70 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



years old, and of his life he has 

 spent seventy years keeping bees 

 and studying all the best literature 

 on the subject. He embraced the 

 movable frame hive system in a 

 country where there never are abun- 

 dant yields of honey. He has been 

 able to profit by the demand for 

 Italian queens, to make a good 

 business, sending them out in boxes 

 more or less large according to dis- 

 tance, etc. He does not have any 

 hives with movable bottom boards. 

 His bees are very fine, but he does 

 not endeavor to obtain them by a 

 constant selection such as Mr. Fo- 

 metta gives. 



He showed me that day, 13th 

 October, one queen born eight days 

 before, and fecundated by drones 

 of her own hive, the only one hav- 

 ing drones on that date. Tiiis 

 queen had already laid several 

 eggs in worker cells. 



[Translated by Arthur Todd, 

 Phila., Pa.] 



BEE NOTES. 

 Have you ordered and secured 

 your supplies for the coming sea- 

 son? Are all your new hives nailed 

 and well painted with two good 

 coats of lead paint and are you at 

 work preparing the necessary out- 

 fit for tlie coming season's work? 

 These are questions of vital in- 

 terest, and much valuable time and 

 many dollars may be wasted in put- 

 ting ofl" this matter until you see 

 " how your bees come out." It is 

 foolish" to expect that the supply 

 dealers can take your orders late 

 and be prompt with the work. "A 

 word to the wise is sufficient." 

 When you purchase your supplies, 

 it will "pay you to visit the supply 

 dealer and make your arrangements 

 with him so that there will be no 

 dissatisfaction. Remember also 

 that it is better to deal with a first 

 class workman who does honest 

 work and give him a fair price. 



than to send to those who agree to 

 furnish goods at astonishingly low 

 prices. Almost invariably cheap 

 prices mean " a cheap quality of 

 goods. " When we degrade labor 

 so that manufacturers in competing 

 are obliged to hire cheap and un- 

 skilled labor and use a cheap grade 

 of material, it is folly to expect 

 first-class goods. 



Very many beekeepers whose 

 bees are packed away in the cellars 

 are too anxious about them and 

 deem it necessary to stir them up 

 every day or two and clear out the 

 dead bees from the entrances, etc. 

 This too kindly treatment means 

 destruction to the bees. If they 

 are packed well (in the cellar) and 

 have plenty of food, let them alone 

 just as long as they will remain 

 quiet. Do not be in a hurry to re- 

 move them from the cellar unless 

 they have become uneasy and if 

 compelled to place them on the 

 summer stands before the danger 

 from chilly nights is past, pack 

 them well in sawdust or chaff and 

 place thick cushions over the brood 

 nest. Many of our readers are 

 in localities more advanced than 

 ours and to these we would say, 

 just as soon as it becomes warm 

 enough so that you can manipulate 

 your colonies, remove every comb 

 that the bees cannot cover witliin 

 the cluster even when the nights 

 are cold. It is far better to place 

 a stimulative feeder over the clus- 

 ter and supply the bees with thin 

 food (sugar syrup) than to leave, 

 in the brood nest, several combs 

 that cannot be covered or utilized 

 for rearing brood. 



It is at this time (when they be- 

 gin to build up) that we lay the 

 foundation of strong stocks. Do not 

 be afraid of reducing the number of 

 combs or size of the brood nests ; 

 the more that the bees are crowded 

 together the more rapidly will the 

 colony build up. Empty combs 

 may be placed one or two at a time 



