194 



fHE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



Do not breeders of live stock look more 

 to the sire than to the dam for improve- 

 ment? Is not the most care and atten- 

 tion bestowed upon the sire, and do not 

 results prove that it is the shortest way 

 to improvement? For them, of course, it 

 is the most economical, while for us the 

 opposite is true. 



Drones are cheap and plentiful in 

 season, while queens require care and at- 

 tention in rearing, hence we, to a certain 

 extent, allow nature to take its course. 

 Let us rear queens and drones from our 

 best stocks, and bar all inferior drones. 



Let us keep it up continually, and ex- 

 change from time to time with others 

 who are following the same course, and I 

 doubt not that in a few years we will have 

 raised the standard of excellence se\eral 

 points. No doubt many breeders will 

 say they are doing that very thing just 

 now. Friends, how thoroughly ai-e you 

 doing it? 



Try to do it better; and remember that 

 the gold that comes into the bee-keep- 

 ers pocket after the honey crop is sold, 

 gives greater and more substantial satis- 

 faction than the gold bands across the 

 bees' backs. 



Here, friends, is a field for untiring 

 labor, faithfulness and attention. Here 

 is a hopeful field with plenty of room for 

 expansion, centuries have been spent in 

 bringing our fruits and vegetables to the 

 high standard of excellence to which they 

 have attained. The same is true of 

 horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, fowls, and all 

 things domestic. 



Let us labor faithfully and see if we 

 cannot produce thoroughbred bees. 



Bluffton, Mo., May 8, 1900. 



ECOY BEE HIVES; HOW TO 

 ARRANGE AND PLACE 

 THEM, AND WHAT MAY 

 BE EXPECTED OF THEM. 

 BY GEO. A, FENTON. 



My experience with decoy bee hives 

 dates back seven years ago this summer; 



when I caught nine swarms in decoys_ 

 Last year I caught fifty-three in decoys. 

 I do not remember the number any other 

 year, but it was quite a few. 



I used a 30-foot rope ladder the first 

 four summers, b}- throvv-ing a long rope 

 over a limb and tying it near the ground; 

 now I use the single-pointed spur climb- 

 ers, as I like them the best; the others 

 are liable to fill with bark. 



':^i 





DECOY HIVK IX POSITION. 



The most essential thing is nerve; as it 

 is often thirty or forty feet to a limb. I 

 take the tall trees so that the boys will not 

 steal the bees, which they will do if they 

 can get at them. Besides a good pair of 

 spurs, I use about forty feet of small rope, 

 and a hatchet to cut small limes, and to 

 drive nails with; as it will be necessary 



