June 27, 1901. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



407 



i. e., call attention to the then present status of the sub- 

 ject, and arouse interest, comment and study. The breed- 

 ing of stock in such a way as to develop and establisli 

 desirable traits, or, in a word, thorough breeding, is a sub- 

 ject on which many volumes have been written, and to 

 endeavor to give any satisfactory exposition of it in the 

 space available for an article in our bee-papers is impos- 

 sible. The best we can do is to call attention to the sub- 

 ject, refer those interested to the standard works on it, later 

 discuss salient points, and study it as applied to bees. We 

 shall certainly meet some variations of the laws applied to 

 higher animals, for with bees the drone does not represent 

 two lines of blood, as does the queen, and other factors are 

 also different and will require much study and research. 



I believe the breeding of queens is passing into the 

 hands of a comparatively few persons, and these well edu- 

 cated and skilled in the art. It is for the best good of all 

 concerned that it should be so, and Mr. Martin's plan is in 

 this direction. For a time it may cause some personal dis- 

 tress and necessity for readjustment by those who have to 

 drop the business, but bee-keeping will be benefitted 

 thereby. It is only the working out of the natural laws of 

 specialization and the survival of the fittest. Those who 

 kick against it will only show their ignorance of great fun- 

 damental truths. 



The exact details under which the system will be con- 

 ducted are properly a subject for debate, and the more full 

 the discussion the more readily will the change be made. 

 The average honey-producer is certainly not in a position 

 to study into the traits of individual colonies, nor when he 

 observes desirable characteristics has he the time or skill to 

 develop them. But if he can turn that queen over to the 

 queen-rearer with a statement of all the observed traits, 

 and of the pedigree so far as known, then is she placed 

 where the man with the time and training can observe, and 

 act on his observations. Suppose each of twenty skilled 

 producers were every season turning over to the queen- 

 specialist his best queen, would he not then be in a posi- 

 tion where, even if not able to control the drones, he could 

 produce queens far beyond anything we now have ? The 

 skilled queen-breeder of to-day need not fear this plan, for 

 if he is worthy to survive he will quickly find his place as a 

 queen-specialist. Rambler's plan is entitled to our serious 

 consideration. Providence Co., R. I. 



No. 7.- 



Pmctical Lessons for Beginners in Bee- 

 Culture. 



BY J. D. GEHRING. 

 iContinued from page 376.) 

 " ATOW, Mr. Bond," I continued, " if you will please 

 l\j come a little closer I will show you how I take a 

 super off the brood-chamber." 



Mr. Bond took two or three rather timid steps away 

 from the apple-tree, against which he had been leaning 

 while I was explaining things, and then halted when he 

 saw me using my old chisel at one end of the super to 

 loosen it from the frames. 



" O, come along I" I called, when a side glance showed 

 me his action. " These bees are as tame as kittens now. 

 They'll make no sign of a fight while they are full of 

 honey, you know. Don't forget that, Mr. Bond. And, let 

 me remind you, also, don't forget that you are wearing the 

 best kind of a bee-veil, and are at liberty to keep your 

 hands in your pockets, if you prefer to do so." 



" As I was saying this I had reached the last frame in 

 my prying operation, and, as that frame stuck to the super 

 worse than any of the others, it came loose with a snap and 

 a bang, the usual result -with which all practical bee-men 

 are familiar — following so quickly that I hastily reached 

 for m)' smoker, standing near by. A few puff's of smoke, 

 only, were required to drive the out-rushing bees back. My 

 quick movement in reaching for the smoker must have 

 looked to Mr. Bond like the effect of sudden fright, for he 

 uttered a hearty guffaw, and then said, banteringly : 



"Say, Mr. Gehring, how long will bees stay tame after 

 you've made them gorge themselves on honey ? Those in 

 that hive act as if they hadn't had a lick of honey to eat to- 

 day. Do you know that it is now 4 o'clock ? and that it 

 wasn't quite 2 o'clock when you left them to 'tend to that 

 swarm ?" 



Mr. Bond was rig-ht. But I wasn't quite willing to 

 acknowledge that I had made a mistake by forgetting the 

 point he made. I, therefore, attempted no direct reply to 

 his bantering questions, but said : 



" I'll show you in a few minutes, Mr. Bond, that these 

 bees will behave all right when they have become satisfied 

 that no harm is being done to them. If you'll come here 

 and take this smoker while I take the super off, it will be a 

 good lesson for you for future use." 



Mr. Bond did as requested, and I continued : " Now, 

 when I lift the super the bees mav make another rush. If 

 they do, just blow a few gentle puffs of smoke over the top 

 of the frames — that will send them back. But if they make 

 no rush, nor act ' fightish,' don't use the smoker on them." 



With a steady, even motion I raised the super clear of 

 the frames, and carefully deposited it on a near-by hive, 

 keeping a watchful eye, meanwhile, on the hive, and on 

 Mr. Bond in particular ; for I could not be certain what 

 either the bees or the man with the smoker might, or might 

 not, do. A few of the bees, either from the hive or from the 

 bottom of the super, of course took wing, but made no 

 vicious demonstration. Mr. Bond, however, did not know 

 how to interpret the actions of bees, hence he did not waste 

 a moment's time in watching to see what these flying bees 

 would do. Before I had time to turn, after setting the 

 super down, he was pumping the smoker with frantic 

 energy, and sending dense volumes of smoke down between 

 the frames of the open hive. 



" Quit that, Mr. Bond !" I cried — not taking time to be 

 polite. " Stop that smoke ! Don't you see the bees are not 

 doing any harm ? Never use the smoker unless it is abso- 

 lutely necessary ! Remember that, now and always, Mr. 

 Bond. It has a demoralizing effect on them, and makes 

 them harder to handle, because smoke-treatment like that 

 frightens and irritates them. You can see that for your- 

 self," I concluded, pointing, as I approached the hive, to 

 the bee-entrance where the poor, confused little things were 

 pouring forth, in a frantic rush to escape the smoke. 



" I beg pardon if I didn't do the right thing at the 

 right time," meekly replied Mr. Bond, as he handed the 

 instrument of possible torture to me. "But, you see, 

 these practical lessons you're giving me are hard on the 

 nerves — my nerves, I mean." 



"That surprises me. Mr. Bond," I replied. "I always 

 had a sort of an idea that ' fair-fat-andforty ' people, like 

 yourself, carried their nerves out of sight and out of reach 

 of attack from any source. But let that pass, Mr. Bond. 

 The lesson is the important thing to consider, hence I am 

 not at all sorry that you have had a part in this 'little 

 fracas ' — as, I believe, you would call it — because you'll be 

 less liable to forget it." 



" Do you mean the fracas, or the lesson ?" queried Mr. 

 Bond, mischievously. "I mean the lesson suggested bj' 

 the fracas, Mr. Bond," I replied. "The main point of inter- 

 est in the lesson is, the use and abuse of smoke in the api- 

 ary. Owing to the unintentional abuse — or misuse — of 

 smoke in this particular instance two undesirable effects, to 

 put it mildly, were the direct and indirect result, thus : 



"Your furious bombardment with a bee-smoker dis- 

 turbed and excited a whole colony of otherwise docile bees. 

 That was the direct effect. The indirect effect of it was, or 

 is, that your lesson will have to be postponed for to-day. It 

 is now too late in the day to keep the hive open longer for 

 the purpose of demonstrating this part of the lesson. 

 Besides, it would not be wise, or even merciful toward the 

 bees, to trouble them further while they are unduly excited. 



"You needn't keep your veil on any longer now, Mr. 

 Bond. There is no danger at all after I get this super back 

 on the hive," I said, as I was replacing the super, and then 

 closed the hive. 



" That means, then, that school's out and I'm dismissed. 

 Is that it?" 



"Not exactly dismissed, Mr. Bond," I replied; "fori 

 want 3'ou to come again as soon as you can, on a bright, 

 warm day. Remember to come as early as seven in the 

 morning, when yoa do come. 



" By the way, Mr. Bond, lest I forget to ask you : Do 

 you take the American Bee Journal ? I name that, in par- 

 ticular, because I read it in preference to any of the other 

 bee-papers, and because I think it's the best in most re- 

 spects ; though others, as far as I know them, are good, too. 

 The fact is, bee-papers are somewhat like bee-men — they're 

 all good — some more, and some less." 



We were walking toward the honey-house as I talked. 

 On the waj' Mr. Bond removed the bee-veil and carried it in 

 his hand until we had reached my work-room. I requested 

 him to take a seat, but before doing so he handed me the 

 veil, and then said : 



" If you had asked me that question about the Bee 

 Journal the first thing this morning, I would have seen no 

 reason for hesitating to tell the truth about it. But after 



