162 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Jan., 



she was removed, had either made her escape 

 from the nucleus or took whig while I was ex- 

 amining the nucleus for her (which I had then 

 to do frequently), and returned to her parent 

 hive? 



Ciiakt.es H. Ki>;g. 

 Murfreeshoro\ Tcnn., Oct. 31, 1870. 



[For the Americim Bee Journal.] 



"Honor to Whom Honor !" 



Mr. Editok : — In the June number of the 

 Journal, I found an article on systematic plagiar- 

 ism that was both true and timely. I iiad long 

 before felt that it was time that the many able 

 correspondents of the Joiu'nal should comment 

 on this ; but it is never too late to do right. 

 Where is the bee-keeper who will look back for 

 fifteen or twenty years, and then ask himself 

 where he got his knowledge of bee-keeping, if 

 he knows anything worth naming, who will not 

 indiesitatingly point to Quinby and Langstroth. 

 Well do I remember tweuty years ago, when the 

 best guides the bee-keepers had were Weeks, 

 Colton, Miner, Bevan, &c. These were good in 

 their day, because we had no better. But one 

 day, reading the American Agriculturist, I saw 

 announced the "Mysteries of Bee-keeping Ex- 

 plained." I bought the book, and after reading 

 and re-reading, I would not have taken fifty dol- 

 lars for it if I could not have replaced it. I 

 found Langstroth's work about the same time, 

 or a little later. Now, Mr. Editor, what has 

 been added to those most valuable books? I 

 have purchased everything that I could find, 

 written in the English language, and for my life 

 I can find nothing. And yet, as Dr. Puckett 

 says, the miserable pretenders of the present day 

 would pass them by among the things that were, 

 and take all credit to themselves. Yet every 

 single idea their heads contain was gleaned from 

 Quinby or Langstroth. Now, sir, my motto is, 

 "credit to whom credit is due." Let all the 

 friends of bee-culture everywhere keep the names 

 of two of the greatest of American apiarians be- 

 fore them, whose fame will survive when the 

 miserable herd of plagiarists are forgotten. For 

 myself I shall ever hold them in grateful remem- 

 brance. Every young beginner should procure 

 and read their works and digest the instructions 

 well ; and they will find the sure road to success. 



Joseph Butlek. 



Jachson, Mich. 



[For the American Bee .Tournal.] 



Natural, Prolific and Hardy Queens. 



PART IV. 



A continuation of my letter on " Bees in 

 Iowa," page 82, October number. Vol. VL 



As mentioned in said letter, I received an Ital- 

 ian queen, which I proposed to test against my 

 blacks. On the morning of the 11th of June, I 

 started for fhe express office, nine miles distant. 



It was quite chilly, and the mercury in the ther- 

 mometer stood at 34 degrees, only two degrees 

 above freezing. In due time I received my box 

 at the office. After i^aying the C O. D., I rap- 

 ped on the box — not a whiz ! tapped again — 

 turned them over, blew through the cracks, but 

 could get no response. The conclusion I came 

 to was, that I had either a box of dead bees, or 

 their docility or impeccability of temper indi- 

 cated that I had purity simmered down. I 

 wrapped them up, and for additional warmth 

 placed them under my arm, under my overcoat. 

 I heard nothing from them on the way home ; 

 tried, but could not rouse them up ; had a fire 

 built, and placed the box over the stove, when 

 the room was well Avarmed up. To a rap on the 

 box there was a feeble response. I darkened 

 the window and lit a kerosene lamp, and called 

 in several neighbors to see the "big thing." 

 Our private opinion, as then and there exj^ressed, 

 was, that the Italian bee was like the (>ardiff 

 giant — "one grand humbug." I placed them 

 back in the box, and set this over the stove, to 

 finish thawing out, while I looked over the back 

 numbers of the American Bee Journal for a sure 

 mode of introduction. Concluded to place the 

 queen, and the bees that came with her, on 

 combs of sealed hatching brood, and not risk 

 her introduction to a strange swarm. Went out 

 and took the best frame that suited me from six 

 hives ; placed them in a Casket, put the queen 

 and her bees on them ; wrapped them uj) warm, 

 left them close to the stove, and kept the fire up 

 all day. At dark looked them over, and con- 

 cluded it was too slow ; placed the Casket in an 

 outside case, on a stand ; shook the bees from 

 seven hives at its entrance. It being then too 

 dark for them to fly back, they took lodgings for 

 the night, but most of them left the next day. 

 This also being too slow a process to build uj), I 

 concluded to introduce them to my swarm under 

 the swarming impidse. Looked through said 

 swarm for tlieir queen, but could not find her, 

 although I tried several times, and darkness put 

 an end that night to further search. Scented 

 the hive containing the Italian queen, and the 

 one I proposed to introduce her to, with sweet- 

 ened water, Mghly flavored with anise — bees, 

 combs and box. In the morning removed the 

 Casket and hive from the outside case, and 

 placed it some six feet from the entrance to the 

 case, at the end of one of my store shutters, and 

 caged my Italian queen. Here I found tlie first 

 advantage of the Italiam — the queen so easily 

 found. After being sure that my Italian was 

 alive and safe, I turned to my blacks, and pro- 

 ceeded to brush them from the combs on the 

 shutter, one by one, until I found and caged the' 

 black queen. After putting her in a i>lace of 

 security, I set all the frames Avith brood in the 

 case, and inserted my caged Italian queen be- 

 tween two combs. The Italian workers staid 

 close by and waited on their queen through all 

 these changes. After again scenting the bees, 

 combs and hive, I closed it up, scented the bees 

 on the shutter, and shook them down at the 

 entrance, when they commenced running in. 

 About every hour or so during the day I scented 

 the bees, combs and hive again with flavored, 



