762 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Nov. 26, 1903. 



ing and thumping- about say twenty feet from one side of 

 the apiary — a little closer if you don't get a "bite" pres- 

 ently. Page 649. 



QUEEN SCHEME FOR QUEEN-BREEDERS. 



Great scheme for the queen-breeders. Have a caged 

 virgin queen getting acquainted three days before the old 

 queen is sold, then a second one getting acquainted while 

 the first is getting to laying. Wonder if the latter might 

 not feel so jealous and disturbed in mind as to develop more 

 slowly, wasting in one direction as much time as was saved 

 in the other. Page 652. 



[ Our Bee-Meepin§ Sisters J 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



A California Welcome." 



This week the sisters will read with pleasure the bright, 

 breezy poem, entitled, "A California Welcome," which 

 comes as one of the echoes from the Los Angeles conven- 

 tion. The writer evidently knows what she is talking about, 

 having formerly lived in California for some time, where 

 she may have figured as one of the " Welcomers " herself. 



swarm, but be it said to the credit of the good honey-gath- 

 erers, that almost without exception they are the ones that 

 have made very little or no attempt to swarm. Perhaps it 

 might be put the other way — the colonies that make little 

 or no attempt to swarm are the ones that store the most. 



If, during all the years of our bee-keeping, we had 

 made the effort to improve our bees as honey-gatherers, 

 that we have made for the past few years, I don't know 

 where we might not be now, if the bees had continued to 

 improve at the same ratio. It pays, and pays well, to look 

 sharp as to the record of each queen. 



When any colony fa,ils to do good work, the head of 

 their queen is in danger. 



Our best queen, this year, gave us 300 finished sections, 

 and quite a number of others came very close to that num- 

 ber. If nothing happens to that queen you may be pretty 

 sure she will be used to rear queens from next year. 



Don't Have the Addresses. 



To several who have requested addresses of correspond- 

 ents, I may say that I have made no reply, because I do not 

 have addresses. 



Amerlkanlsche Bienenzucht, by Hans Buschbauer, is 

 a bee-keeper's handbook of 138 pages, which is just what 

 our German friends will want. It is fully illustrated, and 

 neatly bound in cloth. Price, postpaid, $1.00 ; or with the 

 American Bee Journal one year — both for SI. 75. Address 

 all orders to this office. 



O we love the gentle tourist, 

 With his pocket full of gold. 



When he comes across the mountains 

 To escape the mighty cold, 



And the blizzards, and the cyclones. 



And the many Eastern ills; 



And we meet him at the station — 

 . Yes, we meet him without fail — 



And we meet him, and we greet him 

 With—" A Ranch For Sale!" 



And we shoulder his umbrella. 



And his traveling-bag and " grip ;" 

 And we give him hearty welcome — 



Hope he's had a pleasant trip ; 

 Doubtless found it rather tiresome; 

 Say he's looking somewhat ill ; 

 But our glorious California 



Soon will cure him, without fail. 

 Then we call his kind attention 



To—" A Ranch For Sale 1" 



We escort him to the street-car; 



As he walks across the street, 

 He seems to be disgusted 



With the dust upon his feet; 

 And the cushions of the street-car 

 Almost seem to make him ill ; 

 But he soon forgets his grievance, 



A CALIFORNIA WELCOME. 



For before him, on a rail, 

 Is this California legend — 

 " Orange Grove For Sale !" 



Then we take him to our bosoms ; 



Make him very welcome, too ; 

 Call his wondering attention 



To the glorious mountain view ! 

 Of the oranges and lemons — 

 Tell him just to take his fill. 

 But he seems to look askance 



At the " spider" and the " scale," 

 Till we hasten to inform him 



That—" This Grove's For Sale !" 



Then we ask him just to notice 



The greenness of the trees. 

 (They are doubtless blue, back East!) 



But we never mention " freeze;" 

 And of earthquakes, heat, and "northers," 

 Our tongues are very still. 

 But the sun is beating down. 



And the sea-breeze makes him quail, 

 Till he scarcely seems to notice 



That— "This Grove's For Sale!" 



And we take him to the mountains. 



And we take him to the sea; 

 And we bid him use the water 



Just as if the " stuff " were free. 



But he doesn't like its fragrance, 



Nor approve its lack of chill ;- 



And he seems to feel quite " retched," 



And his countenance is pale; 

 And we scarcely dare to tell him 



That—" This Ranch's For Sale !" 



But he seems to be 'distracted, 



(He's been bitten by a flea!) 

 But we hasten his attention 



To the azure sky and sea. 

 But a whopping old tarantula 

 Has given him quite a chill; 

 And a rattler, close at hand, 



Is making music with its tail; 

 Till we quite forget to tell him 



That— "This Grove's For Sale!" 



And we follow him about. 



And " boom " the country, day and night ; 

 And we think it rather shabby 



If that " sucker " doesn't " bite;" 

 If that " tenderfoot " doesn't swallow 

 Our small, sugar-coated pill. 

 Then we chase him to the station ; 



As he rides off, on the rail. 

 We yell, to beat the engine — 



" I've a Ranch For Sale!" 

 Waushara Co., Wis. Mart B. Hall. 



About Queens— Breed from the Best. 



We have been blessed with the largest crop of comb 

 honey this year that we have ever had, and this with a very 

 much smaller number of colonies than we usually have, as 

 we began the season with only 12+ colonies. Much of this 

 success was due to the phenomenal season, but I believe 

 also that much was due to the superior quality of our 

 queens. 



For a number of years we have selected our best queen 

 from which to rear queens. Not the best tested queen, as 

 that term is generally understood, for that means only how 

 many golden bands her bees have ; but our best queen, as 

 shown by the record of her bees as honey-gatherers. That 

 one fact, pure and simple, decides her worth without regard 

 to her color, although we are very glad when our best queen 

 gives us beautiful, golden-banded bees. 



I think I must modify the statement that honey-gather- 

 ing alone decides her worth, for there is one other element 

 that enters largely into the matter when making the decis- 

 ion, and that is swarming. A good many points will be 

 given in favor of the queen that has made no attempt to 





Dr. Miller's Answers 





Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal, 

 or to Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111. 



Starting an Apiary— Buckwheat for Bees— Shade, Etc. 



1. I have just rented a 4-acre home in the suburbs of a 

 city, and intend starting an apiary with the red clover Ital- 

 ian stock only. Now, as bees are too high-priced here, it is 

 my plan to obtain frames of nuclei. Is this a good plan for 

 a hasty increase, putting one frame and queen in a hive ? 

 How soon in March would you order stock ? and would 

 about 5 frames be enough to start with ? 



2. I will sow about 2 acres in buckwheat. How much 

 seed shall I sow to the acre broadcast, and at what time, at 

 the very earliest, in the spring ? 



