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AMERICAN BEE [OURNAL. 



Sept. 19, 1901. 



silkworm can not now exist without the aitl of man, and if 

 the canary bird is turned loose in its native country it jicr- 

 ishes. The potato bug was not a potato bug at all !ft first. It 

 lived on a different plant here in Colorado. Then'it traveled 

 and took to potatoes, and now it is called the Colorado potato 

 bug and no longer lives on its original food. 



Mr. Ijytle — I have one colony of pretty black stock. I 

 know the queen was changed three times by swarming. Yot 

 the colony now is as black as it ever was. I have thought 

 that perhaps the queens of this colony mated with their own 

 drones. 



H. Rauchfuss — I think that occurs very seldom. I once 

 requeened a yard of -40 colonies with queens from one queen. 

 and used that queen to furnish drones. Those drones should 

 nave been pure. But not more than one out of twenty of 

 those queens was purely mated, and there were but few colo- 

 nies in the neighborhood, either, and they were not close by. 



Pres. Aikin — To sum it up, select the best colonies, dis- 

 playing vigor and other good qualities, and breed from them. 

 The average apiarist can not do much to control the drones. 

 I have practiced the method of unqueening for years with 

 hundreds of colonies, on whole apiaries at once, so that it 

 made no difference about the bees mi.xing. The colonies 

 retained their normal strength 21 days, and then they went 

 down, and it only took three or four weeks for them to be 

 materially reduced. 



Mr. Gill — That may apply to whole apiaries, and yet a few 

 individual colonies may be longer lived than others. 



Mr. Harris — I offer the following resolution : 



Resolved, That the Colorado State Bee-Keepers' Associ- 

 ation recommends to its members, in buying queens, to buy 

 only of queen-breeders who furnish pedigreed queens, mated 

 by pedigreed drones. 



Mr. Honnett— I am opposed to that resolution, not on 

 account of the good it may do, but ( know of no such thing as 

 a registry for pure-bred queens. It may be a good thing for 

 experts, but it will put the common people into the hands of 

 sharpers, who will advertise pedigreed queens, when there is 

 no way to pedigree them. 



Mr. Harris — You might change the phraseology and do 

 good. All lines of stock are brought up to higher excellence 

 in that way. 



Mr. Lytle— No one here has spoken of the National 

 Queen-Breeders' Association. Any competent and honest 

 queen-breeder can furnish the information. No one can be a 

 member of the National Queen-Breeders' Association and be 

 dishonest. I believe the resolution is in the right direction. 

 I think we can get a pedigree of drones. 1 second the motion 

 to adopt the resolution. 



F. Rauchfuss — You can control fertilization. There 

 are plenty of places here in Colorado where it can be con- 

 trolled as surely as on an island. A man could go out a hun- 

 dred miles on the prairie, and be absolutely sure that there 

 were no other bees within reach but his own. Of course, he 

 could not produce queens for a dollar a piece. He would have 

 to feed. 



Mr. Honnett — I am in favor of improving the breed. The 



question has been discussed by eminent breeders, and they 



agreed it was impossible to keep <iueens pure within a certain 



distance. But it won't be 30 days after you pass this resolu- 



on before you will see advertisements of pedigreed queens. 



Mr. Large — We don't all practice what we preach. 



Pres. Aikin— The resolution does not bind, it only recom- 

 mends. 



The resolution was adopted. 



TUE KIGnTFUL 8HAKK IN HEE-KKEPING. 



Question.— \w working bees on shares, what shall the 

 owner furnish, and what shall be the share of each— comb 

 honey, extracted honey, and increase 1 



Mr. Harris — There is a great variation in the share one 

 should have, owing to different conditions. The parties 

 should fix that between themselves. 



Mr. Poster— I have had a little experience in that line 

 that was not altogether satisfactory. A year ago I gave lO 

 pounds apiece, or$l per colony for the season, to the owner. 

 When the colony was above the average I gave i^l.SO, or 15 

 pounds. But last year I shared half and half all through, 

 expenses and profits, and when I figured up I found that I 

 liad paid the owner .$3 per colony, and it was now my turn to 

 cry too much, for he did nothing but look on. 



Mrs Brock — I have always leased on halves, and received 

 half the honey and half the bees. It is a question with me 

 how the honey should be divided. Should the lessee take his 

 <liare as he pleases, or should both parties be there? 



Mr. Dodds — I have been leasing bees, and my custom is to 

 stack the honey in a pile, and, if we do not sell together, give 



the owner the choice of what he wants for his half, say every 

 other case. I furnish my own hives for my increase and he 

 his. If artificial swarms are made, and one of mine doesn't 

 build up, I lose it ; if one of his does not, he loses it. 



Mr. Collins — I have offered the first 20 pounds from each 

 colony, just such as comes. 



Mr. Pattee — I have given half of the honey and half of 

 the increase, the owners furnishing their own hives. We 

 divide the honey. 



Mr. Dodds — I think Mr. Collins" is the most desirable 

 plan. There is another way, to have the owner furnish every- 

 thing and own everything. Then there is no chance for the 

 owner to say that increase has been made with discrimina- 

 tion. The apiarist does the work and gets half the honey. 

 He simply puts his work against the capital. 



Mr. Pattee — I cleared eight colonies and $110 off of 17 

 colonies, spring count. I took 2500 pounds of honey. 



F. Rauchfuss — Now, let us hear a few bad reports. 



Mr. Honnett — 1 started with llO colonies, spring count, 

 and had a return of 1 Kt cases of honey. 



Mr. Brock — In my early experience I bought 40 colonie.s 

 of a man who was to.run them on shares. They increased to- 

 66. Next spring I had three left and was i^SuO out. 



Mr. Honnett — I endorse that plan of the owner furnish- 

 ing everything. Then there is no clashing about swarms. 

 The hives offset the swarms and fixtures. It is very equit- 

 able. 



F. Rauchfuss — The most satisfactory way is for both par- 

 ties to rent on a cash basis. Say there are 100 colonies. I 

 pay $1 a year apiece, cash rental, and have an impartial per- 

 son examine them on the first of October to see that I return 

 bees, supers, hives and fixtures in exactly the same shape that 

 I found them. The lessee ought to be expected to furnish 

 a bond or security. Of course, common law will protect the 

 owner if damage is done. By this plan all increase goes to 

 the lessee. 



Mr. Harris — In 185^8 I put into winter quarters 85 colo- 

 nies. The next spring I had 35 colonies, and got 8o0 pounds- 

 of surplus honey. 



Mr. Collins — By my plan, if then- is not much honey, you 

 are not out, and there are no bees to divide. 1 would not fol- 

 low Mr. Rauchfuss' plan for one year alone, if there is foul 

 brood in the neighborhood, for it might appear in the apiary 

 the next year, and I be held liable for introducing it. 



F. Rauchfuss — Circumstances alter cases. 



Mr. Honnett — In my locality I catch at least as many 

 swarms from outside as come from my bees, and there would 

 be a chance for a clash there. 



Mr. Collins — I would have that covered by the agree- 

 ment. 



FAULTS THAT .JUSTIFY UEyEENING. 



Mr. Martin — A colony with a drone-laying queen should 

 be requeened, providing it is populous. Otherwise, it should 

 be united with another. If a queen is lost during the flow, 

 or when the colony is populous, the colony should be requeened. 

 1 often requeen a colony soon after it has swarmed (if J find 

 one that has swarmed without my knowing it) and cut out the 

 cells at the same lime. When I find a colony with an unpro- 

 lific (lueen, I sometimes kill her. I also reciueen colonies that 

 show inferior traits in capping or finishing honey, or in some 

 way are not good workers. 



Mr. Collins — Do you not replace the old queens on account 

 of age ? 



Mr. Martin — Not if they are prolific. Sometimes it is not the 

 faultof the queen if the colony is weak. It is hard to lay down a 

 rule. Then sometimes a colony with a laying worker does 

 not wish to accept a queen-. In such a case, I advise doubling 

 up or stocking up with hees. One can follow no general rule. 

 This year I had two colonies whose honey was capped quite 

 differently from that of the others. The combs were of a 

 " washboardy " shape, and did not fill the sections. In one 

 hive I had three supers of that honey all capped, but it was 

 all second grade. Such colonies I would advise requeening. 



Mr. Kruger — Last May I found a colony with a drone-lay- 

 ing queen. It swarmed in June, and I gave one of the cells 

 to the swarm and left two with the old colony. The swarm 

 did well, but a queen hatched in the old colony that never 

 laid. 



Mr. Sylvester — Queens are sometimes imperfect. 



Mr. Harris — When 1 find laying workers, I move the hive 

 some distance and put another colony in its place. Then I 

 shake off the bees in front of the hive and introduce a queen, 

 which is accepted. 



Mr. Collins — I had a colony of laying workers that refused 

 to accept queen-cells. Then I took a band-cutter and slashed 

 the brood all up, after which they accepted a cell. 



Mr. Dudley — I used to move such a eolony about lOO feet 



