Nov. 14. 19(11 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



733 



Tested Queens. 



A question thai will some of these days 

 ueed to be supplied with a new answer is 

 this: " What is a tested queen?" The an- 

 swer /i<(s liii'n, -A queen whose three-banded 

 workers show that she is pure Italian in ori- 

 gin and matino;." But since the entrance of 

 live-banders, as the editor correctly says, 

 pafje 790, there may be black blood in a queen 

 which produces three-banded workers. That 

 knocks out the old answer. What shall 

 the revised answer be ? Don't ask me. I 

 don't know. — [This is one objection to the 

 rearin;;' of flre-banded bees. But that objci'- 

 lion would haveno weight with me, providing 

 I could see in color greater longevity or more 

 pounds of honey. 1 — Editor. — Stray Straw in 

 Gleanings in Bee-Culture. 



Rearing Queens in Nuclei Without 

 Cessation of Laying. 



B. Beuhne, in the Australian Bee-Bulletin, 

 after telling of failures in introducing queens 

 in the usual mailing cages, says: 



I next tried the nucleus plan. Starting a 

 nucleus alongside the colony the queen of 

 which was to be replaced, and after the 

 young queen in the nucleus had commenced 

 to lay, 1 removed the old queen of the hive 

 and united colony and nucleus. Observing 

 the usual precautions of uniting I never had 

 a mishap; but the drawback was that it re- 

 quired the operation of making a nucleus to 

 be gone through for every colony so re- 

 queeued. To avoid this I established a num- 

 ber of permanent nuclei, and whenever I 

 wanted a queen I went to a nucleus, took out 

 a frame with queen, brood, and bees, and 

 inserted it into the place of one received from 

 a colony, and together with the queen it was 

 given to the nucleus, where the queen could 

 go on laying till the young queen emerged 

 from a cell given it. I may here state that 

 when a queen is more than two years old I do 

 not remove her when giving a cell (in a pro- 

 tector), and in three cases out of four the 

 virgin queen will take no notice of the old 

 queen, and in due course comnieuce to lay, 

 when she may be removed and another cell 

 given. Thus the nucleus is never queenless, 

 and gradually increases in population. 



In some cases I have had two and three old 

 queens in a nucleus all laying on the same 

 combs. The jealousy so marked in a young 

 queen is quite gone after the second season, 

 and such a queen is not considered a rival 

 even by a virgin queen. On this point doubts 

 of the correctness of this reasoning have 

 been expressed to me, and to anticipate such 

 douljts 1 may state that I have proved the 

 point by ocular demonstrations to many bee- 

 keepers who have visited my apiary, and who 

 can bear out my contentions. 



Dittmer's Foundation ! 



Retail— Wholesale— Jobbing. 



I use a PROCESS that produces EVERY 

 ESSENTIAL necessary to make it the BEST 

 and MOST desirable in all respects. My PRO- 

 CESS and AUTOMATIC MACHINES are my 

 own inventions, which enable me to SELL 

 FOUNDATION and 



fork fax Into FoMdatioii For Casli 



at prices that are the lowest. Catalog giving 



Full Line of Supplies, 



GUS, DITTMER, Augusta, Wis. 



Please mention Bee journal -when -writing. 



Bees on Shares. 



Contrary to the advice of some of the sages 

 of l)ee-culture. a great many people in Colo- 

 rado are working bees on shares, and getting 

 a start in the business without any great cost 

 to themselves aside from their labor. And 

 this chiefly follows from the fact that there 

 are a number of retired apiarists in the State. 

 Yes, men who have actually accumulated a 

 competency from the production of honey. 

 Another class, owners of bees, but unskilled 

 in their management, lease their bees to 

 practical apiarists, and uuike a haud.sonu! 

 percentage on their investment. 



In the Eastern States, where bee-keeping is 

 about as certain to prove remunerative as 

 rain is to fall on the Mojave desert, and 

 where winter losses are sometimes appalling, 

 both parties are apt to be disappointed and 

 dissatisHed (especially the owner of the bees), 

 and trouble is liable to follow. But in the 

 irrigated portions of the West, where reverse 



^'alitnfni^» 1 U you care to know of Its 

 ^dlllUrilld 1 Fruits, Flowers, Climate 

 or Resources, send for a sample copy of Cali- 

 fornia's Favorite Paper— 



The Pacific Rural Press, 



The leading Horticultural and Agricultural 

 paper of the Pacific Coast. Published weekly, 

 handsomely illustrated, $2.00 per annum. Sam- 

 ple copy free, 



PACIFIC RURAL PRESS, 

 330 Market Street, - San Francisco, Cal 



Successful! 



f\cubaLtor{TbeEgg) 

 Brooder (The chick) 



of them. Mails loaded with words of 

 •raise fiom chicken people. Our 

 rreat catalogue turns tue lime 

 .mhton the poultry business. Fi^e 

 different editions, tive languaRea. 

 English edltioni cents.othersfree. 

 DES KOINES INCI'BITOR CO., 

 fBqxTH Des aiolnes, loira, orBnilS 

 Buffalo, N. T. Adiirt.'ta nearer i.'Jce. 



Please mention Bee Journal when writine. 



THE 



The Bee-Keeper's Guide; 



Or, lYIaniiul ot the Apiarj', 



BY 



PROE A, J, COOK. 



460 Pages-ieth (1899) Edition-lSth Thou- 

 Band-$l-25 postpaid. 



A description of the book here is quite unnec- 

 essary — it is simply the most complete scientific 

 and practical bee-book published to-day. Fully 

 Illustrated, and all written in the most fascinat- 

 ng- style. The author is also too well-known to 

 the whole bee-world to require any introduction. 

 No bee-keeper is fully equipped, or his library 

 complete, without The Bee-Keepers^ Guide. 



This 16th and latest edition of Prof. Cook's 

 magnificent book of 460 pages, in neat and sub- 

 stantial cloth binding, we propose to GIVE away 

 to our present subscribers, for the work of get- 

 ting NEW subscribers for the American Bee 

 Journal. 



Given lor TWO New Subscribers. 



The following offer is made to present sub- 

 scribers only, and no premium is also g-iven to 

 the two NEW subscribers — simply the Bee Jour- 

 nal for one year: 



Send us two new subscribers to the Bee 

 Journal (with 11.00), and we will mail you a copy 

 of Prof. Cook's book FREE as a premium. 

 Prof. Cook's book alone sent for $1.25, or we club 

 It with the Bee Journal for a year— both for only 

 $1.75. But surely anybody can get only TWO 

 NEW SUBSCRIBERS to the Bee Journal for a year, 

 and thus get the book as a premium. L,et every 

 body try for it. Will YOU have one 7 



QEORQE W. YORK & CO., 



144 & 14* Erie Street. 



CHICA(;0. ILL 



L'Diiriitions prevail, things (j:eiierally go along 

 Miiijotlily. provliled both parties observe the 

 leller and spirit of their agreement. 



Ill taking bees on shares, the Journal, in all 

 cases, advises Its readers to have a written 

 cuutract. covering every feature of the agree- 

 ment and providing for every probable con- 

 tingency that may arise. This precaution 

 should be taken, no matter how hone-^t and 

 good-intentioned the parties may be; the 

 chances for misunderstandings and conse- 

 (|uent trouble will be reduced to a minimum; 

 and, besides, it is business. 



The share given for the use of the bees 

 varies according to conditions. Where a few 

 colonies are picked up here and there and 

 managed with another outfit, 15 pounds per 

 colony is considered a fair compensation, if 

 the season is good, and less if it is poor. 



Where entire apiaries are leased, including 

 all necessary fi.'ctures and ground furnished 

 for apiary, the lessee performs all the labor, 

 charges the owner with half the expense of 

 sections, foundation, shipping-eases and new 

 hives, and at the end of the season the pro- 

 ceeds are divided; that is, each takes one- 

 half of the honey and one-halt of the increase. 

 It is usually stipulated that the share of 

 honey belonging to the bee-owner shall be 

 delivered to him cased, graded and ready for 

 market. 



The .Journal will sum up the matter by 

 saying: If you can not get a start in bees in 

 any other way. take them on shares. But if 

 you can borrow money, even though you 

 have to pay 1.5 to 25 percent for it, better do 

 that and buy your bees outright. You would 

 gain financially in an average season by the 

 latter plan.— Rocky Mountain Bee Journal. 



Please mention Bee Journal 

 when writing adverti?»ers. 



An Aid in Setting Foundation. 



In placing foundation on the wires in brood 

 or half-depth frames, I find that the imbed- 

 ding can be done much better with the small 

 toothed wheel, used for the purpose, by doing 

 the rolling over a block or board covered 

 with burlap. A piece of tapestry carpet re- 

 verse side up, would answer. This is much 

 better than rolling on a board. I cut a board 

 just big enough to fit in the inside dimensions 

 ot an empty frame, and stretch the burlap 

 over it, tacking around the edges with two or 

 tour ounce tacks; nail this board on a wider 

 piece. After the foundation is secured in the 

 slotted top-bar of the frame, the latter is 

 placed over the " form '' or block, and the 

 rolling done as usual. — M. F. Reeve, in 

 American Bee-Keeper. 



The Colorado Convention, to be held 

 at Denver, Nov. IS, 19 and 20, promises to be 

 one ot the very best ever held by that excellent 

 Association. In connection with the interest- 

 ing program, a summary of which appears on 

 page 6r5, Seeretarj' D. W. Working has since 

 sent us the following, which must prove of 

 special interest to our Colorado readers : 



Prof. Gillette will be prepared to measure 

 "long tongues," and show them under the 

 microscope. 



PREMIfM LIST. 



.•\. Best and most interesting general exhibit — 

 One Improved German Steam Wax-Press, 

 large size, offered by the A. I. Root Co. 



1. Best case {24 sections) No. 1 honey — 1st 

 premium, So; "id premium, KKIO No. 1 

 white sections, given by Barteldes & Co. ; 

 :3d premium, one comb-bucket, offered by 

 the Colorado Honey-Producers' Associa- 

 tion. 



2. Best case ('24 sections) No. 3 honey — 1st 

 prem., -i^S.OO; 2d prem., one Root steam 

 wax-extractor, offered by the L. A. Wat- 

 kins Co. ; 3d prem.. one dollars' worth of 

 seeds, offered by The Lee-Kinsey Imple- 

 men t Co. 



:i. Best half-dozen jarswhite extracted honey 

 in flint-glass jars — 1st prem., ?3.00; 2d 

 prem.. one Colorado hive with slate cover. 

 olicred by the Colorado Honey-Producers' 

 .-\j.>oiialion. 



4. Best half-dozen jars amber extracted 

 honey, in fiint-glass jars — 1st prem., jvi; 

 2d prem., one dovetailed hive with Colo- 



