58 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



breeding-queen from the East to Califor- 

 nia, and the long-distance Benton is about 

 right for all others. 



This subject of superior stock is now 

 the most interesting to me of any connect- 

 ed with- the bee-business. 



I am interested in the statements made 

 by Mr. Wright, on page S29, about a 

 queen which he calls '•Sweetheart," and 

 would pay fifty cents more than the regu- 

 lar price paid for one of her daughter's 

 select tested, and one dollar more if the 

 young queen \\ as reared in a colony su- 

 perseding its queen and mailed in an ex- 

 port cage; and if you could insure her 

 mating with a drone from as good stock 

 as herself, which would make the young 

 queen as good as her mother, you might 

 add another fifty cents. Seven years ago 

 I bought a queen from a man named 

 Wallace, who advertised that he was rais- 

 ing queens from Dadant's best stock. I 

 raised about twenty queens from this one 

 to test the stock. The next season was a 

 dry one, and most bees had to be fed to 

 keep them alive; but several colonies out 

 of the twenty filled their supers with 

 honey. Next season, 1S95, I bred from 

 the best of these; and in 1.S96, which was 

 another dry vear, this strain again filled 

 their supers when others were starving. 

 I have had many colonies of this strain 

 which I considered ideal bees, and think 

 that they have been improved by breed- 

 ing from the very bcst each )-ear. The 

 present year was a very dry one, but I 

 have one colony of this strain that filled 

 2^2 ten-frame L. supers; and I wrote in 

 my record-book, after the number of this 

 hive, that such bees would make a man 

 rich. They are beautiful, pure Italians, 

 light three-banded, queen large and yel- 

 low, and very prolific. I have raised 

 about 200 young queens from her, and 

 they are all like their mother. Her bees 

 are gentle. She was one year old last 

 July, and has never swarmed; and this 

 strain does not swarm half as much as 

 any other strain in my apiary. It is rare 

 for me to become enthusiastic over a 

 queen; but when a colony shows a mark- 

 ed superiority over 600 others in the same 

 apiary, it is a rare thing. 



Editor Root comments as follows: — 



You have very fairly and candidly set 

 forth some of the reasons why queens of 

 good mothers do not equal the original 

 stock. It is true, that some of those 

 (not all) that travel long distances in 

 mailing-cages do suffer more or less from 

 confinement, exposure, and rough hand- 

 ling; and that is one reason why I have 

 been urging every honey-producer to 



l«arn to rear his own queens by the Doo- 

 littlemetliod; and while referring to that 

 method I agree with you, that those rear- 

 ed under the swarming or supersedure 

 impulse are much superior to those rear- 

 ed by the other plans. A colony that is 

 about to supersede its queen we consider 

 a prize; and if we can get four or five of 

 them, we feel that we are in clover. But, 

 of course, when we have no such colonies 

 WQ use the next best — i. e. , bring about 

 the swarming impulse artificially by feed- 

 ing a little every day ; but even then an 

 actual honey-flow is ahead. 



With regard to your breeding-queen, 

 the one that has made such a fine show- 

 ing, we hereby give you an order now 

 for three of the best of her daughters, if 

 you will sell them, to be sent next sum- 

 mer, you to set your own price. We 

 would make you an offer for the breeder; 

 but, even if you accepted, by the time she 

 arrived here through the mails she might 

 be almost worthless as a breeder, es- 

 pecially if she were getting to be old, and 

 it would be not wise to take chances on 

 such a queen. 



Yes, sir; when one colony shows such 

 manked superiority over 600 others in the 

 same apiary it is indeed a rarity, and 

 that queen is a prize. I hope you will 

 supply other breeders with your stock as 

 well as ourselves, for the time is surely 

 at hand when better honey-queens rather 

 than better colored ones should be sought. 

 —Ed.] 



Honey Quotations. 



The following rales for grading honey were 

 adopted by the North American Bee - Keepers' 

 Association, at its Washington meeting, and, so 

 far as possible, quotations are made according 

 to these rales. 



Fancy.— All sections to be well filled ; combs 

 straight, of even thickness, and firmly attached 

 to all foQF sides ; both wood ami comb niiBoiled 

 by travel-stain, or otherwise; all the cells sealed 

 except the row of cells next the wood. 



No. 1. — -All sections well filled, bat combs un- 

 even or crooked, detached at the bottom, or 

 with but few cells unsealed ; both wood and 

 comb unsoLled by travel-stain or otherwise. 



In addition to this the honey is to be classified 

 according to color, using the terms white, amber 

 and dark. That is, there will be " fancy white," 

 No. 1,, dark,"' etc. 



KANSAS CITY.— We quote as follows: No. i. 

 white, 14; No. 2 white, 13; No. i. amber, 13; dark, 

 1 2 J4; extracted, white, 7^2 to 8; amber, 7 to 7^; 

 dark, 5 to sJ^.; beeswax, 22. 



C. C. CLEMONS CO., 



Dec. 26. 423 Walnut St., Kansas City, Mo. 



