189) 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNALo 



643 



were no Rood, so off went her head. She was a sample sent 

 as a trial queen. I received eight last season that were not 

 worth keeping, still f kept them until along Into this summer. 

 I was willing to try and see if I could do anything with them. 

 I replaced them with queens reared from a 5-bander — one 

 that every visitor calls the finest bees in the lot. She is extra- 

 prolific, and they are good honey-gatherers, and Mr. Mc- 

 Arthur's fine, large, yellow drones ; yet of every one of the 

 eight queens reared their workers took back largely towards 

 the blacks. I gave a frame of eggs to a neighbor, and his 

 turned out the same. Now I had fine queens purely mated at 

 the same time, and right in the same yard. This queen was 

 received in March. 



I received one last season from another party, and a 

 tested, warranted queen at that, and her queen progeny took 

 back to the blacks. I let the same neighbor have eggs from 

 her twice, and his turned out the same. There appears to be 

 no fixt characteristic about them. 



I have two more extra-beautiful Albino colonies — great 

 honey-gatherers, extra-prolific queens, etc. — but I have not 

 reared any queens from them. I have had too much trouble 

 in weeding out other unsatisfactory characters. I have seen 

 an apiary of 300 colonies, and they were not worth keeping. 

 The owner could count his number of hives, but when he came 

 to count his profits they were nowhere in comparison to good 

 colonies. I have been "all through the mill." In my com- 

 mencement of rearing artificial queens, I reared any quantity 

 of queens that were superseded the second season. I received 

 a queen, killed an old queen, and soon found my introduced 

 queen dead in front of the hive. I then examined for the 

 cause, and found another queen mistress in the hive. You 

 know it was then taught and believed that two queens would 

 not be tolerated in one hive. I then examined other hives 

 where I had introduced artificial queens, and found two 

 queens in a hive until 1 was not certain that I had not two 

 queens in every hive in the yard. That was a puzzler to me 

 at that time. Qieens that are short lived and peter out the 

 second season are deficient. Something is lacking in their 

 make-up. That we can depend upon, every time. 



Please have patience with me, and before I get through 

 this story I will tell you how one can rear good queens — no 

 matter if Doolittle has told you how. In the mouth of two or 

 three witnesses everything shall be establisht. 



This is an ideal climate for rearing good queens, as we 

 have a continuous and steady flow of honey — some of the time 

 not a rapid flow — from the first of March until into October, in 

 ordinary seasons ; no cold rains or cold weather, but continu- 

 ous fine weather every day. We had an exception for six 

 weeks in the spring of 1876. There is only one drawback — 

 black bees and hybrids all around me. Djn't be alarmed; I 

 am not going to rearing queens for sale in opposition to you 

 chaps. 



We now get queens from Italy that play out the second 

 season, from some Italian breeders. Now, with this method 

 of rearing short-lived queens, are you sure that you have not 

 shortened the longevity of the workers at the same time ? If 

 you have, is it not time to change your tactics, and see what 

 can be done in increasing the longevity of both queens and 

 workers? I for one am firmly convinced that it can be done. 

 Now if we can increase the longevity of our workers, say to 

 eight weeks in the working season, one can readily see what 

 an advantage it will make in our honey and wax production. 



The queen I sold to Arthur McFaddeu was as well worth 

 ten dollars as some queens I have received are worth ten 

 cents. In fact, they are not worth ten cents per bushel, for 

 one has to furnish a hive and care for them, and the more he 

 has the worse he is off, as they are an expense to him and no 

 profit. 



I am not scolding, but comimg down to actual facts. I 



have received some extra-good queens this season from differ- 

 ent parties. Of course, I cannot tell about their longevity — 

 that remains to be tested. 



When I get farther along you will see, I think, where 

 some of you have failed on account of bad weather, etc., and 

 not on account of not trying to do the best you could. 



Orange Co., Calif. 



Reporting the Honey Crop— Other Items. 



BV W. P. FAYLOR. 



Is it not surprising that so many bee-keepers do them- 

 selves and others great injustice by reporting vast crops of 

 honey to the public, and thereby reduce the prices of honey 

 year by year? I have noticed some such reports as these this 

 season : 



"The biggest crop in ten years;" "Never had such a 

 honey-flow;" " Bees are rolling in the honey ;" "Supers are 

 all full, and the end is not yet." 



Just one report from each State like these is enough to 

 demolish the honey-business, and the worst part of it is that a 

 a few flattering reports fix the general impression which 

 many times is far from the truth. In nearly all the city mar- 

 kets the prices of all grades of honey were reduced from one 

 to two cents a pound this season, and that before any of the 

 new crop was shipt to the markets. This should be a lesson 

 to bee-keepers in the future, not to send out flittering reports 

 of a great yield of honey before the honey is harvested. If it 

 could benefit the poor by reducing the prices of honey then it 

 would not be so bad ; but as honey is not a necessity, but 

 rather a luxury, the poor will go without it tho it might be 

 bad for a penny a pound. Then, by reducing the price of 

 honey we do not create a greater demand for its consumption ; 

 for when we get the price of an article down to almost noth- 

 ing, the people will begin to think it is worth just so little, 

 and so have little desire for it. The commission men who 

 have reduced the prices of honey this season because of the 

 large prospect, will not sell a pound more of honey because of 

 reduced prices. 



THE HONEY CROP OF 1897. 



I believe the honey crop is not anything as great as was 

 expected from early reports. Michigan and Wisconsin have a 

 light crop from basswood this year, and in Minnesota and 

 Iowa the linden proved an entire failure. From the alfalfa 

 fields come reports of but jn average crop. 



California has a large crop from sage : but what figure 

 does that cut with Eastern honey ? Owing to the war in Cuba 

 there will not be any of the hundred thousand tons of nice 

 honey from that country this year. The Roots report 100 

 pounds of extracted honey per colony, and 50 pounds of comb 

 honey per colony this year ; the Didants, in five apiaries of 

 322 colonies, report an average of 50>^ pounds of honey per 

 colony. These reports from the most favored regions give 

 nothing flattering to speak of. My own crop is less than an 

 average yield, owing to an entire failure from basswood. 

 When basswood yields I get more from that source in a week 

 than from all other sources in a month's time. 



EXTRACTED HONEY VS. COMB HONEY. 



I agree with Mr. Bevins, "that extracted honey is the 

 only honey we ought to produce." It is more readily digested, 

 hence is healthier, and just as palatable. Extracted honey 

 can be ripened and cured better, as it can come in direct con- 

 tact with the atmosphere to thicken it, and thereby evaporate 

 all thin moisture from it. I have noticed this year consider- 

 able honey produced by the farmers' black bees, that was capt 

 pretty and white, but on cutting it open I find the honey thin 

 and watery. 



I have sold on the average, at home this season, fully 10 

 pounds of extracted honey to one pound of comb honey. In 



