Junk, 1918 



(11- 10 A N I N (i S IN B K E C U L T U It K 



queoiis of superior quality among our own 

 bees, if we are looking for them. When 

 visiting an old beekeeper in a near-by coun- 

 ty, he told me of one colony he had that had 

 done remarkably well, far in advance of the 

 others in his yard. He lives alone and has 

 only his bees to care for, and also a little 

 garden where strawberries crimson from 

 June till November. I asked if he could 

 spare me a queen from his best colony. I 

 fancied a shade of sadness came over his 

 genial face as he told me that ho had none 

 to spare, for he loved his bees almost as tho 

 they were his own children. For several 

 years I have been breeding from such a 

 i|ueen and daughters with very satisfactory 

 results. Inileed, the strain seems as good or 

 l>etter than anything I can find. But it is 

 not every day or year that I find such a 

 •en and I must be content with a slow^^r 

 advance. 



This last year, in order tliat I might be 

 guided in selecting a good breeding (pieen, 

 1 marked all my supers as they went onto 

 my hives and then as I cleaned the sections I 

 set down the number of those hives that 

 stored above the average and whose combs 

 were white and free of propolis and well 

 attached to the sections. Then in the spring 

 when the soft breezes blow and dandelions 

 are paving the roadsides with gold vrhile the 

 trees are vocal with bii'd songs, I can go out 

 into my yard and, by means of my list, 

 select a breeder. This first number may be 

 26. This is found to be a grade or hybrid. 

 I do not care for it. Next is 33. As I look, 

 the bees begin to get nervous and run off 

 the comb. This does not suit me. The next 

 is at number 52. It seems rather backward 

 and I am inclined to think that it lacks 

 vigor. Next I open 63 but before I am 

 thru I find them quite too ready to take an 

 insult, and, if I get away without a sting, 

 I shall be fortunate indeed. And now an- 

 other. Here I note the combs are well filled 

 with brood, the bees of fair color and quiet 

 on the combs, and the queen does not even 

 stop her egg-laying at the unusual disturb- 

 ance of opening the hive. On looking up her 

 pedigree I find she comes thru a long line 

 of superior queens, and she is my choice. 

 She is not for sale for she is worth more 

 than her weight in gold. 



Middlebury, Vt. 



[We have often suggested that the bee- 

 keeper who desires a breeder can sometimes 

 secure better results by taking the money 

 that would buy one breeder and purchase 

 untested Italian queens. If those queens 

 come from a select mother, that has been 

 tested out in all-around qualities, there is a 

 strong possibility that one of those daugh- 

 ters may come very nearly equaling the per- 

 formance of the mother. And in the lot 

 there may be one or two others that may de- 

 velop breeders. 



However, if the queen-breeder is con- 

 scientious, he will sup])ly only a breeding 

 ((iieen of known merit and when he doesn't 

 have her, say so. There is no justice or 



right in charging $10 or $15 for a breeding 

 queen, if he doesn't have that kind of value 

 in stock. Sometimes the demand for a high- 

 priced queen is so great a queen-breeder is 

 tempted to pick out something that he thinks 

 will come up to standard out of his young 

 queens, without so advising his customer. 

 The only fair way in such cases is to write 

 the customer that his breeding stock is ex- 

 hausted, and then say the only thing he can 

 do is to pick out a fine select tested from 

 his best breeder and charge no more than 

 such select tested queen would ordinarily 

 bring in the open market. A breeding 

 queen should not be less than six months old 

 and it would be better if she were a year. 

 The honey-gathering qualities of her bees, 

 their gentleness and good wintering qualities 

 should all be factors in determining her 

 value. Moreover, she should be a queen 

 that will duplicate her own qualities in her 

 daughters as far as possible. The bees of 

 a breeder may do ever so well, but all her 

 queens be indifferent and poor. This does 

 not often happen, but we have heard good 

 queen-breeders say such and such a queen 

 would be a good breeder, if only her daugh- 

 ters would be uniform and go part way in 

 equaling tlie performance of the mother. — 



Editor.] 



* * * 



Does It Pay the Beekeeper to Bear His Own 

 Queens. 



BV F. L. B^VBBER. 



Arising in the mind of every professional 

 beekeeper is the question, "Will it pay me 

 to rear my own queens?" It is true that 

 very good untested queens may be purchased 

 for about $1.00; but, tho this cost seems 

 small, if a large apiary is to be requeened, 

 the amount reaches a considerable size, and, 

 if this extra expense can be saved, the total 

 receipts of each colony will be correspond- 

 ingly increased with comparatively little 

 labor. 



Of course it will be necessary for the 

 average beekeeper to purchase his breeding 

 stock, as few are so situated that they can 

 profitably rear their own. Therefore in most 

 cases the selection of fine strains must be 

 left to the professional queen-breeder. In 

 some apiaries it is the rule to choose for the 

 breeder the queen from the colony with the 

 best lioney record; but this policy, tho ap- 

 parently good, leads to some curious errors. 

 Unless it is certain that the queen is of pure 

 stock or of a fixed cross, she should not be 

 used, for it is a well known fact that when 

 a first cross is used as a breeder the result- 

 ing offspring are most variable in character. 



NECESSITV FOR A PLENTY OF QUEENS. 



The beekeeper should remember that it is 

 desirable to have extra queens on hand when 

 the number of colonies is to be increased by 

 division or by any method of artificial 

 swarm-building. If a queen is provided as 

 soon as the increase is made, the new colo- 

 ny will gain abont Ihree weeks in brood- 

 production over a colony that has to rear 



