498 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Tliis toad has enio;. 



my tee-\ard. Probably 



received. When I pho.o° 



Swift River, Mass. 



tance of less than 

 three miles from the 

 nearest colonies. 



The \irgins to be 

 ma I eel are often se;it 

 a considerable dis- 

 tance to a station to 

 be mated. No diunes 

 must be among- th.e 

 bees that accompany 

 the virgins. Each 

 station is in charge 

 of a beekeeper Avho 

 receives the virgirs, 

 carries them to tie 

 station, and, ^vh:_'l, 

 mated, sends then 

 back to the owi er. 

 Usually one or two 

 days in the week are 

 set apart for this, 

 so as not to make too 

 much work for the 

 man in charge. By 

 such careful breed- 

 ing it can be reason- 

 ably expected that 

 the hereditary power is greatly increased, 

 and that a large per cent of the progeny 

 will show the good qualities of the par- 

 ents. 



In lull Switzerland had 3:5 matmg-sta- 

 tions; 417 breeders sent 3899 virgins, of 

 which 329G (81 per cent) were returned as 

 fertile queens to the owners. The most 

 successful station had 95 per cent ; the least 

 successful, 66 per cent of the virgins sent 

 returned as fertile (lueens. In ipi-- "^^ 

 stations were in operation, and 4.3 < breed- 

 ers sent 4013 virgins, of which 3162, or 79 

 per cent of them, were returned fertile. 

 The most successsful siation returned 94 

 per cent ; the least successful, 58 per cent, 

 as fertile queens. The unusually bad weath- 

 er in 1912 accounts for the greater loss of 

 queens last year as compared with the losses 

 of 1911. 



Queen-rearing years ago was much in- 

 fluenced by American methods, especially 

 that of Mr. Doolitlle, but now they have 

 worked out a way of their own that seems 

 satisfactory. Special attention is paid to 

 the colony'that has to rear the queens. This 

 colony should be in the same condition as 

 one preparing to swarm. It is claimed that 

 then the larvse are fed and tended with the 

 utmost care. Dr. U. Kramer, President of 

 the Swiss Beekeepers' Union, is also chief 

 of the queen-rearing division. He wrote an 

 excellent work on queen-rearing for condi- 

 tions here and where quality only is looked 

 for. 



Markt Oberdorf, Bavaria. 



ed many a warn, meal from the alighting-hoards in 

 his sour expression is due to the many stings he 

 ;raphed him his stomach was full of bees. 



A. E. WiLLCUTT. 



THE HATCH PRESS FOR WAX-RENDERING 



Burlap Sacks Preferred to Square Pieces 



I'.Y Wil. F.EUCUS 



Those who, like myself, have built up 

 from a few colonies to a number sutticient 

 to make a living from bees have, no doubt, 

 ]iassed through all of the trying experiences 

 incident to wax-rendering without suitable 

 appliances. And these heroes and heroines 

 will, perhaps, find it difficult to suppress 

 groans at the recollection of the many uten- 

 sils which were, one after another, j^ressed 

 into service in separating wax from even a 

 busliel of old combs. 1 feel sure that, as 

 remembrance revives all the feelings of ir- 

 ritability attendant upon the actual process 

 of separation and the tedious cleaning-up 

 which necessarily followed, these tried and 

 wortliy beekeepers will breathe earnest ex- 

 l)ressions of assent when 1 say that, even 

 if the number of colonies kept is only a 

 few, investment in some kind of wax-press 

 is advisable. The disagreeableness of the 

 labor is not the only thing to be considered, 

 however. The loss of temper is serious 

 enough; but the loss of valuable time and 

 the loss of i^recious bright yellow wax are 

 still more serious. How painful it was to 

 us, after all our pressing and squeezing, to 

 see, here and there, in the slumgum, little 

 streams and puddles of beautiful golden 

 wax I 



But this is all changed now. We have 

 an outfit whicli enables us to secure almost 



