Decembkk, 1917 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



eise charity on both sides undil the trade 

 adjusls itself to ths unusual eonditions so 

 suddenly thrust upon us. 



The above facts sugg'cst, as a possible 

 remedy, tliat package-shippers and queen- 

 bi'eeders prepare for an increased trade in 

 liU8, and accept no more orders than they 

 can be reasonably sure of filling' on time. 

 (Better refuse an order than not to be 

 able to fill it on time.) Also that pei-sons 

 desiring' bees and queens book orders in 

 advance so breeders may anticipate the 

 wants of patrons and plan to meet them 

 on time. It often happens that several 

 beekeepers send the same time lo the same 

 man, and all want their orders at once. 

 In a season like this, some will be disap- 

 l>ointed, because that particular breeder 

 may not be able to meet all those demands 

 at the time desired ; whereas by sending in 

 advance of actual time needed it would en- 

 able the breeder to know if he could or 

 could not fill the order, and would give 

 sufficient time to notify the purchaser S3 

 he could aiTaiige his plans accordingly, 

 and neither one be disapj^ointed. 



Rockton, Pa. J. B. Hollopeter. 



IT IS HARD TO PLEASE EVERYBODY. 



The past season has been the worst for 

 queen-rearing that I have ever experienced 

 since I have been in the business, and some 

 orders were consequently delayed. I be- 

 lieve that beekeepers are th? most kind and 

 agreeable people to deal with in the country. 

 But in spite of this it is hard to please the 

 whole world. Both breeder and buyer have 

 been disappointed. The process of turning 

 out young queens is not as rapid as thrash- 

 ing buclnvheat. It takes at least 25 days 

 from the graft to get a laying queen ; and if 

 two -weeks of bad weatlier occui-, all is lost. 



This year I could get the bees to accept 

 the cells without any trouble; but when the 

 cells were from six to nine days old. the bees 

 would destroy them. T had the bee? cut 

 doAvn queen-cells and pull out qu-rens, which 

 I later found on the bottom-board, alive, 

 well developed, and with ^vtrngs. Tliere 

 were 18 young queens lost i;i this way, and 

 I was 25 daj-s behind agair. T then receiv- 

 ed orders saying, " Send queen by return 

 mail or return money." I was doing every- 

 thing possible, Avorking night and day, to 

 get the queens mated and laying for my' 

 customei-s; but the one thing necessary was 

 time. I could not hurry matters. Of 

 course if one sets a hen, and the eggs get 

 chilled and won't hatch, he is obliged to set 

 her again to get young chickens. The case 

 of queen-i-earing is parallel. 



T should also like to call attenficn to tliJ 

 fact that not everv buver knows how to use 



a queen when lie gels hcv. I have the fol- 

 lowing illustrations: First, "I received 

 your queen and I took my hatcbet and 

 knocked the head off tlie ' gum,' and I put 

 in your queen, and the next day I found 

 your queen dead on the ground. This is 

 ray luck with her." Second, " Send me by 

 return mail one of your queens and half a 

 dozen bees to match. I want to get a start 

 in this way." Third, " 1 see you have bees 

 for sale; please send me your price of a 

 queen and a drone. I want to get a pair 

 to start from you." 



My customers have been very patient dur- 

 ing the dela3'S, and I hope next year's 

 queen-rearing will be more plea-ant than 

 the past. Henry S. Bohon. 



Roanoke, Va. 



EVERY ONE WANTS ITALIANS. 



The past year has demonstrated the fact 

 rliat the black be? lias had her day, and 

 tliat the beekeepers have decreed that the 

 Italian is tlie' only bee that will be tolerated. 

 T base )ny opinion on tlie letter's received, 

 calling for Italian queens, and stating thai 

 they seem to be innnunie to foul brof^d. 



I believe that queen-breeders never had a 

 season equal to the ]iast one, and that all 

 of thi? best known have had all the busi- 

 ness they could attend to. 



We started the season thinking that we 

 could care for all the orders received. But 

 we found, even with our ever increasing 

 facilities, the demand increasing, and, alt!:o 

 we reared more queens than ever before, we 

 were unable to supply them and had to 

 return the money to many who \vished the 

 queens by return mail. This w^as partly 

 due to the rainy weather in tli)3' early spring, 

 and unfavorable circumstances thru tlhe 

 entire season. 



The season was nearly half over before 

 we caught up with ordei"s, and we commenc- 

 ed to breathe easier; but just then the rush 

 came again, and we wei'e kept hustling. 

 We alwaj's try to send queens by return 

 mail, but this season we were not always 

 able to do so ; yet we were surprised to see 

 how cheerfully the average customer took it 

 when the circumstances were explained to 

 him. 



The summer demonstrated the fact to 

 us that beekeepers as a whole are very 

 reasonable people, and we i-emember with 

 much pleasure the many kind words re- 

 ceived from iliem, and the very few com- 

 plaints as they patiently waited their turn. 

 The nice letters received after sending the 

 queens make the queen businei?s one of tlie 

 mast agreeable of occupations. 



Another reason for increased orders is 

 that the beekeepers found that, wnth the 



