1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 

 O 



485 



WEEECTloN has been the chief factor in the de- 

 \L velopment and building up of our improved 

 Yj breeds of horses, cattle, sheep, swine, and poul- 

 J^ try. Men have devoted the best years of their 

 lives to a single line or branch of this work — and 

 not without their reward. 



In bee-keeping but little has been done in this direc- 

 tion. The development of a bright yellow bee has 

 been the most noticeable thing that has been done in 

 this line. This is the most easy of accomplishment, 

 as results arc- so quickly aud easily discernible. L"o 

 breed for honey-gathering qualities is a much slower 

 process. As soon as bees hatch out we can decide in 

 regard to their color, and as to w hether we wish lo 

 rear queens from their mother for the purpose of im- 

 proving the color of our stock: to decide in i egard to 

 their working qualities requires months — perhaps 

 years. 



Every experienced bee-keeper must have noticed 

 how much mote surplus is stored by some stocks than 

 by others. Time and time again, when visiting bee- 

 keepers, have I been shown some particular colony, 

 and heard the owner tell with pride how much honey 

 it had stored year after year; alwavs coming through 

 the winter in good condition, or doing this or that that 

 was so desirable. The strange thing is that bee-keep- 

 ers so seldom seem to realize the value of such a col- 

 ony, or queen, as a starting-point from which to im- 

 prove the stock of their whole apiary. If they do 

 realize it, they seldom take advantage of the knowl- 

 edge. 



Suppose, by the introduction of improved stock, a 

 man can increase his surplus, on the .average, one 

 year with another, ten pounds per colony, and that is 

 not an extravagant estimate, on 100 colonies his crop 

 would be inci eased 1000 pounds. The cost for hives, 

 grounds, labor, wintering, etc., is nearly the same 

 with one kind of stock as with another, just as it costs 

 as much to keep a scrub cow as it does to keep a Jer- 

 sey, and a gain in surplus that comes from improve- 

 ment in stock is the most profitable that can be se- 

 cured. 



To improve your stock, get the very best that you 

 can for breeding purposes, and with this stock your 



apiary: then watch carefully, and breed from those 

 colonies that do the best. Continue this, year after 

 year, and you will be surprised at the result. 



This matter of beginning with as good stock as you 

 can get, is all-important. Don't lose years of time by 

 commencing with common or inferior stock. Get the 

 best ; and thus be able to commence right where 

 some other breeder left off. 



As stated in former advertisements, I have the 

 handling of queens from a stock of Italians upon 

 which a good man has been at work for twenty years: 

 selecting the best honey-gatherers each year to breed 

 from, and crossing them, so far as possible, with 

 drones not akin. To produce a superior strain of bees 

 has been his sole aim during all these years; and my 

 experience with this strain, and my correspondence 

 with others who have tried it, have proved to me that 

 he has attained a fair degree of success. The chief 

 value of this stock lies in its industry — its ability to 

 store large quantities of surplus. Then comes its 

 hardiness — its ability to winter well. Then it is very 

 peaceable — easy to handle. It also caps its honey 

 white — as the blacks do theirs. 



If you are intei ested in this matter, and have not 

 read my advertisements in the last three issues of 

 Gleanings, turn back and read them, as they give par- 

 ticulars not given here. 



The price of these queens is 11.50 each; but note the 

 conditons 1 guarantee safe arrival, safe introduc- 

 tion (if instructions are followed), purity of mating, 

 and. any time within two years, if a purchaser is dis- 

 satisfied with his bargain, for any'i eason, he can re- 

 turn the queen and get his money back, and 50 cents 

 besides for his trouble. 



I said that the price would be 81.50 each. There is 

 only one condition under which a queen will be sold 

 for a less price, and that is in connection with an ad- 

 vance subscription to the REVIEW. Any one sending 

 me $1.00 for the REVIEW for 1899 can have one queen 

 •for $1.00; that is, I will send one queen and the RE- 

 VIEW for 1899 for only $2.00. Of course, this special 

 offer is made for the sake of getting the REV EW in- 

 to the hands of those who are unacquainted with its 

 merits. 



W. Z. Hutchinson, 



Flint, Michigan. 



FULL f il # f I F For the Money. 



are entitled to that. It does not mean simply that you should get the 

 best goods (or the money, but also that you should be saved the 

 added expense of agent's commissions, 

 dealer's profits, salesmen's expenses, etc. 

 We save you all this by selling you direct , 

 from our factory at wholesale prices. 

 W e are the. largest manufac- 

 turers in the u-orld selling 

 reliieles and harness tothe 

 consumer exclusively. 

 We make 170 styles of vehicles and 65 

 styles of harness. We ship anywhere 

 for examination and guarantee every- 

 thing. Send your name on a postal 

 card for 



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