19-1 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



October 



stant contact with the trade. Per 

 contra, H. D. Burrell, in the Amer- 

 ican Bee Journal, in strongly con- 

 tending for better prices for our 

 product, urges the importance of 

 stipulating the price at which it 

 shall be sold, when sent to cominis- 

 sion houses, and cites instances 

 wherein he has greatly profited by 

 so doing. He has found the com- 

 mission man a pretty good fellow; 

 but he is between two fires. He is 

 anxious to secure the highest pos- 

 sible price for his shipper and is no 

 less desirous of pleasing his custo- 

 mer, who, by the way, may be an 

 old patron and friend. Mr. Burrell 

 therefore urges that it be put be- 

 yond the power of the agent 

 to make any reduction from the 

 highest market price, by stipulat- 

 ing the figure at which the honey 

 must sell, if sold at all. 



The advice in both instances is 

 good, if applied where it fits. The 

 reading bee-keeper knows pretty 

 well the condition of the market and 

 what he shoni'l receive for his honey. 

 Ti.,^. oi.\e who is not iinw^ed would 

 better leave the matter ^o some 

 one who is. 



THE COCOON BASE CUP FOR ROYAL 

 JELLY. 



On page 151, August num- 

 ber, we expressed the opinion 

 that cell-cups with cocoon base were 

 perfectly adapted to the require- 

 ments of those breeders who prac- 

 tice transferring royal jelly and 

 larvae according to the Doolittle 

 method. We have quite extensively 

 used both styles of cups in this 

 way, with results very equally 

 balanced; and as a small amount of 

 jelly is rather more conveniently 

 deposited in the center of the 

 cocoon base than in the original 

 style of cup, we were inclined to 

 favor their use exclusively. Refer- 

 ring to this matter Mr. Doolittle, in 



a private letter, says : 



''Now, don't you be deceived in 

 that way, for with some h-aving 

 these deep bases I have proven that 

 not fifty per cent, are accepted; 

 and this after several experiments." 



We are glad to have this bit of 

 information, for the cell -cup ques- 

 tion is one which has largely en- 

 grossed our attention for several 

 years, and anything which gives 

 promise of aiding in an early per- 

 fection of appliances and simplified 

 methods — methods which, by their 

 evident superiority, shall cause 

 their general adoption — in queen- 

 rearing apiaries, is highly esteemed. 

 If experiments more thorough than 

 those which we have conducted 

 have demonstrated the bees' pre- 

 ferences for any one style of cup, 

 we are glad to know it. We have 

 reared many hundreds of queens 

 during the past ten years by the 

 Doolittle method, using the style of 

 cup recommended in -'Scientific 

 Queen-rearing," though, as we have 

 have recently learned, the cups were 

 not nearly so heavy as those made 

 and used by the originator of the 

 system. We doubt if there are any 

 using Doolittle cups to-day who 

 make them as heavy as does Mr. 

 Doolittle himself. We have used 

 ><i great number of cu])s during 

 ti^e past season having the cocoon 

 bas-^. In some of these royal jelly 

 was used and in some cocoons were 

 placed, and, as before stated, those 

 having the jelly were as readily ac- 

 cepted as those with the large base, 

 of which we also used a large 

 number. 



We shall probably go fartho* into 

 details of this matter in our queen- 

 rearing number now projected. 



T1j(^ freqtKMit rains over the con ii try 

 arc ciuisiufi- o(„k1 fall fldws (if honey in 

 varioii.s sections, especially in \\ is<-onsin, 

 where there, was sncli a dronth and an 

 almost cunn<lete failure of white honey. 



