p 



FEBUUARY 15, 1913 



Il;e ease? As a matter of fact I receive a 

 number of kind letters of appreciatio)i from 

 Ontario honey-producers, Sut very few in- 

 deed of the nature of Mr. Byer's letter. 



[We hardly think that ]\Ir. Byer meant 

 that he had actually cjuestioned over half of 

 the producers. By " majority " he j^robably 

 had in mind those more prominent in the 

 industry. See editorial. — Ed.] 



HOW A BREEDER SELECTS A GOOD QUEEN 



BY H. G. QUIRIN 



In a recent issue of Gleanings I note 

 that some of the breeders are asked to tell 

 how to judge a queen. In judging a queen, a 

 breeder is often governed by principles dif- 

 cult to express in words. A queen in a cage 

 can not very well be judged, as all one has 

 to go by is her looks ; and one can tell no 

 more about a queen from her looks than 

 how far a toad will hop from its looks. It 

 is true we can tell where the queen is of 

 good size, and is properly proportioned ; 

 also whether she is spry and active, and we 

 <an make a good guess as to whether she is 

 laying or not; but for any thing outside of 

 this we must go to the liive where she is 

 doing such duties as are required of her, 

 and where the qualities to be desired in a 

 queen are in evidence. If I were selecting 

 queens for my own use I would not ask to 

 see the queen at all, but would judge her by 

 her colony. 



In selecting a breeder, we naturally have 

 to select a queen whose progeny possess 

 such markings and qualities as are designat- 

 ed by Mr. Purchaser. Such breeders are 

 almost always selected from queens at least 

 a year old, as otherwise we can tell but little 

 about their working quality. However, pro- 

 lifieness, gentleness, and ordinary working 

 quality can be foretold in queens much 

 younger than this. There probably is no 

 one quality that pleases the masses more 

 than an extraordinarily prolific queen ; and 

 as a rule it is these populous colonies which 

 roll up the most surplus. 



One thing about the size of a queen. The 

 larger the queen, the more pleased is the 

 customer; yet this larger size does not nec- 

 essarily mean that the queen's prolificness is 

 in accordance with her size. In fact, it often 

 happens to be just the contrary. I call to 

 mind instances in years gone by when, in 

 coming across an extra-strong colony, I 

 would invariably spot them as breeders, 

 providing the bees possessed the required 

 qualities. However, just as often as not 

 when I looked for the queen I found her to 

 be a rather undersized individual, and there- 



fore she would be rejected as a breeder. I 

 iiave since often thought that I would at 

 some time try such a queen as a breeder for 

 at least a few batches of cells, for it is my 

 opinion their daughters would be good aid 

 of good size. My theory is that the bees, 

 however, from such queens are not as long- 

 lived as those of a normal-sized breeder. 



The following are desirable points in a 

 bi'eeder : Solid combs of brood, not too early 

 laying in the spring (real early brood-rear- 

 ing often causes spi'ing dwindling), and a 

 breeder whose bees are reasonably gentle 

 (not as harmless as flies), but just reason- 

 ably docile bees which will cap honey white, 

 and fill the boxes out plump, even if the 

 flow is a little light. Then, of course, we 

 want bees that swarm as little as possible. 



Some bees, when a honey-flow slackens, 

 stop work in the boxes and crowd the queen 

 into the brood-nest. This kind of bee has 

 never suited me. While I admit it is nature 

 to be looking out for herself, I prefer to 

 have the sections completed at the expense 

 of the brood-nest, even though I have to 

 furnish the bees their winter stores. 



Bellevue, 0. 



THE ADVANTAGES IN FAVOR OF A SHEL- 

 TERED LOCALITY 



BY DAVID ROBERTS 



The apiary, when convenient, should be 

 located in a place protected from prevail- 

 ing winds. M}^ home ajoiary, for a reason 

 that does not matter here, is in two divi- 

 sions — one on a southward slope sheltered 

 on the west by tall trees, and on the north 

 by buildings ; the other, in a young orchard 

 exposed to the northeast and south. 



I consider the season of 1911-'12 a good 

 one in which to make a comparison between 

 these divisions. The winter before, I pre- 

 pared all colonies alike, using on top of the 

 honey-boards cushions 6 inches thick, of 

 forest leaves. . Leaves of the previous year 

 are more crumbly than those of the current, 

 and make fair ] acking if well compressecl 

 and kept dry. The entrance-giiards were 

 open 6 X Y^, veneered by narrow strips of 

 tin, and nailed to the liives to keep off mice. 

 This was done in November, and I did not 

 see the bees again until early in March, when 

 I noticed that in the open, on account of 

 freer circulation of air, the warmer mole 

 cules in close contact with the bees, because 

 of being lighter, gave place to cooler ones, 

 and wei-e carried away from the hive. This 

 was a direct loss of heat, but at a time when 

 the bees could s'.and it best. As a result, 

 the loss here was more immediate. In the 



