314 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



E. B. T., page 422, November, writes 

 about opening for bee-keepers in Cuba, 

 having read my article in Cuba A-eivs 

 October 12th. The one man I men- 

 tioned would surely be a fine opportun- 

 ity for the right man, as my friend is 

 located in a rich section and has acres 

 of oranges and grape fruit. There are 

 many other large groves that will be 

 coming into bearing soon, and I have 

 no doubt many more good openings 

 will crop up as the fruit men realize 

 the great benefit to be had from the 

 bees' assistance in fertilizing their trees. 

 There is no wintering to be bothered 

 with here and I have never fed my 

 bees. Of course there may be loca- 

 tions where this is necessary some 

 years, but that is the man's fault who 

 chooses such, as there is much uncov- 

 ered territory that is fine and where 

 the bees will give a surplus all the year 

 around. I do not wish by this to have 

 any one believe I am trying to induce 

 ihem to come to Cuba ; on the contrary, 

 I would say stay awa3^ bvit if you think 

 you would like a warm tropical coun- 

 try after having been brought up north, 

 come and live a year with us before 

 you tie up. The living will not cost 

 much and you may find by the end of 

 the year that it has been well spent. 



An apiary well located and managed 

 is a nice thing here, if you like the 

 country. We figure on $5 to $7.50 per 

 hive yearly from extracted honey at 

 about an average of 45c per gallon, 

 barrels furnished. 



I have been following your prices on 

 honey packages as I expect to experi- 

 ment along these lines here another 

 year, and you will hear from me later. 

 D. W. Millar. 



Have lost eight colonies out of 345 

 wintered out of doors. The cellar-win- 

 tered colonies, 57 in number, were very 

 weak when taken from the cellar, and 

 twelve of them have died. 



Ira D. Bartlett. 



East Jordan. Mich.. May 7th, 1913. 



Keep more bees better. 



Subscribers and members can help 

 themselves and the Association by pat- 

 ronizing the Review advertisers. 



Knox, No. 2, Ind., Jan. 15, 1913. 

 Mr. Editor: — 



The Bee-Keepers' Review to hand 

 for the first time. Sorry that I have 

 been without it so long. 



Page 8 — Were it possible to govern 

 the mating of the bee, the other part 

 of the environment would still remain 

 unchanged. The mere mating only 

 transmits characteristics already estab- 

 lished "Like begets like" precludes im- 

 provement. Any change in the physi- 

 cal make-up of the animal must, there- 

 fore, be sought for primarily along 

 other lines. 



"Characteristics of the drone most 

 apt to be transmitted," eh? And from 

 where did the drone get his character- 

 istics? Which first, the hen or the 



pcrcr r* 

 "* • 



As to the matter of improving the 

 bee, I have become somewhat pessim- 

 istic. But some good, I have no doubt, 

 might result from the attempt, for it 

 would and should improve the man 

 who would undertake the job. 



I was once, not long ago, in this 

 business myself, I remember, but, 

 after all, my Italians, judging by their 

 complications today, have all become 

 what I call American citizens, and they 

 never consulted me a little bit as to 

 this change either. Well, if any bees 

 like this I like it too — dog-gone-it. 



While working along these lines I 

 have learned, not to kill a queen al- 

 ready at work unless I am reasonably 

 sure that I can put a better one in her 

 stead; not to kill a queen because of 

 her age. It is madness without a bit 

 of method about it. I now consider the 

 old queen as a part of the whole, a 

 good property if properly managed. 

 Remember too, that action is equal to 

 reaction. 



Page 24 — "Should there be plenty of 

 snow it would be good to heap it up 

 all around your hives." This may do 

 in Wisconsin, but here in Indiana, it 

 will not, I think. Reason : The frozen 

 material when thawing calls back with 

 interest all the heat it gave up in freez- 

 ing, and this at a time when the bees 

 can least afford it. 



I am yours for success. 



David Roberts. 



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 Review, kindly say "I saw your adver- 

 tisement in the Review." 



You are invited to join the 

 NATIONAL. 



