I have seen seven spring out of as 

 many cells on one comb within a few 

 minutes. In their course of nature the 

 survival of the fittest is provided for 

 by " a slaughter of the innocents," but, 

 is it not true that any one living may be 

 developed into a perfect queen by the 

 removal of the others before hatching. 

 If not, why does Prof. Cook, on page 

 164, of his excellent Manual, recom- 

 mend this very plan and tell us we can 

 secure 15 or 20 cells and under conditions 

 " requisite to secure the most superior 

 queens." This plan and this assurance 

 is given by many able and successful 

 apiarists. 



And yet Prof. Cook quoted from the 

 " Manual " in the Journal, page 35 as 

 follows : " The tendency of the dollar 

 queen business is to desseminate inferior 

 queens, many of which will appear in 

 every apiary." In your Journal I 

 think some breeders have proved their 

 ability to raise dollar queens and make 

 money. 



I am not in the business, but I think 

 it time that such arguments against 

 such queens be dropped, or else the 

 books be revised, and some plan be 

 devised to enable the apiarist to tell 

 which of the 15 or 20 cells started are 

 to be selected. Who is the wise man 

 that can do this? Times have changed 

 and so have prices since dollar queens 

 were first offered. Compared even with 

 the prices of honey, sixty-six cents for 

 queens now, would be as good as a dol- 

 lar then ; and I venture to say, the same 

 ratio would hold good as to other kinds 

 of property. 



But have we arrived at that point of 

 perfection in breeding, that we can tell 

 without testing which are the best 

 queens V I think not, and a reference 

 to the debates of our conventions justi- 

 fies me. And testing, what is that? 

 As I understand it, the breeder simply 

 tests the purity and the fertility before 

 shipping, which takes time and costs 

 trouble. But is there any test of high 

 marked value V We will arrive at a 

 more just and fairer conclusions, if we 

 will look at this matter as it is. Why, 

 in many parts of the country Langstroth 

 hives were sold at 87,00, and since the 

 patent has expired, competition and 

 increased facilities give us just as good 

 or better hives, at one-fourth the money. 



What are dollar queens ? Men of 

 character advertise to send good queens, 

 reared from imported mothers, war- 

 ranted to be mated but untested at that 

 price. We will say that 20 are started 

 as Prof. Cook recommends. The 

 breeder's success depends upon fair 

 dealing. If he sends out puny queens, 

 or indeed any, which to the eye are im- 



perfect to any great extent, he will lose 

 his custom. If to the eye it be perfect, 

 what but an extended trial will deter- 

 mine its value V Who can make this 

 trial most cheaply ? Then, who most 

 satisfactorily V The breeder can per- 

 haps, do better selling untested at $1.00, 

 than tested at $2.00. But if all are 

 tested, it is not likely that all are of 

 equal value. I buying a dollar queen, 

 nave a chance to get a, better queen at 

 that price than if I paid the higher 

 price. 



I speak, Mr. Editor, in behalf of a 

 large class who may be able to, and 

 would buy the cheaper queens and then 

 cross their stock, and who would be 

 deterred by higher prices. But the 

 higher prices do not ensure satisfaction 

 as a reference to the back volumes of 

 American Bee Journal will show. 



May we not leave this whole subject 

 to be regulated by the laws of trade and 

 nature, which will doubtless decree the 

 survival of the fittest amoug breeders, 

 as it does among bred V 



Charlottesville, Va. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Moving Bees in Cold Weather. 



BY JOHN R. LEE. 



A few years ago I thought the colder 

 the weather the better for moving bees, 

 but since I have had more experience I 

 have come to the conclusion that many 

 colonies are lost by disturbing them in 

 cold weather. They form a close com- 

 pact cluster to keep warm by animal 

 neat; and any person handling bees on 

 a cold day will notice how easily they 

 chill and drop down when they once 

 leave the cluster. 



Two years ago, while living at Oxford, 

 Ohio, the home of Langstroth, a neigh- 

 bor, having 7 colonies in good condition, 

 with from 30 to .50 lbs. of nice white 

 clover honey each , .and strong with bees, 

 sold his house and lot making it neces- 

 sary to move his apiary. The weather 

 being warm when he moved his house- 

 hold goods, he thought best to leave his 

 bees for a cold day. So in December, 

 when the thermometer was about zero, 

 he loaded them into a spring wagon and 

 moved them 6 miles, and in so doing 

 lost all but one. This led me to con- 

 clude that disturbing bees in cold 

 weather causes them to break up the 

 cluster, and if it remains cold for sev- 

 eral days thereafter, they are ruined. 

 I am aware that bees will survive after 

 a zero freeze, for I gathered some off 

 of the snow one very cold morning after 

 they had laid out over night, took them 

 into a warm room, and fully one-half of 



