December, 1914. 



American Hee Journal 



not strong enough in numbers to stand 

 the rigors of winter, and so mu.'t keep 

 up brood-rearing just as late as we 

 can." 



At any rate, we do not know any too 

 much on this subject, and it would be 

 interesting, and perhaps useful, to have 

 observations made that would give an- 

 swers to certain questions. When does 

 the average queen, under ordinary cir- 

 cumstances, cease laying ? How much 

 longer, if any, does a young queen 

 continue than an old one? What dif- 

 ference, if any, is made by the strength 

 of the colony? Answers to these and 

 other questions in this connection can 

 perhaps be obtained only by the assem- 

 bled observations of many. 



One thing about the cessation of 

 brood-rearing is perhaps not known 



as well as it should be. That is that 

 the time when brood-rearing ceases is 

 not always the same as the time when 

 the queen ceases laying. A beekeeper 

 says brood-rearing was still continued 

 upon a certain date, because he found 

 eggs in the hive. But sometimes the 

 queen continues laying although the 

 bees no longer nurse the brood, and 

 only sealed brood, if any, will be found 

 present with the eggs, which seems 

 to indicate that the mere heat in the 

 brood-nest at such times is insufficient 

 to hatch the eggs, and that special 

 effort on the part of the bees is neces- 

 sary to get up the proper temperature, 

 or else that it is necessary for the 

 nurses to give some special attention 

 to the eggs aside from the matter of 

 temperature. c. c. m. 



per should give good evidence that dis- 

 ease does not exist in his apiary. How- 

 ever, when bees are shipped with noth- 

 ing but candy for food, there would be 

 little danger of transmitting disease. 

 There is very little doubt that disease, 

 especially American foulbrood, is un- 

 knowingly spread by the shipment of 

 honey throughout the country. It is 

 this against which the States should 

 protect themselves, by requiring that 

 certificates accompany every shipment, 

 as with queens. 



For the middle North, from the 40th 

 to the 42d degree, it is not necessary to 

 have the bees ready very early. From 

 the beginning of .^pril to the middle of 

 May, bees would be more desirable 

 than earlier in the season. 



Miscellaneous ^ News Items 



Neeting at Lansing.— The Michigan 

 Beekeepers' Association will hold its 

 next annual convention at Lansing, 

 Mich., on Dec. 9 and 10, 1914. 



T. E. MORSK, /'res. 



Queen Introduction — The Cage Method. 



—Since this number contains several 

 articles on " Queen Introduction," it ■ 

 may not be amiss to mention the 

 method employed by S. W. Snyder, of 

 Center Point, Iowa, the Active Secre- 

 tary of the Iowa State Beekeepers' 

 Association. During the meeting at 

 Ames, there was a short discussion of 

 introducing methods, and he gave his 

 as follows : 



" Catch the old queen, place her in 

 the cage intended for the new queen. 

 After a few hours remove her, and put 

 the new queen in the cage. The bees 

 having become accustomed to the pres- 

 ence of their old queen in the cage, 

 more readily accept the new one, as 

 the old queen odor remains behind." 



express rates, the shipping of bees has 

 increased considerably. The old way 

 of shipping colonics in full-size hives 

 is too expensive. Hundreds of ship- 

 ments are annually made from the 

 South even to Can ida. But the ship- 



Bitterweed Honey. —"I have about 

 100 pounds of fine honey that is as bi//e?- 

 as dogwood. I have taken only a few 

 pounds from the hives. The comb is 

 full and capped and looks as fine as 

 can be, but it is impossible to eat it. 

 This honey has been gathered during 

 August and September, mostly from a 

 yellow blossom called ' bitter weed.' It 

 is an annual. It is said to have been 

 introduced here by tlie purchase of 

 hay, only a few years ago. I do not 

 know wh,-re it came from. I haven't 

 yet found any one who knows any 

 other name, in this section. Cows be- 

 gin to eat it in the spring, the milk and 

 butter are made bitter, and it naturally 



Bees from the South. — "Some of our 

 beekeepers are interested in finding 

 out whether there is likely to be a de- 

 mand for bees by the pound in early 

 spring, when your bees in the North 

 first come out of the cellar. At that 

 time, our bees have already had several 

 weeks to build up, and if profitable one 

 could fill up enormously in numbers 

 of bees in the spring. 



" If you have had any experience in 

 this matter, we would be glad to hear 

 it and know how much of a demand 

 there is for bees in bulk in your sec- 

 tion. Any information concerning 

 the mode of procedure would be appre- 

 ciated." Southwestern Bee Co. 



San Antonio, Tex., October, 1914. 



There is always a demand for bees in 

 ?arly spring. Since the decrease in 



COFFEE PLANTATION AT PONCE. PORTO RICO, AND APIARY 

 In case yaa desire, to publish it, I take pleasure in sendine to you a piiotograph of the 

 coltee plantation Hacienda Burenes " situated near the city (Ponce), and managed by the 

 hrm o( Uomingo & Amelia Serra, of which I am a member. It produces every year loo ooo 

 pounds of coffee, more or less. It possesses steam and gasoline apparatus for cleaning 

 washing and drying the grains. It has electric lights and all modern improvements, and is 

 located at an altitude of 1000 feet above sea level. I have marked with an X the site of my 

 aniary and the hpneye.\tracting house In this apiary the hives are in a hut or shed bar- 

 raca). open on all sides and covered with a straw roof. I have other apiaries, on the same 

 plantation, located in the open air. Later. I will gladly send you views of these 



Ponce. Porto Rico Ronui.FaDEL Valle. 



(The view is very interesting, and we will gladly reproduce others. Many thanks.— Ed.) 



