100 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL. 



[Nov., 



bees can gather ten to fifteen pounds of honey 

 in a day ; and if so, -what should hinder them 

 taking twenty or twenty-five pounds in a day 

 and night, from a suitable feeder? And we did 

 make a stock take twenty pounds in nine hours, 

 witliout more than five minutes' work of our 

 time. It was done in this way. We got a tea- 

 kettle ; removed spout and handle ; soldered 

 perforated tin over where the cover goes ; put on 

 a screw top, like those on oil cans, near the per- 

 forated tin, to fill it by. Now set it on the 

 scales and fill with as many pounds of syrup as 

 you wish. Fix the screw cap and ears that held 

 the handle, so as to form three legs. When this 

 is inverted over the frames, your work is done. 

 Invert it first over a pan, until it ceases to run a 

 stream, and you will have no leaking. 



Hoping this may save others as much time as 

 it has saved us, we are yours and all beekeepers, 



Novice. 



P. S. All letters giving us facts, are thankfully 

 received. Please make all inquiries through the 

 Journal. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



About Queen-Eaising. 



I have raised and shipped, by mail and express, 

 eight hundred and twenty-five (825, queen bees 

 during the season just past. Of this number, 

 less than twenty-five (not 25 per cent.) died or 

 proved worthless when they reached their des- 

 tination. One of the latter was found to be a 

 drone-laying queen, and one a queen that laid 

 eggs which would not hatch. This one was re- 

 turned to me safely from Oliio, by mail. She 

 was handsome, and had the appearance of a 

 good laying queen. A very few have been re- 

 ported as hybrids— less than ten. I think that 

 twenty-five queens would cover the loss by 

 mail, including those that proved to be impure. 

 Purchasers acknowledging the receipt of queens, 

 would invariably write that they were in good 

 condition (many of them adding: "they were 

 .as lively as crickets when received"). 



A few of my customers lost some of their 

 queens in introducing, but most of them were 

 well satisfied with the queens sent to them. 

 Somewhat over two hundred of the queens sent 

 from my apiary went into the State of Illinois, — 

 a fact speaking well for my stock in that State. 

 For several seasons 1 have supplied the best and 

 most prominent beekeepers in the country with 

 queens, and through their influence have received 

 more orders than I have been able to supply. I 

 have received orders for more than fifteen 

 hundred (1500) queens since January, 1871 ; and 

 ■when I started last spring, I had on my book 

 orders for more than four hundred queens. In 

 August I had in operation two liundred and 

 eighty nucleus hives, besides tlie full stocks on 

 which I was raising queens ; but to supply the 

 demand for queens is more than I could do. 



Beekeepers who visit my apiary express the 

 opinion that I must lose a good many queens 

 when they fly out to meet the drones ; but such 

 Is not the case. I have been very fortunate in 



that respect, and have lost comparatively few. I 

 set my hives very irregularly, and ninety-five out 

 of every hundred queens that fly out, find their 

 own home when they return. The number not 

 returning is very small. 



I find it much easier to raise queens than to 

 raise drones after the honey harvest is over : and 

 it was only this season that I discovered a sure 

 way to get drone eggs deposited — and this I can 

 effect even from a young queen, as well as from 

 an old one. All who have visited my "queen 

 nursery" in queen raising time, well know my 

 process for getting large, healthy, and prolific 

 queens in nucleus hives. 'My method is this : 

 The nucleus is tilled full of bees, which are con- 

 fined from twelve to eighteen hours. Tlien they 

 are allowed to fly out. As soon as I can prepare 

 the brood (eggs just hatching) they are furnished 

 with material to raise queens ; furnished with 

 feed, and a good supply of this kept up till the 

 queen cells are sealed over. When the time ar- 

 rives for the cells to hatch (from ten to fourteen 

 days after the nucleus is started), those that can- 

 not be separated without injury, are put in a 

 small hive that has glass sides, so that both sides 

 of the comb can be seen. Here they are kejit, 

 and as fast as they hatch put in cageg, with a 

 few workers, and then introduced to such nuclei 

 as are in condition to receive them kindly. 



I confers that I find the operation of intro- 

 ducing young virgin queens over to nucleus 

 hives, a very difficult job. In many cases, where 

 the queen is not hugged to death, her wings are 

 so injured that she cannot fly. Of course such 

 queens must be destroyed. Where cells can be 

 transferred, it is always advisable to do so. I 

 have removed a laying queen from a nucleus 

 hive, at the same time inserting a queen cell 

 ready to hatch, and in the course of an hour had 

 the young queen safely introduced. But this is 

 not a safe way ; the hive should be kept queen- 

 less at least twelve hours. 



During an experience of twelve years in 

 raising queens, I never knew one to make her 

 mari"iage flight until she was five days old ; and 

 I have watched them very closely too. In the 

 months of June, July and August, they will be 

 fertilized when five days old, if the fifth day iS 

 warm and pleasant ; and in forty-eight hours 

 later, eggs can be found in the cells, if the hive 

 contains plenty of workers and food. One daj', 

 in last June, I knew of forty-five queens being 

 fertilized in the course of two hours. 



For breeding, I use the largest, purest, and 

 most prolific queens I have, and keep them in 

 nucleus hives during the breeding season. I do 

 not allow drones to be raised from the same 

 queen used for breeding queens, and intend to 

 cross my stock as much as possible. All the 

 queens I raised in May last cost me five dollars 

 each ; and I do not think that queens can be 

 raised profitably in May. A full stock of bees 

 that will make five nuclei in May, would make 

 ten fully as large in June. Then, too, they will 

 require less feeding at the later period, as forage 

 is then generally abundant in this part of the 

 country, the weather warmer, and four times as 

 many queen cells will be constructed. Fifty 

 nucleus hives, started the first week in August, 



