THE BKE-KEKPERS' REVIEW. 



303 



Selection has been the chief factor in the de- 

 velopemeiit and building up of our improved 

 breeds of horses, cattle, sheep, swine, and poul- 

 try. Men have devoted the best years of their 

 life to a single line or branch of this work — and 

 not without their reward. In bee-keeping but 

 little has been done in this direction. The de- 

 velopement of a bright yellow bee has been the 

 most noticeable thing that has been done in this 

 line. This is the most easy of accomplishment, 

 as results are so quickly and easily discernable. 

 To breed for honey - gathering qualities is a 

 much slower process. As soon as bees hatch out 

 we can decide in regard to their color, and as to 

 whether we wish to rear queens from their 

 mother for the p\irpose of improving the color of 

 our stock; to decide in regard to their working 

 qualities requires months — perhaps years. 



Every experienced bee-keeper must hav^e no- 

 ticed how much more surplus is stored by some 

 stocks than by others. Time and time again, 

 when visiting bee-keepers, have I been shown 

 some particular colony, and heard the owner 

 tell with pride how much honey it had Sv.ored 

 year after year; always coming through the 

 winter in good condition, or doing this or that 

 that was so desirable. The strange thing is that 

 bee-keepers so seldom seem to realize the value 

 of such a colony or queen, as a starting-point 

 from which to improve the stock of their whole 

 apiarj-. If they do realize it, they seldom take 

 advantage of the knowledge. Suppose, by the 

 introduction of improved stock, a man can in- 

 crease his surplus, on the average, one year with 

 another, ten pounds per colony, and that is not 

 an extravagant estimate, on 100 colonies his 

 surphis would be increased 1,000 pounds. The cost 

 for hives, grounds, labor, wintering, etc , is 

 nearly the same with one kind of stock as with 

 another, just as it costs as much to keep a scrub 

 cow as it does to keep a Jersey, and a gain in sur- 

 plus that comes from improvement in stock is 

 the most profitable that can be .secured. To im- 

 prove your stock, get the very best that you 

 can for breeding purposes, and with this stock 

 your apiary; then watch carefully, and breed 

 from those colonies that do the best. Cont nue 

 this year aftc year, and you will be surprised at 

 the resiilts. 



This matter of beginning with as good stock as 

 you can get, is all-important. Don't lose years 

 of time by commencing with common or inferior 

 stock. Get the best; aiid thus be able to com- 

 mence right where some other breeder left off. 



( P. S. — For the first time, I am now able to 



As explained in previous advertisements, I am 

 selling q\ieens from stock upon the development 

 of which a good man has spent twenty years; 

 making crosses, and then each year .selecting the 

 best to breed from. I have several times tried 

 this strain, and know it to be the best that I have 

 ever tried. 



The price of these queens will be $1 50 each. 

 This may stem 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 ^o high. The queens sent out 

 will all be young queens, just beginning to lay, 

 but, as there are no black bees in the vicinity, it 

 is not likely that any will prove inipurelj^ mated. 

 If any queen should prove to be impurely m^t- 

 ed, another will be sent free of charge. Safe 

 arrival in first-class condition will be guaranteed. 

 Instructions for introducing will be sent to each 

 purchaser, and if these instructions 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, tor any reason avh.\t- 

 EVER, is not satisfied with his bargain, he can 

 return the queen, and his money will be refund- 

 ed, 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 impurely mated, another is sent. ]f the 

 queen proves a poor layer, or the stock does not 

 come up to the expectations, or there is any rea- 

 son why the bargain is not satisfactory, the 

 queen can be returned and the money will be re- 

 funded, and the customer fairly well paid for his 

 trouble. I could not make this last promise if I 

 did not KNOW that the stock is really .superior. 



I said that the price would be 51.50 each. There 

 is only one condition under which a queen will 

 be .sold for a less price, and that is in connection 

 with an advance subscription to the Review. 

 Any one who has already paid me, or who will 

 pay me, $1.00 for the Review for 1900, can have a 

 queen for $1.00 That is, you can have the 

 Review for 1900 and a queen for $2.00. Of course, 

 all arrearages previous to 1900 must be paid up 

 before this offer will hold good This special 

 offer is made with a yiew to the getting of new 

 subscribers, and as an inducement to old .sub- 

 scribers to pay up all arrearages and to pay in 

 ad\-ance to the end of next year. 



W. Z. Hutchinson, Flint, Mich. 



fin orders for these queens by return mail.) 



