THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



August 



best. In raising queens to replace 

 worn-out ones, or for the purpose of 

 providing vigorous mothers for new 

 colonies, the greatest care should be 

 exercised to ensure they are good 

 queens and not half- workers. Bees, 

 when made queenless, will raise from 

 five to twelve and even more queen- 

 cells ; but only about three of these 

 cells produce queens of high quality. 

 Therefore, no compunction should be 

 shown in removing and destroying all 

 undersized cells. The finest queens are 

 invariably from cells which hatch out 

 last ; this delay is caused by the larvte 

 from which they are raised being 

 younger and hence taking a longer 

 time to arrive at maturity. 



Where a number of queens have to 

 be provided, time is saved by getting 

 cells raised in a single stock eight or 

 ten days before a general division of 

 the remaining colonies takes place. 

 So that in twenty-four hours after 

 such division a ripe queen-cell may be 

 given to each queenless part through 

 out the apiary. Another point also 

 requiring consideration is the massa- 

 cre of the innocents which will short- 

 ly take place in all normal colonies. I 

 mean the turning out of the much- 

 abused drones. Therefore, when pos- 

 sible, §teps should be taken to preserve 

 the life of some drones in a queenless 

 stock, or in one having only a virgin 

 queen. If this matter be not attended 

 to, and the season takes an unfavorable 

 turn, we may have the mortification 

 of finding our young queens — which 

 cost us so much trouble to get as near- 

 ly perfect as possible — become useless 

 or worse, and, owiug to an unforseen 

 set of circumstances not expected or 

 provided far, we shall discover too 

 late that we have inadvertently made 

 a retrograde movement past remedy, 

 so far as achieving success next season, 



BEE KEEPERS. 



The natural home of the bee — and so or 

 the bee keeper — is in a temperate cli- 

 mate, where the flowers bloom all the year. 

 Thus we find that our greatest honey-pro- 

 duction comes from that State whose 

 synonym is "the land of flowers.'" In Cal- 

 ifornia bee-keeping is regarded as an indus- 

 try worthy the fostering care of the State, 

 and the yield of honey is no mean factor in 

 contributing to the individual and general 

 wealth. A single bee-keeper there has as 

 many as six thousand colonies, which pro- 

 duce a total yield of two hundred thousand 

 pounds of lioney in a year. So far as statis- 

 tics are availaljle, this is the is the largest 

 apiaries in the world. But even in Cali- 

 fornia prejudice is still rife, and, because of 

 the mistaken idea that the interests of the 

 bee-keeper and those of the fruit-grower are 

 inimical, the bee ranches are usually releg- 

 ated to remote nooks among the foot-hills 

 and in the mountain canons. The Califor- 

 nia bee-keeeper is a man who deserves more 

 than passing notice. " Remote, unfriended, 

 solitary," are the words that come to my 

 mind instinctively as I think of the insolat- 

 ed huts upon the mountain side or in some 

 narrow cleft between the hills, where ] have 

 so often found him. He is always peculiar, 

 and a type that would do credit to Philiscus 

 himself. But if you can once penetrate 

 through the crust of the man, pity for his 

 solitary condition will soon vanish. The 

 bees are his friends, and with them he has 

 little need of mortal companionship. Often 

 lie is a man who has known the world and 

 who has tired of it, and now, like quaint 

 old Zimmermann, who had known schools 

 and courts, finds his most keen delight in 

 the solitude that nature affords. He is no 

 mercenary ; yet the bees toil for him as 

 they would not for any other, and his hives 

 flow over with honey. — James Knapp ReevCy 

 in AufjuU Lippixcott's. 



m'kinley's grand march. 

 We have just received a copy of 

 " McKinley's (irand March," composed by 

 M. R. Rishell. This celebrated March is 

 now being played by all prominent Bands 

 in all parts of the country. The title page 

 contains a correct picture of McKinley. 

 Price forty cents per copy. All readers of 

 our paper will receive a copy at half price 

 by sending 20 cents in silver or postage 

 stamps to The Union Mutual Music Co., 

 265 Sixth Avenue, New York. 



