New brood is hatched early in the season—in case of plentiful stores before the earliest blossoms—while the first swarm may not leave the hive until July, or even later; the condition of the honey flowers in bloom having much to do in determining the time. [In the Southern States it often leaves in April or May, and in this latitude usually in May or June.—Ed]. The first swarm is composed of old and young bees indiscriminately, and of drones. In from six to ten days a young queen is hatched. Sometimes several hatch at the same time, but all are destroyed except one, the queens engaging in deadly combat in which one or the other is the victor. The bees destroy the remaining queen cells as soon as a queen is hatched. In a day or two the virgin queen flies out to meet the male, or drone, and after copulation returns to her hive, where she usually remains until the next season, when she leads out a swarm. In some seasons, when honey is plenty, she may go out with a swarm, and even third swarms are thrown off, but such seasons are almost certain to be poor ones for honey, the swarms becoming so depleted in number that they are unable to avail themselves of the later blossoms, even if these are well-stored with honey. The second swarm thrown off will necessarily be composed mostly of young bees, but the inference that swarming continues so long as there are young queens to lead them out is erroneous.
DEATHS FROM CONSUMPTION.
Please tell what States furnished the largest percentage of consumptives, according to population, and settle a dispute.
B. F. Feather.
Answer.—The following table shows the total population of States reporting the greatest number of deaths from consumption in the last census year, and the number of deaths per 10,000 inhabitants:
| Died of | No. per | ||
| States. | Population. | consumption. | 10,000. |
| New York | 5,082,871 | 12,858 | 25 |
| Pennsylvania | 4,282,891 | 8,073 | 19 |
| Massachusetts | 1,783,085 | 5,207 | 30 |
| Ohio | 3,198,062 | 5,912 | 18 |
| Illinois | 3,077,871 | 5,146 | 16 |
| Tennessee | 1,542,259 | 3,767 | 24 |
This shows that whereas the deaths from consumption in the census year were 16 for every 10,000 inhabitants in Illinois, they were 25 per 10,000 in New York State, and 30 per 10,000 in Massachusetts, the highest ratio in the country. Maine stood next with 29 per 10,000, while Rhode Island lost 25, New Hampshire 25, New Jersey 23, Connecticut 21, California 21, Virginia 20, North Carolina 15, and Michigan the same as Illinois, 16, while Florida lost not quite 10, and Minnesota not quite 11 per 10,000.
RAILROAD RELINQUISHMENT TO SETTLERS.