I at first thought that these could not 

 all be run together and had arranged 

 them in six circles, but upon the sug- 

 gestion of G. M. Doolittle I changed it 

 to the present form. 1 will use tin 

 hands, and after swarming time the 

 hands may be used to inform us con- 

 cerning other operations, as we do not 

 •expect surplus from queenless colonies, 

 and thus by a little thought the one 

 register may be used for all the prin- 

 cipal work with the bees. 



Cambridge, 111. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Queens Duplicating Themselves. 



BY A. F. MOON. 



Since my proposition, made in the 

 American Bee Journal last Septem- 

 ber, it appears that no advocates of the 

 above theory have defended their unva- 

 rying " Princesses,' 1 '' although it was 

 most emphatically claimed by one that 

 he bred such by the hundred. At the 

 time that proposition was made I had 

 not the least idea that it would be ac- 

 cepted, unless it was by some one unac- 

 quainted with the nature and character 

 of the Italian bee. The profound 

 silence, and what lias already been said 

 to establish this theory of queens dupli- 

 cating themselves every time, reminds 

 me of one of those "golden opinions" 

 expressed by one of old, that he was dog- 

 matic at 20, an observer at 30, an empiric 

 at 40, but at 50 he no longer had any 

 " system.' 1 



I have never assented to authority, 

 however high, when it contradicts my 

 own experience. If truth manifests it- 

 self anywhere I do not seek to smother 

 it with glossing, or try to hide it, but I 

 acknowledge its greatness and esteem 

 it for its victory. I had about concluded 

 to double and triple my proposition, 

 but if the one already made cannot find 

 even one among the hundreds that will 

 defend their theory, your readers no 

 doubt will consider the matter settled. 



SHINING BLACK QUEENS. 



In the American Bee Journal for 

 October, Mr. J. D. Slack, of Louisiana, 

 says that the statement made by some 

 about shining black queens puzzles him. 

 He wishes to know if they were bred 

 from light or dark-colored queens. We 

 have seen them appear in both, and from 

 the best apiaries in this country. All 

 that is necessary to know in this matter 

 is first to understand whether the Ital- 

 ian bee has any fixed type, and that is 

 so well understood that it is unnecessary 

 to repeat it, but fearing some beginner 

 will ask, we repeat that we want our 



queens to breed their worker progeny 

 uniform in their markings — i, e., with 

 the three distinct yellow bands. If they 

 do that, we think it fills the bill ; if they 

 do do not, we do not want them. If a 

 queen is impure, it is easily detected by 

 the apiarist, as some of her workers will 

 be imperfect in their markings. 



UNTESTED QUEENS. 



It was with much pleasure that we 

 read in the proceedings of the conven- 

 tions the resolutions passed in regard to 

 queens, purity, &c. This shows that 

 there are yet zealous men in the field 

 who are working for the advancement 

 of practical apiculture. Could all be 

 induced to raise the best, and send out 

 none until tested, then we should have 

 great improvements in breeding the 

 Italian bee. 



I see that my old friends, Cook and 

 Ileddon, did admirably in regard to 

 cheap queens. It is my candid opinion 

 that far more injury has resulted from 

 sending out cheap untested queens, than 

 from all the impure, or those tested and 

 sold for pure, ever reared. All queen- 

 breeders should raise nothing but the 

 best, and send them out tested and re- 

 liable. I am glad to see that bee-keep- 

 ers begin to appreciate this, and hope 

 they will permanently decide this im- 

 portant matter. 



Rome, Ga. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Early Spring Dwindling. 



BY MOOSH AMIEL. 



I stated in an article on page 75, March, 

 1878, that I had not experimented with 

 the device there suggested, but did so 

 immediately after they had a good puri- 

 fying flight. Here let me give the re- 

 sult of a thorough experiment just tried 

 for dysentery. They will not discharge 

 themselves at all, the area of flight is 

 too small ; so, for that purpose, the cage 

 is of no value, and it could not be well 

 made large enough if fastened to the 

 hive. One of from 6 to 10 feet square 

 might give them a flight sufficient for 

 purification. This being so, we will not 

 attach the cage until they have had this 

 flight, but be sure to get it on before the 

 bees have had a taste of honey or pollen 

 from early blossoms, as herein lies the 

 mischief ; once having had a taste, they 

 are tempted out, get chilled, and are 

 lost. I am of opinion that this is as 

 much, if not more, the cause of spring 

 dwindling than the natural death of the 

 bees from old age. The cage 13 or 14 

 inches square will be ample in capacity. 



