AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL- 



SSI 



they have in the past, I fear that they 

 will find the progressive fruit-growers 

 having them in a tight-corner some of 

 these days. Our bee-keepers have been 

 too long hiding their light under a 

 bushel, and nowhere is it better hidden 

 from sight than at our Fairs. 

 North Temescal, Calif. 



Aie of Larvae for (iiicen-Rearliii, Etc. 



WriUcn Jor the American Bee Journal 

 BY DB. C. C. MILLEE. 



On page 463, Dr. Tinker says : " All 

 larvae designed for workers are inva- 

 riably scantily fed at the start, or for 

 the first four days." I have some doubt 

 if the Doctor will insist on that when he 

 comes to think it over. Haven't you 

 often noticed. Doctor, that when a young 

 queen first lays, the little grubs first 

 hatched will be just swimming in jelly ? 

 They are surely designed for workers. 



And on page 463, you yourself say 

 that when a comb of just-hatching eggs 

 is given to your queenless colony, " it 

 will be found in a few hours that every 

 larva in the comb will be swimming in 

 royal jelly." The bees can hardly de- 

 sign all these for queens, still it is pos- 

 sible. 



I am not prepared to say that worker- 

 larvae are never scantily fed at the start, 

 but I must confess it looks just a little 

 that way. For don't they always have 

 some extra food by them during the first 

 three or four days, and if there is a sur- 

 plus there at all, would they use it up 

 any faster if the surplus were twice as 

 great ? Have you any proof that the 

 larvEe would, or could, use any more 

 food if they had it ? 



After all. Doctor, I must admit that 

 your way is a safe one, and there may be 

 a difference in practice that we do not 

 fully understand. 



AN OPEN LETTER TO H. M. MELBEE. 



Mr. H. M. Melbee : — As your address 

 is a secret, I take the liberty to address 

 you through the columns of the "Old 

 Reliable." 



There seems to be a difference of opin- 

 ion as to the weight of section honey. I 

 think it was pound sections we were 

 talking about, and your point was that 

 people got only % Qf a pound instead of 

 a pound. Locality has a great deal to 

 do with bee-matters, you know. In this 

 locality pound sections don't average as 

 little as 14 ounces. I didn't suppose 

 they did in general. Neither does the 



section, when the honey is cut out of it, 

 weigh more than an ounce. But there 

 may be localities where the wood of the 

 section is so thick, and so much glue on 

 it, that it weighs two ounces. At any 

 rate, we'll not get into a quarrel over a 

 little matter of that kind. 



Even if I had any inclination to quar- 

 rel over it, that inclination would be all 

 taken away by the feeling of gratitude 

 toward you for the secret you have given 

 us as to how to get 24 cents a pound for 

 extracted honey. Let me see if I have 

 it all straight : The secret is to ask 24 

 cents of all alike, to stick to it and ask 

 24 cents first, last, and all the time. 

 Because if you don't ask 24 cents yoxi 

 won't get it. The thing looks all clear 

 and easy enough when one comes to see 

 it, and I almost wonder I hadn't thought 

 of it before. 



Now I should be very ungrateful if I 

 should not try to share with you a secret 

 that I have. I have a plan whereby you 

 can increase your receipts some 25 per 

 cent., and as a consequence your profits 

 in a larger proportion. I have never 

 tried it myself, for of course I couldn't 

 know of it until I had read your letter, 

 but I'm sure it will work, for it is based 

 upon the reasoning so clearly given by 

 you on page 432. The plan is this : 



You know you are now asking 24 

 cents a pound. Well, instead of asking 

 24 cents, ask 30. Don't have an asking 

 price and a selling price, but when you 

 ask 30 cents mean it, and ask of all 

 alike, whether rich or poor, black or 

 white. Just ask 30 cents and stick to 

 it. Because if you don't ask 30 cents 

 you tvon't get it." 

 Marengo, 111. 



Knowing Tour Honey-Flora, Etc. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



From the many letters I am receiving 

 lately, bearing on two old subjects, alSd 

 asking questions regarding them, I think 

 I can do no better at this time than give 

 an article to the readers of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal regarding location, 

 and a knowledge of the same, and the 

 age at which bees gather honey. 



Successful bee-keeping is made up of 

 numerous items, all of which bear an 

 important part toward the success at- 

 tained as a whole ; hence the more 

 thoroughly a person understands when 

 to attend to all of these items, so that 

 the right thing is done at the right time 



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