GLfiAJSriNGS IN BEE CULTURE 



duelion to working 1 recalled the earlier at- 

 tempts at forced supersedure and began 

 another series of experiments with it. I was 

 not very successful in using virgin queens; 

 for, while they would be accepted, they did 

 not supersede the old queen often enough to 

 pay, so I turned to young laying queens. 

 The results were enough better to encourage 

 me to follow up the matter, and I believe 

 that we shall yet be able to do our requeen- 

 ing without dequeening. It can be done now^ 

 in a large per cent of eases, but evidently 

 we must know more about the internal con- 

 ditions of colonies before we can intelligent- 

 ly say just what to do and when to do it. 



1 believe that, in a general way, the new 

 queen must have the physical advantage of 

 the old one. In other words, she must be 

 young, nimble, and light in eggs, while the 

 old one must be heavy with eggs, and hence 

 unable to defend herself successfully from 

 the attacks of the newcomer. There are 

 many thing's which I have taken note of, 

 such as relative ages and conditions of the 

 two queens, time of year, nectar flow, 

 weather, and brood distribution, kind of 

 combs, where queen is run in, etc. The last 

 two items should be explained. It is not at 

 all unusual for a queen to confine her oper- 

 ations to one part of the hive when that 

 part contains old combs and the rest new, 

 or where the brood-nest has a new comb 

 put in the middle. If the new queen is run 

 into such a hive, and on the side oppositrr 

 to where the old queen is, or is run in at 

 the middle and passes to the broodless side, 



she may set up business there and become 

 even heavier tl,an the old queen before they 

 meet, or they may not meet at all until the 

 winter cluster forms. I can imagine a colony 

 so fixed forming two winter clusters, for it 

 is virtually two colonies, but have never had 

 it occur. I had a case where the reigning 

 queen (one year old) confined her activities 

 to half of the brood-chamber after an un- 

 attractive comb had been put in the middle. 

 The bees built one cell in the other half, 

 and, before it hatched, laying workers set 

 up business ; and when I discovered it, the 

 original queen was busy in her side, the 

 young queen Avas laying beautifully in her 

 part, and the laying workers were enjoying 

 their neAv activities undisturbed. This was 

 with Cyprian stock, and is cited to show the 

 extreme conditions which sometimes arise. 

 Plurality of queens in Italian stocks is real- 

 ly quite common — seemingly more so since 

 the introduction of the light bees of Cyprus 

 and Syria and the rise of the " Golden " 

 Italian. Whether it is due to the mixtuie 

 of such blood or to closer observation, or to 

 both, I do not know. However, such con- 

 ditions should be borne in mind when ex- 

 perimenting in requeening without dec^ueen- 

 ing. 



Such a system will be of too much value, 

 if perfected, to be delayed while one indi- 

 vidual works it out; so I have brought it to 

 public notice that many may study it and 

 sooner find its possibilities and limitations. 



Providence, R. T. 



AP3CULTUKAL NOTES FROM GEMMANY 



BY J. A. HEBERLE 



I wish all a good honey season for 1914 

 — especially the friends in California, Avhom 

 Fortuna overlooked. I know how a bee- 

 keeper feels who has many colonies to care 

 for, and for his pains has to supply the 

 winter stores. The honey crop in Germany 

 in 1913 was one of the poorest for many 

 years. The weather was unusually cool and 

 wet. Berlin had the coolest June in 60 years. 

 In Switzerland it was the coldest summer 

 recorded. 



PEREGRINATING MEETING OF BEEKEEPERS. 



The beekeepers of Germany and Austria- 

 Hungary meet once a year. One year they 

 meet in Germany, the next in Austria or 

 Hungary ui3on invitation from some bee- 

 keepers' union. Usually there are several 

 invitations. The association decides which 

 to accept for the next gathering. These 

 meetings have the euphonious name of 



"Wanderversammlung Deutscher, Oestreich- 

 ischer, unci Ungarischer Bienenwirte." They 

 are thus called because they change their 

 j.lace of meeting every time. 



The inviting organization arranges an 

 exposition of the products of the bee. It 

 provides for social entertainment where 

 new acquaintances are found and existing 

 ones cultivated. The last day is usually de- 

 voted to an excursion io some interesting 

 place under pro^Der guidance so as to make 

 it very pleasant. 



The management, v/ith a president at the 

 liead, provides for a series of lectures by 

 eminent men well versed in the theory and 

 practice of beekeeping. A small charge is 

 made for admittance to tlie fair. This gen- 

 erally defrays the expense of the local 

 organization. Donations for prizes are re- 

 ceived, some quite valuable, so that the 



