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OMe-iNTeReilll 



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Vol. XIII. 



AUG. 15, 18S5. 



No. 16. 



TKK.MS: $1.00PerAnnU» 



I Clubs to different postofflces, not less 

 I than90cts. each. Sent postpaid. In the 

 II) or more, 75 cts. each. Single Number, I I U. S. and Canadas. To all other coun- 



lOcts. Additions to clubs may be made [ pibi.i.shed skmi-monthly by ; tries of the Universal Postal Union, 18c 



alclubrates. Above are ,^11 to be sent . r ^^r\f^nr' '\lvr\T\^ \ r\xnf\ I per yen r extra. To all countries not of 

 lo ONE P08T0RFICK. J A. 1. KUU 1 , ^M JliiJiiN A, UlllU. [ the U. p. U., 42c per year extra. 



A WORD TO TJIOSE WHO EXPECT TO 

 BUY BEES IN THE SPRING. 



WHICH IB l!ETTi;i{, TO BUY NUCLEI NOW AND HUILD 



THEM UP, OH PURCHASE FULL COLONIES 



IN Al'HlI// 



f^IIE above (]iiestion was propoiiiuled by 

 I"" a customer who called to see us yes- 

 l terday. ITe wants to besin with bees, 

 and lias not very much capita!. .Now. 

 let us see. A full colony in April, ac- 

 cording to our price list. and. I think, ac- 

 cording to the price list of most reliable 

 dealers, will cost about twice what it would 

 after the first of July. You see the juice of 

 a colony of bees runs down rapidly after the 

 honey season is over, when no more honey is 

 to be .gathered, or. at least, not much i)ros- 

 pect of any. Tlien the winterin.u- trouble has 

 to be faced, so that bees, just before the 

 honey season, early in the sprinj:-. ou.uht to 

 be worth at least double what they are in 

 tlie fall. It is true, some advertisers otter 

 them less, but they do not often furnish full 

 colonies. When we send out a full colony 

 in Ai)ril Ave take the best we iiave in the 

 apiary: and if we haven't any that can be 

 consistently called a s'O'hI strong colony, we 

 take hatching brood from one or more of the 

 others. If we do tliis. of course we must 

 have a good price. Hut such a colony is 

 worth a good price, for it can be divideti at 

 once, or made to give a good crop of honey 

 or many swarms, because it is strong eveii 

 before the season opens. Our friend tliougiit 

 he ought to have about six colonies to begin 

 Avith. Six colonies as above, with select test- 

 ed queens Avoiild be Avorth $1")() ; with the 

 discounts ;*117.(Xi in April. 18SG. 



lie could not afford so much money, so he, 

 b>; my advice, bought six pounds of bees, 

 Avith a comb of brood and a select tested 

 (|ueen for each pound. These cost him 

 S27..')4. therefore he Avould luue SS9.4H to buy 

 sngai-. and to pay him for his labor in feed- 

 ing them and building them up to full colo- 

 nies in time for winter. .\s he has plenty of 

 time, and is anxious to learn bee culture, 

 ids experience in building them up Avill be 

 worth a good deal to him. to get them ready 

 for next season's work. Of cotu'se, he has 

 the wintering trouble to face: but even if 

 he loses them, the amount invested is not 

 very large after all : and if he takes right 

 liold of it. and does his duty. I think there 

 can be little (juestion but that they will Avin- 

 ter. As he is in a locality where there is 

 little chaiu'e for fall honey! his built-up col- 

 onies will have stores of granulated sugar: 

 and if put in chatf hives, 1 think there is lit- 

 tle doubt but that they will Avinter safely — 

 at least, reports from" colonies built up in 

 this way have alwaxs been favorable. As 

 our friend knows comparatively little about 

 bees. I told him that he had better get some 

 experienced bee-man near him to take a look 

 at his nuclei occasionally, to see if they are 

 iuiilding ui» as they ought to do. lie chose 

 select tested (pieens. because Ave have tested 

 these for proliticness. and anyone of them 

 would till a hive Avith brood very speedily. 



Of course, he must have six liiAes for his 

 bees, and he also wants some combs of foun- 

 dation. This Avill make someAvhat of an ad- 

 ditional expense. lie might have saved a 

 little expense by taking untested queens in- 

 stead of select" tested, and 1 think I would, 

 as a general thing, advise the untested. The 



