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TITE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



queens that produce all drones. We have queens 

 that lay eggs which never hatch, either drones or 

 ■workers. And we have queens that never lay an 

 egg. And all these from the same mother, and 

 all raised at the same time. I have taken eggs 

 and larvse from a pure queen, and given them to 

 lilack bees to hatch and nurse, removing the 

 black queen and all the brood, and substituting 

 all Italian brood ; and they raised all very dark- 

 colored queens, and all those cjueens produced 

 dark-colored workers. At the same time, queens 

 raised from the same brood, and by Italian nurses, 

 were all light-colored, and all produced light- 

 colored and well-marked workers ; and this too 

 ■when all the drones that fertilized those queens 

 were raised in one hive and produced by one 

 queen. In fact, I have never succeeded in raising 

 handsomely marked and light-colored queens, 

 when they were nursed by black bees. I will not 

 say that such has not been the case with others. 

 I am just giving my own experience in the matter. 

 I am not going to instruct others in what I do 

 not know myself. 



I am as much puzzled about some of these 

 questions as Mr. Argo himself, or any one else 

 can be. When I get hold of a queen that pro- 

 duces duplicates of herself, when raised by Italian 

 nurses, iind her workers are unmistakably well- 

 marked, I am satisfied with her. Of course there 

 is a slight difference in the coloring when raised 

 at ditferenl seasons. Queens raised in full stocks 

 when apple, plum, or basswood trees are in full 

 bloom, will be a shade lighter than those raised 

 lute in the fall from the same mother. 



If Benedict and Thomas were as anxious to 

 jialm off impure queens as some others, they 

 Avould not have said as they did ; at least that is 

 the opinion of E. Gallup. 



Orchard, Iowa. 



[For the Amorican Boe Journal.] 



Novice. 



Dear Bee Jouunal : — Once more we greet 

 you, and take great pleasure in informing jou 

 that our forty-si.v stocks of bees are all safely 

 wintered, thanks to the Bee House. We can 

 scarcely believe that the whole number put in, 

 are really all on their summer stands, nearly as 

 heavy as when put in. But such is the case. We 

 set them out to-day (March 10). Some would 

 liave persuaded us that they would have been 

 better left in a little longer. But we think they 

 are better out now, if properly protected and 

 cared for. 



They seemed about as anxious to try their 

 wings again, as we were to liave them do it ; and 

 we are now going to furnish them Avith all the 

 rye and oat meal they can be induced to take up. 



Mr. Langstroth gives as one objection to special 

 repositories for wintering, that the bees do not 

 cf)mmence raising brood so early, but we think 

 that with the start ours already have (and nearly 

 all we have examined have considerable brood), 

 that we shall have plenty of it as soon as it is 

 desirable. 



We are going to try stimulating some of them 

 that are not quite as strong as the rest, and so we 

 too want a bee feeder. Last year we used glass 



jars or tumblers, with a cloth over the top ; but 

 theie was considerable trouble to till these when 

 they required it, and after some e.xperinientiug, 

 we have hit upon something that answers our 

 purpose admirably. What we required in a feeder 

 was something that could be filled quickly ; some- 

 thing that would not be expensive, as we might 

 need a grr at many ; something that would not be 

 too bulky, as we dislike above all things to have 

 such implements around in the way ; and some- 

 thing that would not be getting all sticky and 

 daubed over with honey, as we fear we might take 

 a dislike to the business. 



Now, Mr. Editor, we will tell you all about it 

 and make it public, if you will first head it (for 

 we want a little of the credit of the invention), 



Novice's Bee-Feeder. 



Get three pieces of glass all alike in size, say 

 three by four inches square ; stand them uj) on 

 end, so as to make a hollow prism ; slip a rubber 

 band around them, about half an inch from the 

 lower end ; now lay a piece of thin cotton cloth 

 over the top, and with your hand crowd it down 

 inside so as to come about half an inch from the 

 bottom; put a second rubber band over cloth and 

 all, about half an inch from the top ; cut otf the 

 cloth close to the top band, on the outside, and 

 it is done. Set it over a hole in the honey board 

 or to]) of the hive, and all that is necessary is to 

 pour in j-our honey or syrup, and the bees Avill 

 take it through the cloth to }'our entire satisfac- 

 tion. You can feed fifty stocks, as fast as you 

 can go from one hive to another ; not a bee can 

 get in your way ; and the way the little chaps 

 crowd in around the bag is a sight to see. 



To make them more nicely, get some of the 

 "women folks" (we really do not know how we 

 should ^tiiA\(mg without them, though it is a task 

 sometimes to get along with them) to seAV you 

 some nice Hllle bags of three triangular pieces of 

 cloth. When the top is rolled over the outside 

 of the top of the glass, and your band put on, it 

 looks quite tasty. 



AVhen you get through with them for the sea- 

 son, slip otf the bands; get those same "women 

 folks" (that is, if you have got the right side of 

 them ; and you can't keep bees unless j'ou have) 

 to scald the whole apparatus, and then you can 

 pack them away in a nice little box (the feeders 

 we mean, of course ; not the '' women folks") till 

 wanted again. 



Any broken glass will make them ; or you can 

 use wood, but as in that case you cannot see in- 

 side, and it is not so clean as glass, we think the 

 latter will pay. Strings or wire will answer in 

 place of the rubber, though not so convenient. 



Now. Mr. Editor, will you allow us to discuss 

 Bee Journal in these pages ? You allow almost 

 every liberty, even for patentees to crack up their 

 respective hives and inventions, almost as much 

 as if they paid a dollar a line for the privilege. 

 We think you once said that in all these discus- 

 sions you had faith that the truth W(mld come to 

 the top at last; and on looking back over the 

 pages of the Journal, we were astonished to find 

 how much truth haa been brought out. 



Well, we have three Bee Journals— or rather 

 one, and two so-called — and another is about 

 dawning from Missouri. We don't know what 



