OL'TOHKK 1, 19i: 



irop in ueiu'ral llirougliout the West is 

 liiriit. The deiuaiul for liouey from some 

 ^eftions of the West and Soutii is very 

 uood, being mostly orders from beekeepers 

 wlio h:ne failed to produce enough for 

 llieir trade. Lots langing from a few cases 

 to car lots are oeing filled. Ordere from as 

 far east as Tennessee and as far north as 

 Washington are being received. Much of 

 ih" western crop will likely be absorbed in 

 ex]iort and western orders, leaving the East 

 lari:ely to their own market. With these 

 •iinditions a steady market should be main- 

 laini (1, and a stronger feeling exist. Why 

 should prices rule lower when the great 

 West seems al)le to dispose of its holdings 

 without invading the East m.aterially °? 



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An editorial, page 699, Sept. 1, reads in 

 part : '' If a ({ueen is a year or two old she 

 ■.vill let up on her egg-laying soon after the 

 iiai\e<t." There i.<5 nothing I know of that 

 \»onld be of more worth to the beekeepers 

 oi' this section than to impress this one fact 

 on their minds. Our long dry sunmiers 

 make it imi)erative that we have a queen at 

 the head of ihe colony that will force breed- 

 ing matters in the face of adverse condi- 

 tions, and gi\<^ us as liberal a supply of 

 yoiuig bees for wintering as possible. This 

 (an be done only with young queens, and to 

 reach the limit of success every colony 

 slioidd be reqneened immediately after the 

 vlose of the Iioney-flow. Plenty of young 

 !iees and an abundance of stores are the 

 oest safeguards against spring dwindling. 

 1 am elad the editor said " a year or two " 

 jld. My way of putting it would be to say 

 :» \ear old, for tliat would cover it quite 



fuilv. 



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A certain orange-distributing company 

 is sending out a series of educational fold- 

 ers relative to educating the public as to 

 hdw best t<> prepare and sene oranges 

 daintily. On one of these is the startling 

 ■statement thar ]ieople eat with their eyes. 

 Literally speaking, it is a startling state- 

 ment, but figuratively it is correct. The 

 mor(> daintj', clean, and tasty an article 

 h. .I.s. ilie tiuicker it sells. This is !'S|iC' i; J- 

 ly In.o in lie l;.Hicy li'isiness. La.sc S'.i m 

 luer, while in the East. T visited a grocery 

 owned by an old schoolmate. On the count- 

 er was a case of honey that was certainly 

 the most unappetizing of any I had ever 

 seen, being not only black but ill shaped 

 .Tud dauby. I asked my friend if he sold 

 any great amount of it. He said no; there 

 did tiot seem to be much demand for honey. 

 I flid not express my thoughts, but never- 

 theless it occurred to me tiiat, had he had 



sonic in stock which looked a little more 

 attiaclivo. ho would have been able to in- 

 crease his sales, for a buyer used to good 

 lioney would not carry home the stut¥ he 

 was trying to sell. I doubt if you could 

 fool a blind man the second time on such 

 an article. Fancy goods bring fancy prices. 

 The world is strong on looks, regardless of 

 wliat it may be. 



On ]iage 701, 8e])t. 1, 1 seem to be much 

 iu the position of the lost parrot. Dr. 

 ]\]iller and the editor both take a whack at 

 me in the same paragraph, so I must ex- 

 claim as did the parrot, which had been the 

 property of tlie matron of a large depot. 

 His cage had long been hung near the 

 exit gate, and eager travelers had been told 

 so many times by the guards, " One at a 

 time, gentlemen, one at a time,'^ that the 

 parrot thoroughly learned the sentence. 

 One day he got out of his cage and into a 

 park near by, where the bluejays were 

 making life miserable for him when he was 

 found. But for all, he was loudly shouting. 

 as an occasional feather was plucked from 

 Iiim, " One at a time, gentlemen, one at a 

 lime." 



There seems to be a disposition shown to 

 * knock " jellow bees, and I am placed in 

 Ihe position of lawyer for the defense. To 

 that end I will state that individual cases 

 ^hoidd not condemn the entire race. The 

 fact that breeding for color has to some 

 extent decreased the etficiency of the gold- 

 ens, wJiile two or tlu'ee well-known strains 

 ot" three-banders have been widely distribut- 

 ed for their gathering ((ualities, is no sign 

 (hat the golden strain could not have reach- 

 ed just as high an efficiency had they been 

 Iired for the same quality and not for color 

 alone. I liave introduced three-banded 

 (|ueens from some of the best-known breed- 

 ers in the country that were actually not 

 worth the time it took to introduce them. 

 The same has been true Avith the goldens; 

 but the difference between the two has not 

 heen so great as one would be led to believe. 

 Wishing to secure the very best golden 

 strain in the country I recently wrote sever- 

 al breeders as to the base of their stock, 

 whether it contained Cyprian blood or was 

 originally Italian. One breeder wro*e me 

 that the l)ase of his stock was from three 

 of the best-kiKAvn breeders of queens in the 

 country, and gave me their names. His first 

 aiii' he said uas working quality; second, 

 :;entleMcss; then color. With a golden 

 stiain bled for these characteristics I see no 

 reason wh}- there caimot be a strain of 

 goMcns equal to or pei-haps suiieric>r to any 

 three bands obtainable. 



