THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



63 



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Every bee-keeper who has had experience 

 with several strains of bees knows that some are 

 far superior to others— that there is scrub stock 

 among bees, just as there are scrub horses, cat- 

 tle, sheep and poultry. Let me give my own ex- 

 perience. Years ago, while living at Rogersville, 

 I made a specially of rearing queens for sale. 

 Before engaging in this work I bought Italian 

 queens and Italianized, not onlj' my own bees, 

 but all within three miles of my apiary. In 

 buying those queens I think that I patronized 

 nearly every breeder in the United States; and 

 even in those years of inexperience I was not 

 long in noting the great difference in the differ- 

 ent strains of bees. The queens from one par- 

 ticular breeder produced bees that delighted me 

 greatly. They were just plain, dark, three- 

 banded Italians, but as workers I have never 

 seen them equaled. They seemed possessed of a 

 steady, quiet determinati.m that enabled them 

 to lay up surplus ahead of the others. Easier 

 bees to handle I have never seen. It sometimes 

 seemed as though they were too busy attending to 

 their own business to bother with anything else. 

 Their honey was capped with a snowy whiteness 

 rivaling that of the blacks. In addition to these 

 desirable traits must be added that of wintering 

 well. If any bees came through the winter it 

 was the colonies of this strain. They came as 

 near being ideal bees as any I have possessed. 

 All this was twenty years ago; and several times 

 since then I have bought queens of this same 

 breeder, and I have always found this strain of 

 bees possessed of those same good qualities— in- 

 dustry-, gentleness, and hardiness. In addition 

 to this they cap their honey as the b'acks do 

 theirs. I have frequently corresponded with 

 this breeder, and with those who have bought 

 queens of him, and I am thoroughly convinced 

 that he has a strain of bees that are far superior 

 to the general run of stock. If I were starting an 

 apiarj-, for the production of honey, I should un- 

 hesitatingly stock it with this strain of bees. 



This breeder has always advertised in a mod- 

 est, quiet sort of way, nothing in proportion to 

 what his stock would have warranted, and 

 I have decided that I can help him, and 

 l)enefit my readers, at a profit to myself, by ad- 

 vertising these bees in a manner befittingly en- 

 ergetic. 



The price of these queens will be $1.50 each. 

 This may seem like a high price, but the man 



who pays it will make dollars where this breed- 

 er and myself make cents; and when you come 

 to read the conditions under which they are 

 sold, it will not seem so high. The queens sent 

 out will all be young queens, just beginning to 

 lay, but, as there are no black bees in the vicin- 

 ity, it is not likely that any will prove impurely 

 mated. If any queen should prove to be im- 

 purely mated,' another will be sent free of 

 charge. Safe arrival in first-class condition will 

 be guaranteed. Instructions for introducing 

 will be sent to every purchaser, and if these in- 

 -structions are followed, and the queen is lost, 

 another will be sent free of charge. This is not 

 all; if, at any time within two years, a purchaser, 

 for any reason whatever, is not satisfied with 

 his bargain, he can return the queen, and his 

 money will be refunded, and 50 cents extra sent 

 to pay him for his trouble. It will be seen that 

 the purchaser runs no risk whatever. If a 

 queen does not arrive in good condition, another 

 is sent. If he loses her in introducing, another 

 is sent. If she should prove impurly mated, 

 another is sent. If the queen proves a poor lay- 

 er, or the stock does not come up to the expecta- 

 tions, or there is any rea.son why the bargain is 

 not satisfactory, the queen can be returned and 

 the money will be refunded, and the customer 

 fairly well paid for his trouble. I could not 

 make this la.st promise if I did not know that 

 the stock is really superior. 



I said that the price would be $1.50 each. 

 There is only one condition under which a queen 

 will be sold for a less price, and that is in con- 

 nection with an advance .subscription to the Re- 

 view. Any one who has already paid me, or who 

 will pay me, $i.c» for the Review for 1900, can 

 have a queen for $1.00 That is, you can have 

 the Review for 1900 (and 12 back numbers) and 

 a queen for $2.00. Of course, all arrearages m\i.st 

 be paid up before this offer will hold good. This 

 special offer is made with a view to the getting 

 of new subscribers, and as an inducement to old 

 subscribers to pay up all arrearages and to pay 

 in advance to the end of next year. 



Of course it is now too late to send out (lueens, 

 but thev can be ordered, either alone, or in con- 

 nection with a sub.scription to the Review, and the 

 orders will be booked and the queens sent next 

 spring. 



W. Z. Hutc'rrns-n, Flint, Mich 



