268 THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. [December, 



and hardly a vestige of Italian mark- itself. It will work finely, but there 

 ings in most of the colonies. They must be brains behind the machine, 

 had fallen ofif in color and size, and Not all work, nor all study, nor all 

 from the indications, quality kept pace, let-alone. There must be a balance 

 It is not so easy to discern the differ- for the body while we are reaching 

 ence in working qualities. But the for the dollars. 



bee-keeper of from twenty to thirty The best time to rear queens is 

 years' experience should have some during the short space of time directly 

 cultivated perception. following the close of the swarming 



Since the close of the honey har- season or honey harvest. The col- 

 vest there have been numerous small onies chosen to construct cells should 

 swarms floating about this locality, be those which have queens a year 

 clustering on bushes, fences, and fre- old or more, and usually colonies 

 quently approaching the neighborhood which have not swarmed. This is the 

 of the apiary. I have hived about 20 season when the colonies are most 

 of these truant swarms. When I found in the mood of having a queen. The 

 them early enough that a new queen swarming season and fever is over, 

 could be given them, tney remained they are then prepared to settle down 

 in the hives and did fairly. When they to business of preparing for winter, 

 were not given a new queen, about and the presence of a good and suita- 

 two-thirds of them swarmed out to ble queen is the first and all import- 

 continue their course of rambling, ant item. If we remove a queen 

 Sometimes they returned to their own from a colony after the swarming sea- 

 hive, and sometimes tried to enter son, they go about the rearing of an- 

 other hives, or remained clustered on other with an increased degree of 

 bushes. These swarms always con- anxiety over any other time. If we 

 tained a fertilized queen, so it must make them queenless a second time, 

 have left the hive queenless from they will rear another, with still 

 whence they came. I have tried greater haste and anxiety than before, 

 wintering these queens and they sel- but each succeeding time they will 

 dom amount to more than the keeping choose older larvae and nurse the lar- 

 of a very backward colony or nucleus, vae in such haste that poorer queens 



And 1 judge that the bees know will be the result. We must look after 

 it, so they swarm out to take chances, this part of the operation ourselves. 

 The queen is only slightly better than This energy or anxiety on the oart 

 a worker, indeed, if sometimes they of the bees is the high to be prized 

 are not quite so good. About enough property. It causes the queens to 

 like a queen to swarm and cluster and be of larger size and better laying 

 keep them together while traveling, qualities. It depends upon how the 

 When they settle down and begin to bees desire a queen as to how good 

 think and meditate on the future the queen will be. At this season 

 abilities of such a queen, courage fails, there is the least variation in the 

 It shows what kind of colonies neigh- ciueens from a single batch of cells, 

 boring bee-keepers are tolerating. The cell-building colony must be fed 

 Where I gave about fifteen of these one and a half pounds of feed per 

 swarms a new queen, this and last day for ten days or more before start- 

 season not one swarmed out again. ing cells, and the nuclei must get 



There is no place where we can a half pound a dav for a few days, 

 get better pay for skill than in the and that this feeding may be done 

 rearing of queens, and we can rear with the minimum of labor and time 

 as good or better queens by artificial is the excuse for this articTe. 

 methods than by natural swarming or Immediately above the letter A is 

 any let-alone plan. We must make a screen. This is to keen the h've 

 queen-rearing a part of our systematic cool in hot weather, and it also at 

 operating. Do it in its time, and spare .tracts to it any robber bees which 

 no pains. Be as regular and as exact may be nosing about in quest of a 

 and unfaltering as the sim which rises load of feed. It draws them far away 

 in the east. That is the only way from the entrance. At E is the en- 

 to keep with the world if we are to trance, a 7-8 inch auger hole,_ and the 

 be an integer. It has become fashion- cork near by with which the 

 able to go ahead in a sort of rattle- entrance can 1||^ closed if necessary, 

 to-bang way. It has no merit in it. Below the entrance is a square of 

 It could succeed only by work doing screen wire tacked to the hive for 



-A 



