320 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED (WITH GOLDENS) TRY, TRY AGAIN 



BY A. T. RODMAN 



The bees of my first colony of goldens 

 were so cross that I coukl do nothing with 

 them. I killed the queen and thought I 

 would try again some time. At this time I 

 had a strain of bees tliat had the reputation 

 of being as good as any three-banded bees 

 in the United States. 



The next spring I tried two golden queens 

 from Arkansas. They were fine queens, 

 and were the first to go into the supers. 

 But about this time my neighbor put out a 

 washing and they ran her in the house; also 

 some little chickens were badly stung; in 

 fact, everything that came in reach got 

 stung. I decided to exterminate them; but 

 how was the question. I waited till night, 

 and then put a weak colony in their place, 

 and put them in a secluded place. The 

 next day the field bees returned to the 

 old stand and were peaceable. As there 

 were only young bees left in the hive with 

 the golden queen I had no trouble in get- 

 ting hold of her. Was I discouraged? Not 

 at all. I still believed these were good 

 goldens, and I ordered another queen from 

 the East. Slie was not so cross, but she 

 was not as golden as she should be, and 

 was inclined to produce lazy bees. She was 

 also removed in due time. 



Still 1 was not discouraged, and com- 

 menced to look around for more golden.s. 

 I drew two more failures, but I finally 

 secured a golden queen the equal of any 

 queen I ever owned. Being a little afraid 

 on account of my former experience I in- 

 troduced her to a weak colony some twenty 

 miles away. She came thru the winter 

 stronger than any other colony. Her bees 

 were gentle, and seemed to be fairly crazy 

 to get into the hive with their loads of hon- 

 ey. I brought her home on four frames of 

 bees and brood, and she beat everything on 

 the place that season. 1 raised queens from 

 her for two years, and am still requeening 

 from the same stock, and expect to con- 

 tinue to keep on doing so long as I have 

 bees. 



Now, I don't expect to have any queens 

 for sale this season, so this is not a ruse to 

 get free advertising. 



These bees suit me better in many ways 

 than the three-banded. They are better 

 hustlers, are more gentle, and keep the 

 moths out better than the three-banded. 

 They never produce a lot of bees that shine 

 like a stovepipe, and seem to be deformed, 

 having large heads and small abdomens. 



Kansas City, Mo. 



IN FIVE YEARS THERE WILL BE MORE GOLDENS THAN EVER 



BY H. M. MOYER 



We have more golden Italians at present 

 than we liad five years ago. Why? Be- 

 cause they are good bees. I tested almost 

 all the bees, including the Cyprians and 

 Holy Lands. The Cyprians are extra good 

 in every respect, except they are cross. I 

 tested blacks, dark Italians, and golden 

 Italians side by side. 



I have been a jDractical beekeejDer for 

 some 35 years. Goldens are gentle and 



fast breeders. The queens are large as well 

 as the bees, and are good honey-gatherers. 

 They winter well in spite of what is said 

 against them. 



Five years after this we shall have more 

 goldens than we have today. The Feb. 15th 

 number was too hard on them. I have no 

 queens nor bees for sale, and hence am not 

 interested. 



Boyertown, Pa. 



GOLDENS ARE BRED BY COLOR SELECTION FROM ITALIANS 



BY A BREEDER 



Beyond doubt there are some strains of 

 goldens which are practically worthless. To 

 say about all, " they are no more Italians 

 than an Ethiopian is a Caucasian," is sim- 

 ply to tell what is not true of the best 

 strains. If Mr. Miller denies that one can 

 breed goldens by color selection from Ital- 

 ians he is crazy. That is just what is the 

 matter with many strains of goldens. Thev 



are bred for color until that is all they are 

 good for. There would be no cause for 

 such criticism as Mr. Miller's if the papers 

 prohibited advertisers making extravagant 

 claims about their stock. 



Now don't get the idea that I am a golden 

 breeder, peeved in what I say, for I sell 

 about six three-band queens to one of the 

 solden. 



