THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



107 



ed with as much care as the queen 

 mothers, and the drones exert fully as 

 great an influence on the progeny, as 

 do the queen mothers. Brood from 

 which the queens are to be reared, 

 should be given to the bees when just 

 three days old, from the laying of the 

 egg. Bees that have been kept queen- 

 less, and confined without brood for 

 almost twelve hours, rear the best 

 queens. Then cells should be cut out 

 when the queens that are in them are 

 just twelve days old, and are moving 

 about in the cells. After cutting them 

 out, remove them to queen nursery, 

 and hang them in the brood chamber 

 of a colony that is queenless. 



To separate two cells so built that 

 they cannot be cut apart without injury 

 to them, take a warm knife and cut 

 through the wax between the cells 

 •on each side down to the cocoons. 

 And then taking the cells between 

 the thumb and forefinger of each 

 hand, gently roll them and the co- 

 coons will separate when a piece of 

 foundation can be pasted over the un- 

 covered portion, so as to protect the 

 cocoons. This will save cutting into 

 the cells. 



When queens are about to emerge 

 from the cells, they gnaw a small aper- 

 ture, and then reach their tongue out 

 through this aperture, when the attend- 

 ant bees feed them. This seems to 

 strengthen the queens and better fit 

 them for the labor of cutting off the 

 cap of the cell. In view of this, it is 

 well when putting the queen cells into 

 the nursery (not lamp nursery) to put 

 in the layers, four or five attendant 

 bees providing food for them. 



An article from the Sun was read, 

 wherein it was stated, that the queens 

 of a certain beekeeper had laid ferti- 

 lized eggs, without having left the 

 hives to meet the drone, the drone 

 larvae being introduced into the royal 

 jelly just after the queen cell was 

 sealed. Mr. Goodspeed had tested 

 this, but was not sure of the results. 

 He however protested against tamper- 

 ing with the cells. 



DOLLAR QUEENS — THEIR EFFECT OX THE 

 STOCK OF THE COUNTRY. 



Messrs. King, Goodspeed, Betsin- 

 ger, Dickinson, Koot and others, dis- 

 cussed this subject, resulting as 

 follows : 



The cheap queen business is detri- 

 mental, and has done an immense 

 amount of harm. Oftentimes they 

 are not ever worth the price paid for 



them ; but are culls sent out, without 

 any test. No queen breeder can testa 

 queen properly, unless she has been 

 kept at least one season. 



Dollar queens, so called, were just 

 as good as higher priced queens, sold 

 by the same parties; and were more 

 profitable to the general beekeeper 

 than higher priced ones. One must 

 however deal only with those who are 

 known to be honest and careful breed- 

 ers. 



Queens should produce progeny, with 

 three-banded workers. The color of 

 qneens was brighter when bred in- 

 warmer climates. Queens should be 

 reared in full colonies. Mr. Betsinger 

 stated that a queen that would dupli- 

 cate herself would always produce- 

 thi'ee-banded workers. A queen that 

 would not produce a three-banded^ 

 worker was a hybrid. 



The workers in almost every instance 

 take after the mother. Mr. Betsinger's 

 statements citUed forth quite a dis- 

 cussion regarding the purity of queens. 



BEST ARRANGEMENT FOR COMB-HONEY. 



Several parties had brought with 

 them, for exhibition, various arrange- 

 ments for securing comb honey ; and 

 these were described and commented, 

 upon. 



THURSDAY MORNING. 



After opening the convention, Pres. 

 Root announced the following standing 

 committees : 



Besolutions, C. G. Dickinson, Arthur 

 Todd, and J. Van Deusen. 



Exhibits, Ira Barber, I. L. Schofield 

 and Geo. H. Knickerbocker. 



Question Draiver, N. N. Betsinger, 

 A. J. King and Geo. W. House. 



INTRODUCING QUEENS. 



S. M. Locke then read the following 

 paper on the theme of Introducing 

 Queens." 



The introduction of queens is, with 

 me, a difliculty of the past, as I have 

 long since become so familiar with 

 their habits, and also the habits of the 

 bees, that I no longer experience any 

 troui)le. We introduce thousands of 

 virgin queens every year, with no loss 

 when care is used, and but very few 

 even when done hurriedly. I have had 

 a number of virgin queens caged in one 

 hive, and have liberated one at a time. 

 The first would usually mate the first 

 or second day, and as soon as mated I 



