GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



" Marketing- honey " was handled ably by 

 Mr. E. F. Strittmatter. Working the home 

 market, the importance of neat and attrac- 

 tive packages, and personal canvassing, he 

 gave as the main features of success. Ad- 

 vertising is very important, and satisfied 

 customers are the best advertisement. Mr. 

 Sti'ittmatter has built up a large trade for 

 his honey in tin and glass packages. 



Dr. E. F. Phillips could not be present ; 

 but he was ably represented by his first 

 assistant, G. S. Demuth. His talk on the 

 four important periods to be taken into 

 consideration by every beekeeper proved to 

 be very interesting and valuable. These are : 

 The late summer and fall period when the 

 winter colony is reared ; the winter period, 

 or that of the conservation of the energy of 

 the bees ; the period of tremendous increase 

 in the spring, and the period of the honej^- 

 flows. 



During these periods, considering a nor- 

 mal colony with a good queen, etc., plenty 

 of stores, protection, and room are neces- 

 sary. 



Queen-rearing, with its many difficulties 

 and problems, was ably handled by Mr. J. 

 R. Rambo and Mr. W. S. Sellers. Many 

 valuable points in the producing of good 

 queens were given to the beekeepers. 



Three papers read before the convention, 

 viz., " Getting Ready for the Honey-flow," 



by Mr. L. K. Hostetter ; " Spring Manage- 

 ment," by J. 0. Buseman; and "Winter- 

 ing," by Elmer Weaver, were full of good 

 things, and had many valuable points taken 

 from practical experience. The especial 

 value of the fundamental essentials to suc- 

 cessful beekeeping, good queens, lots of 

 winter stores, and protection from cold, 

 together with the proper manipulations at 

 the right time, was emphasized. 



" Habits of the Honeybee," by Economic 

 Zoologist H. A. Surface, was the last num- 

 ber on the program. It is impossible to 

 give a digest of this splendid paper, because 

 of lack of space. Many fundamental truths 

 necessary to be known by the beekeeper 

 who would attain the highest degree of 

 success, were presented by Dr. Surface, 

 from the standpoint of a scientist as well as 

 a practical man. 



The election of oflficers was as follows: 



President, Dr. H. A. Surface, Harrisburg. 



First Vice-president, George Hi Rea, 

 Reynoldsville. 



Second Vice-president, Mrs. Gertrude 

 Weaver, Philadelphia. 



Third Vice-president, R. L. Coons, Coud- 

 ersport. 



Secretary-treasurer, Prof. H. C. Klinger, 

 Liverpool. 



About sixty members were present, and 

 as many visitors. 



QUEEN-REARING FOR THE BEGINNER 



BY J. E. JORDAN 



SELECTING THE BREEDING-QUEEN. 



p]arly in the spring, the first thing to 

 think of is a queen to breed from. There 

 are many points to be kept in mind in se- 

 lecting a breeder, if one cares to improve 

 his stock, build up a business, and make 

 beekeeping an art. Here are the points to 

 be remembered : 



1. She must be pure. 



2. Her workers must be gentle. 



3. She should have made a record for 

 prolificness and honey-gathering. (This 

 should be recorded on the slate at the side 

 of the hive.) 



4. Her bees must be the least inclined to 

 swarm under trying conditions. 



5. If pretty yellow queens are desired 

 their bees must have yellow abdomens. This 

 applies to the three-banded Italians. 



6. Her workers must be large as well as 

 herself. 



7. Her drones must be large and of good 

 light color. These drones should have been 

 reared in colonies which are also pure and 

 have made a honey record. 



8. It is desirable that her bees cap the 

 honey white. 



V^HERE TO KEEP THE BREEDER. 



After selecting the queen, the next thing 

 is to get her on shallow frames or small 

 frames in order to make grafting easier, 

 also that she may be found more easily. 



To transfer this breeding queen to an- 

 other hive with shallow frames, get two 

 shallow frames of honey, placing one on 

 either side of the hive. Next put in four 

 shallow frames of sealed brood and larvae, 

 being careful that all bep«? are brushed from 

 them. Place one empty shallow brood-comb 

 between each jDair of combs of brood. Then 

 cage the queen and lay the cage on the top 

 of the frames, next go to the colony where 

 the breeder came from and get two or three 

 frames of young bees. These frames must 

 be well covered. Brush the bees thru an 

 empty super i:)laced on the shallow-frame 

 hive, down into the hive. Cover the hive 

 and contract the entrance down to about an 

 inch and let it stand for one or two hours; 

 then release the queen. By adding an amp- 



