1969 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 15 



AS THE ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT SEES IT 



At this season of the year, when the bees have awakened to new activity and the 

 bee-keeper is planning for the big harvest which is sure to come this year, we want to 

 say a word to every bee-keeper about his stock. 



Having gone through your colonies and decided that you need some good queens, 

 do not put off ordering them. Many bee-keepers wanting high-grade stock expect to 

 get the best, and yet demand that they be sent by return mail. No breeder can serve 

 his customers so well on these hurry orders as he can if the order is entered at least a 

 week or two in advance of the time the queen is wanted, so that he may plan to get out 

 some of his best stock. Of course, in the case of a queenless colony and untested stock, 

 the case is quite different, and most breeders can fill such orders by return mail with 

 little or no trouble A little foresight on the part of the bee-keeper will result in better 

 service all around, and the receipt of much better stock by the customer 



A glance at the advertising pages of this issue will put the purchaser in touch with 

 with breeders located in every section of the country. Breeders who have been devot- 

 ing themselves to queen-rearing for years are surely well qualified to fill your orders. 

 We do not accept advertising from a queen-breeder unless we are reasonably sure that 

 his stock is all that he claims. 



Another mistake frequently made by bee-keepers is in thinking that, simply because 

 a colony has a queen, it is all right. It is not sufficient that a colony have a queen; it 

 must be a good queen, and' by this we do not necessarily mean high-priced stock, al- 

 though, of course, it is well to buy some select stock occasionally. Untested queens 

 from reputable breeders often prove to be very choice, and you will find that you will 

 materially improve your apiary by the introduction of some new queens every season. 

 There is a mistaken idea among some bee-keepers that untested queens are necessarily 

 inferior stock. This is not the case at all. Every queen is untested until some of her 

 bees have hatched, and it is known beyond a doubt that she was purely mated. Most 

 large breeders have their yards so arranged that there is little chance of mismating, so 

 that the purchaser of untested stock in nine cases out of ten gets purely mated queens. 

 Study the queen advertisements carefully. Decide just what qualities you want, and 

 then send your orders to the breeder whose stock most nearly meets your requirements. 

 Queens may be sent all over this country with no difficulty, so that you need not fear 

 to order from the breeder you choose, because he is located at some distance from you. 

 Under ordinary conditions queens may be sent from one side of the United States to 

 the other with as great a degree of safety as to send them on much shorter journeys. 

 And right here let us caution the purchaser not to depend too much on the appearance 

 of the queen when she comes from the mails, or even after you have had her for some 

 time. Very often a queen which is any thing but beautiful herself will produce bees 

 possessing all the good qualities to be desired. 



Very likely you will find that you have lost a colony or two the preceding winter 

 and this will make an excellent opportunity for the introduction of some new blood. 

 Those empty combs are valuable; and if the hive contains some stores, you are very 

 fortunate indeed. A small nucleus put into such a hive will build up rapidly, and you 

 will soon have a rousing colony of fine bees. Too many bee-keepers blame the season 

 or some other cause for successive failures to harvest large honey crops, when the real 

 difficulty is with their bees. They need new and better stock. Constant vigilance is 

 required to keep bees from deteriorating, and the introduction of some new blood oc- 

 casionally will often result in a largely increased honey crop, and we are sure that the 

 bees will be cared for with much less difficulty. Do not make the mistake of thinking 

 that bees will care for themselves and need no attention at all, and then expect large 

 crops of fancy honey. It is as necessary to keep good bees as it is to have choice stock 

 of any kind; and the expense is very small compared with the results to be expected. 



