(Entered as second-claas mail-matter at the Chicago, 111., Post-Odlce.; 

 Published Monthly at. Soots, a Year, by George W. York & Co., IIH W.Jackson Blvd. 



GEORGE W. YORK, Editor 



CHICAGO, ILL,, AUGUST, 1907 



VoL XLVII— No, 28 



editorial Mote 

 and Commenfs 



Prices of 1907 Honey 



There is now every indication that the 

 crop of honey of 1907 is to be a very 

 light one. Every bee-keeper who has a 

 surplus to sell should recognize the fact 

 of a shortage and not foolishly give 

 honey away, that is, sell it at too low a 

 price. There will be no need of it. 

 Honey, evidently, is to be honey this 

 year. And now that pure-food laws 

 are getting in their good work, there 

 is no valid reason why any first-class 

 honey put on the market this fall 

 shouldn't bring a good price. Fruit is 

 scarce, and consequently high in price — 

 in fact, practically all food-stuffs are 

 going up, so why should not honey 

 take its proper place in the market quo- 

 tations? 



Some think that No. i, first-class, 

 white extracted honey can be sold this 

 year at 10 cents a pound at wholesale, 

 and other kinds accordingly. 



Our caution is that those who have 

 any honey for sale this season do not 

 be in a hurry to dispose of it, and 

 perhaps fool away what little they have. 

 If a fair price is not asked, it surely will 

 not be secured. Some wholesale dealers 

 are already quoting best white extracted 

 honey at 9 cents a pound. If bee-keep- 

 ers will but hold on to their honey a 

 little while, it would seem that they 

 should be able to realize a better price 

 for it — more nearly what it is worth. 



Fastening a Queen-Cell In a Hive 



When a queen-cell is given to a nu- 

 cleus, it is generally fastened on a cen- 

 tral part of one of the combs. This is 

 done, even if the cell be cut from the 

 same comb and fastened on again, for 

 bees are quite likely to build queen- 



cells on the edges of the combs, where 

 they are kept warm enough in a strong 

 colony, but ' are in danger of being 

 chilled in a nucleus. The instruction 

 formerly was to cut with the cell a 

 wedge-shaped piece of the comb, then 

 cut a like-shaped hole in the comb and 

 insert the cell. An easier way is to lay 

 the cell directly against the surface of 

 the comb and fasten it there with a hive- 

 staple. Let the cell be at one end of the 

 staple, and press the other leg of the 

 staple deep into the comb. 



Here is still another way that can be 

 used only with self-spacing frames : 

 Lay one of the brood-combs on its side 

 and lay the cell upon it. Lay upon 

 this another comb, take hold of both 

 together by the top-bars and set them 

 in the hive. Of course, the cell with 

 the adhering part of comb must be suf- 

 ficiently large to be slightly pinched by 

 the opposing sides of the 2 combs. 



This last way is especially good for 

 putting a queen-cage in a hive. 



Dual Introduction of Virgin Queens 



Up to the time when each young queen 

 must have a separate domicil, the rear- 

 ing of queens is a comparatively inex- 

 pensive matter. A large number of cells 

 may be started in succession by a queen- 

 less colony, and, when fairly started, if 

 they are placed over a colony with a lay- 

 ing queen, an excluder between, the 

 work of feeding and sealing will pro- 

 ceed satisfactorily. The expensive part 

 comes when each virgin insists on a 

 separate establishment. A queen may 

 lay when she is 8 days old, especially 

 in a strong colony, but in a nucleus it is 

 oftener 12 than 8, and if this time can 

 be shortened it is important. 



1 he plan of Editor Root, of having 2 

 virgins in a nucleus at the same time, 

 practically accomplishes this shortening. 

 Into a colony having a free virgin a 

 caged virgin is put, in a provisioned 

 introducing-cage, but so arranged that 

 the bees can not get at the candy to lib- 

 erate the virgin. When the free virgin 

 becomes a laying queen, she is removed, 

 the covering is taken from the candy so 

 the bees can liberate the caged virgin, 

 and at the same time another caged vir- 

 gin is put in the nucleus. 



Thus each time a laying queen is tak- 

 en from the nucleus a fresh caged queen 

 is put in, there being always 2 queens 

 in the nucleus. A virgin is 5 days old, 

 or older, before she flies out to be 

 mated, and the economy comes in hav- 

 ing her spend a good part of this 5 

 days in a cage instead of occupying the 

 whole attention of a nucleus. 



The question that can be raised in ob- 

 jection is whether a queen is just as 

 well ofif imprisoned in a cage as when 

 at full liberty. One would be inclined 

 to think not ; but those who have prac- 

 tised the method say they can see no 

 difference occasioned by the imprison- 

 ment, and if any harm could come of it 

 one would suppose that some one would 

 have said so before this. Moreover, 

 it is the custom of the bees themselves 

 to practise this imprisoning to a certain 

 extent. When a strong colony sends 

 forth a prime swarm, a number of young 

 queens mature in the cells, and if the 

 ear be applied to the hive the evening 

 before the second swarm is to issue, a 

 number of young queens may be heard 

 quahking in response to the piping of 

 the tirst emerged one. All these qualik- 

 ing queens are held prisoners in their 

 colls, and this imprisonment may last a 

 considerable time, especially if bad 

 weather occurs to delay swarming. G. 

 M. Doolittle tells of one case in which 

 a young queen was laying w-ithin 3 days 

 after leaving her cell, having been kept 

 in her cell by the workers during a spell 

 of bad weather. It would seem no worse 

 to imprison a virgin in a cage than in a 

 cell. Indeed, the advantage should be 

 on the side of the cage, which allows 

 greatly more liberty than the cell. 



On the whole, it would seem that 

 dual introduction of virgin queens has 

 much to commend it. 



