38o 



THB BEIt-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



in swarming hives; and the will-power of 

 the workers is such that unusually lary;e 

 and vigorous queens are produced to meet 

 the requirements of the situation. I 

 have purchased a great many queens, 

 and have yet to find any that are equal 

 in size to some thus produced. 



I firmly believe the workers can devel- 

 op a queen equal to the requirements of 

 the colony, in a few generations, at most. 

 There are other points of excellence 

 which are contained in the non-swarmer, 

 which I expect to prove more thoroughly 

 by another season's test before placing 

 them upon the market. 



Although it has been an off-season I 

 have secured upwards of a ton of fine 

 comb honey, with ample winter stores for 

 every colony. 



In reference to improving my stock, I 

 see an advancement after six years effort. 

 My best colonies which have queens two 

 years old have kept in the lead each sea- 

 son and far outstrip the average colony. 

 One colony, which I consider the best, 

 stored log^well finished sections; and, had 

 the season been a good one, doubtless 

 double the number would have been 

 placed to its credit. 



Mr. E. R. Root, in speaking of improv- 

 ed bees, attributes the gain in honey 

 gathering as largely due to the increased 

 length of their tongues. While I have 

 been working for the same, and believe 

 Mr. Root is correct in his conclusion, one 

 fact came under my observation as a dis- 

 tinctive feature of the bees composing 

 my best colony. The bees upon return- 

 ing from the honey fields showed abdo- 

 mens unusually large and distended with 

 honey. Furthermore, nearly every bee 

 entering the hive carried a full load. By 

 comparison, I found many bees of the 

 other colonies entering the hives with 

 their abdomens distended so little as lo 

 be unnoticeable. I also found this colony 

 gathered much less propolis than any 

 other in the yard. 



In view of the above facts I shall make 

 my efforts to improve the stock eclectic — 

 combining a? many of th?; best qualifica. 



tions as possible, to accomplish the de- 

 sired end. 



My stock, some ten years ago, was 

 from J. P. Moore of Morgan Ky., crossed 

 with selected stock from another breeder 

 of yellow bees, which showed a sport of 

 larger workers and drones. In October I 

 supplanted a few mismated queens with 

 some of Mr. Moore's stock, and one from 

 your selected, for comparison the coming 

 season. I shall be careful to eliminate 

 the drones in those colonies as much as 

 possible consistent with maintaining the 

 normal condition, so as to prevent fur- 

 ther crossing until the test as to size and 

 working qualities have been made. 



Jackson, Mich., Nov. 27, 1900. 



EDITORIAL 



ffcrings. 



Education's use is to stir up and 

 stimulate to investigation. 



"Fertile Worker" is a misnomer. 

 Workers are never fertilized. Laying 

 worker is the correct term. 



Ignor.\xce and ugliness are at the bot- 

 tom of nearly all of the cases of prosecu- 

 tion for bees damaging fruit; so said Mr. 

 Wm. Couse, at the Ontario Convention. 



•^^^^^^^•■■^^ 



Bricks were reconnnended by Mr. J. 

 B. Hall at the Ontario convention, for 

 setting hives upon in the apiar}-. This 

 saves the deca}- of the hive-stand. 



Tacks sprinkled upon the platform of 

 the wagon upon which bees are to be 

 moved will prevent the hives from slip- 

 ping about. Mr. F. A. Gemmill, at the 

 Ontario convention, said that even two 

 tacks under the bottom board of a hive 

 will keep it safely in place. 



