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TH E AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



February, 



queens from supercedure cells average 

 better than those from swarming cells. 

 A greater number of cells can be ob- 

 tained in other ways, but except with a 

 colony particularly good at cell build- 

 ing, I think it can be overdone and 

 quality sacrificed for the sake of quan- 

 tity. By this plan a strong force of 

 bees is engaged upon not more than a 

 dozen or fifteen cells at one time, as the 

 second stick of cells is not given until 

 the first is sealed. I quite frequently 

 have queens live to four and even five 

 years of age, but I do not consider 

 longevity of such prime impo<rtance 

 and would prefer to re-queen each sea- 

 son, retaining only such queens as I 

 desired to further test for use as breed- 

 ers. 



I scarcely know what to think of Dr. 

 Gallup's attack. Certainly his "missing 

 link" is found in dipped as well as nat- 

 ural cells, the attachment evidently be- 

 ing made by the larva itself, as a 

 means of support in the cell, and prob- 

 ably for no other purpose. His whole- 

 sale condemnation of queens and meth- 

 ods is an evidence of the weakness of 

 his charge. 



Mr. Alley's lately-put-forth claim 

 that the best queens are only produced 

 by queenless bees is certainly not m ac- 

 cord with nature's usual ways and, if 

 true, it seems strange indeed that the 

 Creator passed it by for the inferior 

 plans of supercedure and swarmmg to 

 continue the species. 



Holly Hill, Fla., Dec. 3, 1902. 



"/ Me your American Bee-Keeper ve'-y much" 

 —Dr. O. M. Blanton. 



Selling Extracted Honey at Retail. 



(W. W. McNeal.) 



THIS is a seasonable subject, and 

 as interest in it seems to be awak- 

 ening I would like to twitter a 

 small twit. . , 



I was much pleased with Mr. Aiken s 

 article in The Bee-Keeper. In my opin- 

 ion that matter of selling liquid honey 

 has never received the attention its im- 

 portance demands. As the years go by 

 we see unmistakable evidence that the 

 extracted honey is growing in favor 

 nmong producers. This is due largely 



to the fact that there is more certainty 

 of a crop in this form than when work- 

 ing for comb honey. The floral con- 

 ditions are changing for the worse in 

 many places thus making the produc- 

 tion of extracted honey almost a neces- 

 sity. But bee-keepers are not laboring 

 as they should to create a market 

 for these goods. The very best grades 

 of liquid honey may, however, not com- 

 pare favorably with the ready sales of a 

 gilt-edge article of comb honey in cer- 

 tain circles, though there is much room 

 for improvement in a general way. The 

 ornamental effects of the latter exceed 

 those of the former. Moreover, we are 

 told that •'he flavor of newly-made 

 comb lends a charm to the eating qual- 

 ities of honey that can never be real- 

 ized in any other way. Be this as it 

 may, a strictly fancy grade of comb 

 honey is a luxury in the majority of 

 homes, and, being a luxury, will be 

 used sparingly; hence there is left to 

 the producers and dealers in extracted 

 honey larger possibilities, by a right 

 handling of his goods, notwithstanding 

 the increased competition of glucosed 

 syrups and those of fine commercial 

 sugar for table use. 



Mr. Aiken's idea of a cheap package 

 for honey is all right, if one is to deal 

 directly with the consumer. For a 

 house to house canvass, a paper bag, a 

 bucket, in fact most anything will do — 

 anything holding more than a pound. 

 With his delicious alfalfa honey and dry 

 climate I can see how his paper bags 

 would work admirably. But where else 

 can one find honey that will candy so 

 obligingly and climatic conditions cor- 

 respondingly favorable? For a direct 

 service from the producers to the con- 

 sumer the package never plays the im- 

 portant part it does when honey is sold 

 through the grocery stores. Your 

 customer is not compelled to rely so 

 much on the looks of the article as seen 

 through a package, but he assures him- 

 eslf of the honesty of the goods by the 

 form of the purchase. He will buy a 

 three or five pound jar in preference to 

 a one pound jar; which to my way of 

 thinking, or in other words, to my sur- 

 roundings, is a more practical way out 

 of the difficulty. For while the cost of 

 the larger package will lower the cost 

 price to the consumer, it does not les- 

 son the retail price to the producer. 



