the queens and drones to mingle when they 

 come out to take their flight should result in 

 securing the matings in less time, and there- 

 by reduce the loss of queens by accident. 

 C. O. Smith. 



[We are personally acquainted with 

 Mr. Smith, who will doubtless have 

 something further to offer concerning 

 this matter a little later on. 



The letter to which he refers as hav- 

 ing sent to a few bee-keepers as a 

 "feeler," reads as follows: — Editor.] 



Dear Sir:— I am writing to you for the 

 purpose of asking a favor, and I am making 

 the same request of 200 bee-keepers whose 

 names I selected from several thousand I 

 secured from different parts of the country. 

 From the replies which I receive from you 

 and the others to whom I am writing, I shall 

 decide if it will pay me to spend S1500 to get 

 600 queens to requeen my apiaries. 



All of the best queen-breeders, as well as 

 the best stock-breeders and noted entomolo- 

 gists, agree that the father has as much in- 

 fluence on the offspring as the mother has. 

 but the cost of controlling the drone-bee is 

 so great that bee-keepers hesitate about 

 paying out the money necessary to do so. I 

 am inclined to think it will pay. but wish to 

 get the opinion of my fellow bee-keepers be- 

 fore making a decision. 



My plan will be to buy the best virgin 

 queens reared and selected by the best 

 queen-breeders in the United States, and 

 male them, in my own yard, to drones reared 

 from the best breeding queens that I can 

 buy, that have lived to the age of 4 or 5 years, 

 thus securing, on the drone side, a long-lived 

 bee I shall mate them by the plan men- 

 tioned in the American Bee Journal of June. 



lOIO. 



As stated above, the cost of securing the 

 best virgins from well-known breeders, pre- 



Earing the yard for mating, buying the best 

 reeding queens from which to rear drones, 

 introducing and mating the virgins, keeping 

 the records, etc.. will be at least Sisoo. and I 

 will need boo queens, making an average of 

 $2 50 each. 



Now. if you will kindly drop me a postal 

 card, telling me if you think the plan will 

 pay. or not pay. as your best judgment dic- 

 tates, you will do me a lasting favor, and I 



PROTECTION HIVE 



All arguments 

 lead to a matter 

 of protection. 

 Dead-air spaces 

 orpacking.as you 

 prefer. 



Hamilton. Mich., 

 Feb. 17. 1911. 

 A. G. Woodman Co., 



G-rand Kapids. 



Mich.. 

 Gentlemen: 



You will find en- 

 closed $87.T0 for 

 bill of g-oods, as 

 per order-sb e e t . 

 Perhaps you will 

 be Interested in 

 knowing- that 

 agrain this past fall 

 we secured con- 

 aide rabl y more 

 honey in Protec- 

 tion Hives than in 

 alng:le-wall hives 

 in the same yard. 

 The weather was 

 cool, and the su- 

 pers needed pro- 

 tection. 

 Resp'ctfully yours 



Albert Oet>ian. 



Send for Circu- 

 lar showing 12 

 Large Illustra- 

 rions, and 



40-Page 



Catalog 



of Supplies. 



A. G. WOODMAN CO., GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN 



shall be pleased to reciprocate by giving you 

 the result of the experiment, if I decide to 

 make it. 



Thanking you in advance for giving me 

 your opinion in this matter, 1 remain. 



Respectfully yours. C. O. Smith. 



Hand's Handsome Hustlers 



Are a superior honey-gathering strain of hardy Northern-bred straight three-band Italians, the result of years 

 of careful selection and breeding with a view of establishing fixed characteristics along chosen lines. 



EVERY QUEEN A BREEDER Our Queens are not only large, vigorous, handsome and prolific, but by 



reason of a judicious system of line-breeding they have the power unerringly to transmit inherent tendencies 

 of a highly desirable nature, such as Hardiness, Gentleness, and Industry, as well as Uniformity of Marking, 

 which makes them especially valuable as Breeders. 



SCIENTIFIC METHODS enable us to produce Queens of the highest development, and aii economical 

 labor-saving equipment enables us to sell thein at a price far below their real value when quality is considered. 

 We believe we have the most economical System of Queen-Rearing in operation in the United States, and we 

 propose to give our patrons the benefit of our lifetime of experience and observation by furnishing them with 

 Queens of the highest quality at a moderate price. 



A SQUARE DEAL We are bound to give a square deal to all, therefore, we do not list Select and Extra- 

 Select Queens. If vou buy a dozen Queens of us you will at least have the satisfaction of knowing that you are 

 getting the best that we know how to produce, and that they have not been culled over and the best of them 

 sold as "selects." Don't buy skimmed milk; get the real thing. 



PURITY of MATING GUARANTEED.— We breed only one strain of bees, and control all the drones in our 



vicinitv, which gives us control of the mating of our Queens to a great extent, and every Queen is warranted 



to produce uniformly-marked three-band bees of superior honey-gathering qualities; don't take chances ; get 



the real thing. 



^ 1 6 12 



Warranted Queens $1.00 $5.00 $ 9.00 



Tested Queens 1.2.5 6..50 12.00 



Breeder 5.00 



Half-pound package of Bees without Queen 1.00 



Three (L.) frame Nucleus without Queen 3.25 



Add price of Queen wanted to price of Nuclei and half-pound packages. 



Usual discount after July 1st, also on quantity lots. For queens to foreign countries, add 25 percent to above 



prices. 

 Safe arrival and satisfaction guaranteed; no bee-disease. Valuable information free for your address. Send 



° '* °'''"^ J. E. HAND, BIRMINGHAM, OHIO. 



