834 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



November, 1917 



actual loss is. and not write to the breeder 

 that the loss was about so and so, expetting 

 the breeder to replace more than the amount 

 of the loss. 



We used large cages; and, with the ex- 

 ception of a few heavy shipments that were 

 improperly handled, we had few losses. 



Usually we think customers will be better 

 off to stick to the breeder with whom the 

 order was first placed, and not demand that 

 the order be canceled if bees are not ship- 

 ped on the specified day. It rains some 

 days in this part of the woi'ld, and then it 

 is impossible to do anything. 



We do not hold ourselves liable for more 

 tlian the purchase price of the queens. No 

 customer who sees a colony go to pieces 

 on account of a bad queen, meanwhile mak- 

 ing no report to the breeder, shoidd ever 

 complain to the breeder because of the loss 

 of the colony. In case of the few com- 

 plaints we have of unsatisfactory queens, 

 most of the complainers usually offer some 

 excuse for not 4'eturning the unsatisfactory 

 queens when asked to do so. If complaint 

 is made we think the unsatisfactory queen 

 should be returned, and that postage should 

 be sent the breeder for the mailing of 

 queens to be replaced. All dead queens 

 should be returned to the breeder, for fre- 

 quently he can tell the cause of the trouble, 

 so that it can be avoided in the future. We 

 want to be fair to all of our customers and 

 give them value received for their m.oney, 

 and we think that almost all if not all of 

 I he other breeders feel the same way. 



With extracted honey where it is now, it 

 looks as tho we had better be producing it 

 rather than selling queens or bees. 



Mayhew, Miss. D. D. Stover. 



WHO IS TO BLAME FOR THE ENVIRONMENT 

 AFTER ARRIVAL OP THE QUEENS'? 



Because of the unusual weather condi- 

 tions this year, we found that we were not 

 always able to send package and queens by 

 the date agreed upon. Tliis 'reason Avas 

 also unusual in the number of reports we 

 received of c|U6ens failing to lay or laying 

 only drone eggs. We did not receive a 

 great number of such reports; but there 

 were too many, and we feel sui'e that these 

 reports were true, altho we always let each 

 queen lay twenty-four or more hours be- 

 fore taking her out to send. We breed 

 drones also, so as to have them in great 

 numbers all the season. Of course we al- 

 ways welcome a report that we sent out a 

 queen that proved " no good," but we do 

 not welcome the behavior of such queens. 

 Out of the 5500 queens sent this season. W3 

 have had 38 such reports. All of these 



queens were replaced at once. Tho we go 

 to some expense in order to counteract the/ 

 effect of bad weather as far as possible, still 

 we were hindered more or less by weather 

 conditions. 



I suspect that very bad weather and uec- 

 tar conditions are often the cause of the bad 

 results obtained by the buyer. Perhaps he 

 gets a small swarm and queen so early in 

 his locality that he has no nectar. He puts 

 these bees on comb foundation (instead of 

 combs and honey), and by feeding syrup 

 hopes that the bees will make comb, the 

 queen lay, and all work properly, about the 

 same as tho there were a natural flow. I 

 think the above case is too contrary to nat- 

 ural conditions for us to expect good re- 

 sults, unless good weather comes soon after 

 he hives the said swarm. 



We do know that on a certain day a 

 shipper may send to two people in different 

 parts of the country, perhaps twenty-four 

 queens or swarms and queens. No differ- 

 ence is made by th^ shipper in quality of 

 the bees nor care of preparation. One cus- 

 tomer sends a nice complimentary unso- 

 licited report, and the other sends a bad re- 

 port. We learn that the first customer had 

 good weather and nectar conditions, wliile 

 the other had the reverse conditions. Was 

 the shipper responsible for this difference? 

 Well, I guess if the shipper is praised for 

 the first shipment he should be " cussed " 

 for the latter. At any rate the good re- 

 poi'ts are so many more than the bad ones 

 that we always have smiles, courage, and 

 confidence. W. D. Achord. 



Fitzpatrick, Ala. 



WUjI, HIGHER PRICES BE NECESSARY? 



The past season has been the most dis- 

 couraging one in my twenty-five years of 

 experience as a commercial queen-breeder. 

 An unusual amount of bad weather in the 

 spring, and dry weather along in the sum- 

 mer, made it extremely difficult to fill large 

 orders on time, and some of the smaller 

 orders could not be filled as promptly as 

 usual. From what we can hear, our ex- 

 perience has been about the sam.e as that 

 of other breeders. 



Now, Mr. Editor, how things can be made 

 m.ore amicable or satisfactory to both breed- 

 er and customer in a season like this, that 

 problem is too much for us. However, it 

 is our opinion that, if the present prices on 

 honey are maintained, the demand for bees 

 and queens for the season of 1918 will be 

 more than the breeders can handle, even if 

 the s'^ason b? favorable, and hence we would 

 suggest an advance in the price of stock. 

 We have already had inquiry for about .100 



