. we shall have Italian
bees Matching 81 days thereafter, which
date we are to mark on the hive as the
time we are to count from, as there will
be no black bees Matched after this. AT
the end of 40 days the black bees will be
found to be very few in number, while
at the end of the forty-ifth day not
black bee will be found in the colony.
If the colony is made queenlessat 20
days after the Italian queen iSintro-
duced, then the length of life to the
workers will be prolonged on account of
their not laboring SO hard. for queenless
bees never have the energy shown by
those who have their mother with them,
and it is the amount of labor done which
has to do with the length of life given to
our pets. Again, if the change of queens
is made during the fall months. we shall
find plenty of black bees in the latter
part of spring, although they soon dis
appear after the active labor of honey
gathering comes on.
This length of life has much to do
with spring dwindling, with preparation
for winter, making new colonies, sur
plus crop of honey, etc., and therefore
should be understood by all. 1t is i'm
possible to secure good crop of honey
where the most Of the bees are nearly
Worn out with age just as the harvest is
commencing, and whefe bees become I'M
easy i'll winter and wear themselves out
with worry spring dwindling is sure to
occur. If all bees are old in the fall,
empty hives will result the next spring,
and a colony so divided that one part
contains all old bees results in no profit
from that part.
Charcoal For Fertilizer.
Charcoal dust has no direct value as a
fertilizer. 1t is largely carbon, with
mixture Of sand, ashes and other sub
stances TtS GREAT va Inc iS q g y n absorb