AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Ill 



a little difference in manipulation, will 

 produce queens several shades darker. — 

 J. A. Green. 



We do not care for color, if they have 

 the yellow rings, and their workers are 

 gentle and stay on the combs when we 

 raise them out of the hive. — Dadant & 

 Son. 



Yellow, or a dark brown color. How- 

 ever, in rare instances I have seen 

 queens as dark as black queens produce 

 fine 3-banded Italian bees. — Mrs. Jen- 

 nie Atchley. 



If I were buying "Italian queens," 

 and knew nothing of their mating, I 

 would expect the three yellow bands, 

 with the other Italian characteristics. — 

 H. D. Cutting. 



I would have to depend on the adver- 

 tisement of the breeder, and expect 

 what he promised ; it might be light or 

 leather-colored, three or five banded. — 

 S. I. Freeborn. 



Anywhere from nearly black to a 

 nearly yellow abdomen, just in accord 

 with their being reared from an imported 

 queen, or the mother of 5-banded bees. 



— G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



Italian queens vary from almost coal- 

 black to almost golden yellow, and in 

 purchasing many I should expect to get 

 almost all shades of color between those 

 two extremes. — R. L. Taylor. 



I should expect them to show a yellow 

 abdomen all except the tip. But it is 

 said on good authority that some of the 

 imported Italian queens of undoubted 

 purity are quite dark all over. — G. L. 

 Tinker. 



Pure Italian queens vary very much 

 in color from bright yellow to dark. Im- 

 ported queens generally average darker 

 than homebred. I have had some nearly 

 as dark as some black queens. — J. P. H. 

 Brown. 



I should prefer a dark strain, and 

 would expect each worker to be marked 

 with three yellow bands. I have never 

 found the very bright yellow bees so 

 good as gatherers, though usually very 

 amiable. — A. J. Cook. 



Of at least three bands of golden yel- 

 low ; with legs and lower part of the 

 abdomen same color — balance, grayish 

 black. The queen should show nearly 

 the entire abdomen of orange yellow ; 

 though the shade varies greatly. — Will 

 M. Barnum. 



I would expect them to have yellow or 

 leather-colored abdomens, except per- 

 haps some dark color at the tip. Stripes 

 around the abdomen is a sign of black 



blood. But sometimes pure Italian 

 stock will show outcroppings of black 

 blood, and this is often seen in nearly 

 black queens, but such "outcrops " did 

 do it when I reared queens for sale. 

 Remember, the Italian is a "thorough- 

 bred," not a pure-blood race. — G. W. 

 Demaree. 



I should not care what the color 

 would be. I have found very black 

 queens give very light-colored workers, 

 and tnce versa. Nothing can be told in 

 this direction from the color of the 

 queen ; the mating drone usually gov- 

 erns the color. — J. E. Pond. 







Selling ExtracleS Honey at Retail. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY H. M. MELBEE. 



My attention is called to some remarks 

 by Dr. Miller, on page 817 of the Bee 

 Journal for Dec. 28, 1893, on the sub- 

 ject of selling extracted honey. Judging 

 from what I see between the lines, I do 

 not think the Doctor desires any instruc- 

 tions that would insure him 24 cents 

 per pound, at retail, for extracted honey, 

 nor any other price, in fact, whether re- 

 munerative or otherwise. The reason, 

 perhaps, for this, is because the Doctor 

 does not produce honey at all in the ex- 

 tracted form, but confines himself en- 

 tirely to the production of comb honey. 



There seems to be all through the 

 Doctor's remarks, a vein of ridicule, and 

 this may be accounted for by reason of 

 the fact that certain parties have been, 

 and still are, able to dispose of extracted 

 honey, at retail, at a higher figure than 

 the Doctor can secure for that in the 

 comb. The Doctor says he is sure that 

 he could do nothing of the kind himself, 

 but that should surprise no one, nor 

 should it discourage others from trying 

 to do so. Not many years ago the Doc- 

 tor stated publicly, if my memory is not 

 at fault, that he could not produce first- 



