The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1896-10-07
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ful table luxury Of cured honey is ono
of the special functions Of the worker
bee. The first step is the stationing
of workers in lines near the hive
entrances. These, by necessarily
buzzing their wings, drive currents of
air into and out of the hive and over
the comb surfaces. If the hand be
held before the entrance at such time
a strong current of warm air may be
felt coming out.
The loud buzzing heard at night
during the summer time is due to the
wings of workers engaged chiefly in
ripening nectar. Instead of being ut
rest, as many suppose, the busy work
ers are caring for the last lot of
gathered nectar and making room for
more. This may go on far into the
night, or even all night, the activity
and loudness being proportionate to
the amount and thinness of the liquid.
Frequently the ripening honey is re-
moved from one set OF cells and placed
in 9th, rs, incidental to the manipula.
ton t..s bees subject it to. When
finally he proces IS has been completed.
tho water constituent is found to have
been reduced to ten or twelve per
cent, and all disagreeable odors and
havors, probably due to volatile oils,
have also been driven off in a great
measure by the heat Of the hive,
largely generated by the bees. Dur
ing the manipulation subtle anti
septic, formic acid, secreted by glands
in the head of the bee, has been added.
The queen, by natural instinct,
flies out to mate. Should she be lost,
no more fertilized eggs would be de-
posted in the hive, and the old work.
ers gradually dying off without being
superseded by young ones, the colony
would become extinct in few months
or meet speedier fate through in
truders-wax moths, wasps or robber
bees. The production of many drones
is accordingly provided for, SO that
young queens flying out to mate will
not incur too many risks from birds
and insect enemies. But the loss of
queens while flying out to mate is
evidently one of the provisions of na-
ture to prevent bees from undue
multiplication, for were there no such
checks they would become a pest in
the land. On the other hand, the risk
i, to the queen is not uselessly increased,
for she usually mates but once during
her life.
Queen bees are transported nova
days almost invariably by mail, and
sent to oil parts of the United States,
and even to distant foreign countries,
in cage of diminutive pattern con-
structed for the purpose. The food
usually employed in these cages by
queen breeders is soft candy made
by kneading fine sugar and honey
together until a stiff dough is formed.
The food for the journey having been
placed in the end of the cage opposite
that containing the ventilating holes,
q bit OF honeycomb is pressed
down over it to assist in retaining
the moisture. The cover, with d
bit of wire cloth between it and the
bees, for greater security, together
with the address and one-cent stamp
completes the transportation airang
ments for o queen and eight or ten at
tendant workers for q journey of 5000
miles. A special postal regulation ad'
mits them to the mails at merchandise
rates-one cent per ounce. A recent
estimate by one of the apiarian jour.
nails places the number OF queens sold
and thus transported through the
mails annually at 10000.
The different races of bees vary ma
teriallly from each other in individual
qualities, such as temper, spirit, tract
ability. pugnacity, industry. courage,
honey.getting capacity, endurance oi
cold and character and flavor OF pro-
duct. Besides the common or brown