>[;iy, 1908. 



1^ American ^cc 



large part of 



■s I gain nothing, 



of it, for I don't 



nd at anv min- 



^. Would it be best for me to use a swnrra 

 box to start the cells and then have them 

 finished over an excluder in a very strong col- 

 ony, or put \ip the queen about swarming 

 time, and rear queens in the lower hive, as you 

 speak about on page i66 of your book, using 

 foundation with eggs or brood; or would you 

 advise some other way? 



4. How would I best make increase? What 

 I want is to double my colonies and secure ex- 

 tracted honey, too. 1 would make 3 colonies 

 from 2. but they swarm when made that way, 

 or at least they did when I tried it. Maine. 



Answers. — 1. I don't think I can give you 

 any better way than that given in "Forty Years 

 Among the Bees,'* except that I wouldn't now 

 use the fussy way there given to get cells 

 started. Instead of that I'd take any strong 

 colony that happened to be convenient, take 

 away its queen temporarily, and give it the 

 young brood for cell-starting. Although Mr. 

 Doolittle may prefer grafting, I don't think 

 he would insist that good queens can be pro- 

 duced only in that way. Vour failure at graft- 

 ing was nothing unusual. Probably it is the 

 common thing upon first trial, no matter how 

 well one succeeds afterward. 



Yes, it is confusing to have so many differ- 

 ent ways presented. And yet, if only one way 

 should be given, and every one should follow 

 that one way, there would be no chance for 

 progress, and we would be still brimstoning 

 our bees in the fall to take the honey. One 

 of the beauties of bee-keeping is that there is 

 always something new to learn, and we must 

 stand the confusion of different teachings for 

 the chance of picking out what may best suit 

 our own cases. One said to me once, "I sup- 

 pose you don't any more read all that comes 

 in the bee-papers." I replied, "You couldn't 

 be much further out of the way. My knowledge 

 of bee-keeping has come partly from my own 

 experience, but very much more from the ex- 

 perience of others, and I am still I 

 both ways all the while. Fi 

 all I read in the bee-pape: 

 but I dare not skip any 

 know where the" nuegets are, 

 ute I may strike some hint ot value, even in 

 something that comes from the rawest begin- 

 ner." So don't worry about the confusion of 

 ideas; in time you'll learn to sift out just 

 what fits best your own case. 



2. It is hardly correct to say that I recom- 

 mend partly drawn foundation for cell-starting, 

 and yet you are not the only one who has 

 gotten that idea. I may say in parenthesis that 

 while I tell in my book about keeping the best 

 queen in a nucleus, that is not absolutely 

 necessary; all you want is to get a fresh frame 

 of comb built in the hive that contains your 

 best queen, whether it be in a nucleus or full 

 colony; the advantage of a nucleus being that 

 your best queen will last longer, because laying 

 less, and also that in a nucleus you are sure to 

 have worker-comb built, whereas in a strong 

 colony the bees may fill your frame with 

 drone-comb. So give to your best queen a 

 frame containing nothing but one or two small 

 starters, and in a week or more you will be 

 likely to hnd the frame nearly filled with 

 worker-comb containing eggs and brood in all 

 stages up to that which is sealed or nearly 

 ready to seal. You would hardly call that 

 "partly drawn foundation." would you? For 

 it is fully drawn comb, all but the margin. 



Now go to any strong colony, remove its 

 queen, take out a frame and put in the cen- 

 ter of the brood-nest your comb for cell- 

 building. It is better first to trim off the mar- 

 gin containing only eggs, not cutting away any 

 larvs, and no harm if some eeps are left. 

 You will see that in this I am differing from 

 ray former practice, for formerly I allowed no 

 brood in the hive except the one choice frame. 

 I find, however, that when I give thera this 

 frame of virgin comb, they think it so much 

 suited to their needs, that they start few 

 or no cells on the other combs. You may 

 leave the frame untouched for :o days, when 

 you ought, with favorable weather and pas- 

 turage, to find a lot of sealed cells that can 

 not be excelled. If, however, you prefer, you 

 can put the cells in an upper story over an 

 excluder, any time after they are started. 

 You will see that I really give the bees eggs 

 and larv;p in all stages, for generally I don't 

 trim off all the ecgs, and I have full faith in 

 the wisdom of the bees to select what is best 

 for their purpose. At any rate I get fine 

 queens. While my plan may not be best for 

 those who make a business of rearing queens 

 for the market, I don't know of any better 

 way for me, and I have reared many queens 

 by the other plans. 



If you give the bees only eggs, there is 

 delay thereby. While the bees may not start 

 cells "at oftce," they come so near it that 

 there is some loss of time by giving only 



LISTEN! 



Do You Hear Those 

 Bees Working? 



■^^—^—^•^■^^—^^—^—— Soon they will want room or will swarm. 

 Have you got your Hives and Supplies? If not, send your order at 

 once. If you have A. I. Root Co.'s Catalog you can order from it. We 

 sell their goods at their factory prices. -We can fill your orders prompt- 

 ly now. Write for further information and our 40-page catalog. 5A2t 

 JOHN NEBEL & SON SUPPLY CO., Hi^h Hill, Montgomery Co., Missouri. 



23 YEARS IN THE BEE-Bl SINESS 



HIGHLAND FARM QUEENS 



.■^re bred strictly from best honey-gathenng strains 

 Superior. Long-Ton^ued. Red Clover Italians 



ith every orde 



in America and Italy. Highland Farm methods 

 produce perfectly developed, long-lived, and prolific 

 Uueens. If you want Bees that will winter well, build 

 up rapidly in the spring, and roll in the honey. High- 

 land Farm Queens will produce them. Single Queens. 

 $1.00; 6. i5.00: 12. 19.00. Safe delivery and satisfaction 

 guaranteed. 15 S. C. Brown Leghorn Eggs given free 

 for 6 or more Queens. Regular price for eggs, $1.00 for 15; $1.25 for 30. Fes- 



tively by return express. Send for circular. 



Highland Bee and Poultry Farm, 



BIRMINGHAM, OHIO 



. HAND. 



nprietor 



We Handle the Best Goods Obtainable 

 LEWIS ROOT'S DADAl>nrS 



Bee-Hives and 

 Sections 



Smokers and 

 Extractors 



Comb 

 Foundation 



If you live west of the Missouri River, send for our free 48-page illustrated catalog to-day 

 and save money. We are a co-operative association of bee-keepers, and can supply comb 

 and extracted honey at all times. 



The Colorado Honey-Producers' Association 



DEFT. B. DENVER. COLORADO 



Headquarters Natiopal Bee-Keepers' Ass'n. Oct. 13, 14, 15, 1908. 



The WAYNE HOTEL and PAVILION, 



DETROIT. MICHIGAN 



Only First Class Hotel in the City overlooking the Beautiful Detroit River. 

 American and European Plan. Popular Rates. 



5A6t J. R. HAYES, Propr. 



DnOK''--"EDIT 



^^^■■^^ WHILE PAYING Wm M ■ 

 ^^■^^ FOR THEM I ■ 



^V Established 1860 THE FRANKLIN-TURNER CO..- Atlanta. 6a. ■ 



Established 1860 THE FRANKLIN-TURNER CO.,- Atlanta, 6a. 



We all know that knowledge is power; 



ul most o! us arc unable to buy books lo acquire 

 nowledle Iron.. 



However, we have solved the problem, 



ti.dir 



he baneBl o( our many years of ihoughl 



Every home needs a good library. 



Mark X by ihe book or booka 



