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THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



May 





The W. T. Falconer M'f'g Co., 

 Gentlemen: The bee hives came all 

 safe and sound ; everything entirely 

 O, K. We have got them all put to- 

 gether and find everything entirely 

 satisfactory, and are much pleased 

 with them. When in want of more 

 goods will let you kiow. Yours truly, 



Paris, Apr, 4. A. W. Burritt. 



The W. T. Falconer M'f'g Co., 

 Gentlemen: I received the goods some 

 days ago, and found them in good 

 order, and the goods are first class. I 

 am very well satisfied with them. 

 Yours truly, 



Taylor, Apr. 7. Henry R. Fritz. 



The W. T. Falconer M'fg Co., 

 Gentlemen: The goods were received 

 O. K., and are very nice. 1 am very 

 much pleased with them. Thanking 

 you for your promptness, and for such 

 nice goods, I remain. Yours truly, 



So. Easton, Apr. 6. Chas. W. Hill. 



The W. T. Falconer M'f'g Co., 

 Gentlemen: The hives arrived O. K., 

 and everything in first class order. I 

 have put thetn together and they are 

 daisies. Every joint fits like " der 

 paper on der vail." 



Yours respectfully, 



H. H. Decker. 

 Johnsonburg, March 16. 



"How to Manage Bees " is a 50c 

 book for beginners in bee keeping. 

 We will send it postpaid for 25c. 



(From Progressive Bee-Keeper.) 



BREEDING FOR IMPROVEMENT. 



DR. C C. MILLER. 



Every now and then someone talks 

 about making improvements in bees 

 by properly breeding them, and pretty 

 generally that is understood as refer- 

 ring to scientific breeders that are 

 away beyond us every-day bee-keep- 

 ers. What I want to do just now is 

 to make clear as I can the belief that 

 every bee keeper who has three colon- 

 ies of bees in movable comb hives, can 

 do something toward improving his 

 stock. I'm not sure that he might do 

 so with only two colonies in box hives. 



Indeed I don't believe it needs any 

 great amount of skill to develop 

 strains noted for excellence in some 

 one given direction. To be sure, there 

 is the difficulty that we cannot control 

 the fecundation of our queens, and 

 that's a bad drawback, but then we 

 have as an offset that queens can be 

 bred very rapidly, allowing us to reach 

 many generations in a very few years. 

 Besides, even if we can't control fe- 

 cundation, and can't control the drones 

 that are about us, we can gradually 

 change the character of all. Every- 

 one knows this who has perseveringly 

 bred Italians with blacks all around 

 him. At first most of his queens 

 would meet black drones, but by and 

 by his neighbors' bees would be so 

 changed in character that blacks would 

 no longer be in consideration. 



Look at what has been done by con- 



