526 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAi^. 



and less pollen Is being stored, the 

 swarming season never runs so high. 



It is a superabundance of pollen that 

 stimulates our bees here most, and I do 

 not think that if pollen came in spar- 

 ingly in early spring, and more honey, 

 we would have less swarms. Our bees 

 sometimes get an abundance of pollen 

 in the fall, and swarm. Of course they 

 get some honey, too, at the same time 

 they are gathering so much pollen, and 

 a scarcity in flow of honey, and an over- 

 flow of pollen once gave my bees the 

 swarming mania in May, and some colo- 

 nies swarmed four times each. 



Now it is the nature of bees to swarm, 

 and when the time of year comes, and 

 they are gathering plenty of pollen and 

 some honey, the queens will be stimu- 

 lated to their utmost, drone-eggs laid, 

 a full hive of bees, and a general good 

 time, etc. ; and they can no longer stand 

 such prosperity, and so they swarm. 

 But sometimes they begin swarming 

 preparations, and a dearth comes before 

 the time to swarm, and all hands be- 

 come suddenly discouraged, and tear 

 down cells, etc., and no more swarming 

 until times get good again, even if they 

 are in the sun. Jennie Atchley. 



Making Wax Q,ueen-Cells. 



Mrs. Atchley :— Will you tell me 

 how you make wax queen-cells? 

 Olney, Ills. David Fakis. 



Friend F., it would take me quite 

 awhile to tell you ail about making wax 

 cells, but you can get the book free that 

 tells it all, by subscribing for the Bee 

 JouBNAL. Jennie Atchley. 



Selecting Breeding Queens. 



Mrs. Atchley, will you please tell me 

 how you select a breeding queen ? 



Subscriber. 



Friend Subscriber, this is an impor- 

 tant matter to me, at least, and I have 

 just picked up ray own way by littles, 

 how to select a breeder that suits me, 

 and if you will not laugh at me, I will 

 give my plan in detail as follows : 



1st. I select a well-developed virgin 

 queen. 



2nd. I mate her to select drones, and 

 my way of crossing stock is by using 

 drones of a different strain. 



;ird. When she begins to lay, I see 

 that she — plants one grain in a hill — 

 lays one egg only in a cell. 



4th. That she is lively, and seems in- 

 dependent, or holds up her head. 



5th. Prolific. 



6th. That she produces a uniformly- 

 marked progeny. 



7th. That her bees take care of the 

 eggs she lays. 



8lh. Her bees must be good honey- 

 gatherers. 



9th. I prefer that her bees are mod- 

 erately gentle, but ready to "leg" a 

 robber, or catch her on the wing. 



10th. I want her to stay on the 

 combs and mind her own business when 

 the hive is being manipulated. 



Now, these are my principal points to 

 consider, but there are many minor 

 points, such as her bees being quick to 

 enter supers, etc. But {/ I can get a 

 queen that fills the bill down to this, I 

 I will attend to and risk getting them 

 into the sections. 



You see it takes a long time to select 

 a breeder and test her as she ought to be 

 tested, and it takes patience, but I m,ust 

 hsbve just such queens as breeders before 

 I am satisfied. Jennie Atchley. 



Some Ancient Hive Specimens. 



Mr. Niemuller, of Nebraska, sent me, 

 a few days ago, an old-fashioned straw 

 skep or hive, with the old-fashioned 

 queen-cage and feeder. What a treat it 

 was to me, being the first one I ever saw. 

 I am going to put in it a fine colony of 

 Italian bees, and have it to show to my 

 bee-keeping friends when they come to 

 see us. I would not take a horse for it 

 (a little horse). Thank you, Friend 

 Niemuller. 



I also have an old-fashioned log-gum 

 with its projecting cross-sticks. I shall 

 also occupy it with a colony of Italian 

 bees, and keep it on exhibition — not for 

 their superior advantages, but to show 

 their disadvantages, and to illustrate the 

 improvement apiculture has made. 



Jennie Atchley. 



Xlie Amateur Bee-Keeper, 



is the name of a neat little pamphlet 

 designed for the class its name indicates 

 — amateurs and beginners in bee-keep- 

 ing. It is written by Mr. J. W. Rouse, 

 of Missouri, a practical apiarist and 

 helpful writer. It contains over 60 

 pages, and we will send it postpaid for 

 25 cents ; or club it with the Bee Jour- 

 nal for one year — both for only $1.15. 



Great Premium on page 5-11 ! 



