10 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



and no planing or jointing should 

 be necessary after it is ready to nail. 



A hive should be so constructed 

 that when packed for winter, water 

 cannot reach the packing. One not 

 so made is worthless for wintering 

 use, and not as good as one not 

 packed at all. All beekeepers know 

 the importance of having the pack- 

 ing very dry and clean. 



10. A hive should be adapted to 

 either a hot or cold climate. One 

 to combine the last two points should 

 have a large open space under the 

 combs and frames, as such a space 

 affords ample ventilation both sum- 

 mer and winter. Bees in a hive thus 

 constructed will not "lay out" in any 

 climate, provided the entrance is a 

 large one. Nor will the combs melt 

 down in summer nor mould in winter. 



For the American Apiculturist. 



NOTES FROM CANADA. 



R. F. HOLTERMAN. 



First- class extracted honey is 

 selHng at 8 cents per lb. package 

 extra or returnable. These are sales 

 in wholesale lots. The retail price 

 varies very much; lO cents per lb. is 

 probably the lowest and up to 15 cts. 

 per lb. in beekeeping districts. Al- 

 though honey is plentiful, there is 

 far less upon the market now than 

 a year ago, and especially is this the 

 case with comb honey. There is 

 very little first-class comb honey up- 

 on the market ; the low prices paid 

 for small and generally inferior lots 

 early in the season has had a down- 

 ward tendency in prices of comb ; 

 15 cts. per lb. wholesale for first-class 

 in pound sections is a fair price. 



Canadians feel confident of having 

 secured an opening for their honey in 

 England. Mr. S. T. Pettit, the presi- 

 dent of the O. B. Association, in- 



formed me that Canadian honey was 

 far ahead of that from other colonies ; 

 and, if the English market were to re- 

 main open to us we might be able to 

 satisfy the demand ; and to do this at 

 all, more large apiaries would have to 

 be established in Canada. The prob- 

 lem as it stands is, shall we secure a 

 solid footing at remunerative prices in 

 England ? If so, shall we be able to 

 produce sufficient honey to keep up 

 the supply as required? 

 B7-antfo?-d, Out. 



and Answers by Practical Apiarists. 



BllEEDING BEES FOR QUALITY AND 

 DESIRABLE TRAITS. 



QUESTIONS BY ONE OF THIC OLD ONES. 



Query No. 1, What methods 

 should l)e practised in breeding bees in 

 order to perpetuate any desirable points 

 or qualities? Which of the parents 

 (drone or queen) is moi'e likely to 

 transmit to the oftspring its peculiar 

 points or characteristics ? 



Suppose one has colonies that are 

 extra good honey-gatherers, very hardy 

 and, in fact, perfect in all respects ex- 

 cept that they are very cross and pretty 

 sure to sting any one that approach the 

 apiary ; how can this most imdesirable 

 trait be bred out and, at the same time, 

 all other desirable points retained? 



ANSWERS BY JAMES HEDDON. 



The breeder of any kind of stock 

 must ever recognize the principles of 

 evolution, the three main ones being 

 heredity, variation, and that nature 

 is at war with itself, or that one thing 

 dies that another may live. Evo- 

 lution brings about progress in nature 

 through the three foregoing laws, but 

 man uses the first two and manipu- 

 lates according to his judgment and 

 aims in place of the third. Nature 

 being at war with itself leaves only 

 \\\& fittest to survive, as the survivors, 

 while we manipulate in such a man- 



