April, 1920 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



SEFROM THETIELD OF EXPERTENO 



^1 iv ii^y^-- .j^ 



BREEDERS ON THE SQUARE 



Why Not Safeguard Breeders in the "Code" as 

 Well as Buyers ? 



As I am one among hundreds of bee- 

 keepers who buy queens each year, and bees 

 in packages to a lesser degree, naturally I 

 was very much interested in the ' ' Code for 

 the Sale of Bees and Queens," as explained 

 edit(>rially in February Gleanings. My pur- 

 pose in writing this is not to criticise the 

 agreement, as signed by the great majority 

 of breeders and shippers who advertise in 

 Gleanings, for I think that everything is 

 provided that is at all necessary to safe- 

 guard the purchasers, especially when the 

 guarantee of the publishers of this journal, 

 as given on another page, is taken into ac- 

 count. 



On the other hand, it is my purpose to 

 call attention to the fact that possibly in 

 sonio cases the buying public do not al- 

 ways do what they can to help along; and, 

 in a few cases at least, positive dishonesty 

 on the part of the purchaser is liable to oc- 

 cur just as much as among the sellers of 

 bees and queens. 



In reading of the dishonest proprietor of 

 the "Pelican Apiary," beginners might be 

 led to think that this is a common occur- 

 ence among queen-breeders and shippers of 

 bees, altho all who have been in the business 

 for any length of time know that this is not 

 so. Needless to say, the editors of this 

 journal have in no way insinuated that such 

 is the case. For the past 15 years I have 

 annually bought numbers of queens from 

 many different breeders, and, while all stock 

 tlid not give satisfaction, yet I am not 

 sure that I was ever dealt with in a dis- 

 honest manner. The men, as a rule, with 

 whom I have dealt have always acted in a 

 gentlemanly way — indeed, it has been a 

 great pleasure to do business with most of 

 them — and some from wliom I do not buy 

 queens at present, are nevertheless counted 

 as very close friends. So I repeat that while 

 an occasional shipper may be "crooked," 

 the great majority are ' * four square ' ' in 

 every way. While I believe that the great 

 majority of beekeepers who buy queens and 

 bees are also honest, yet that an occasional 

 one may be a crook is none the less true, 

 as the following occurrence will prove. 



Some years ago while examining a large 

 apiary, the owner in a burst of confidence 

 remarked: "A dozen queens came a short 

 time ago from the same place, and I laid 

 them on the window sill in the hot sun for 

 a few minutes, and every one was killed. I 

 wrote the queen-breeder and said that the 

 queens all arrived dead, and he sent me an- 

 other lot at once to replace them." The 



(|iu'eii-brceder in this case (an Ontario man) 

 happened to be a close friend of mine, and 

 1 can assure you that this beekeeper never 

 again told me of any similar transactions on 

 his part after I told him what I thought 

 about it. 



When queens are expected by purchasers, 

 provision should be made for their recep- 

 tion; and, as we now have so many rural 

 routes thru the country, care should be 

 taken that they are not left in the mail 

 boxes too long in very hot weather. Some 

 of the smaller-sized boxes, in particular, 

 get very hot in the summer time; and, even 

 if the queens are not killed, too long a bak- 

 ing certainly does not improve their vitality. 



So far as receiving bees in pound pack- 

 ages is concerned, the buyer can go a long 

 way in helping towards satisfactory condi- 

 tions. The shipper of bees should always 

 notify the purchaser a day or so before the 

 bees are sent, and then the purchaser should 

 be prepared, for the bees when they come. 

 If some distance from the station, engage 

 some one whom you can trust to look after 

 the bees by placing them in a cool place out 

 of the sun and giving them a sprinkling of 

 water or thin syrup, as required. If ship- 

 ment is made to Canada, all the more need 

 of care for their reception, for bees, like 

 other merchandise must go to the Customs' 

 office for clearance, even if they are admit- 

 ted duty free. If not, have some one near 

 your Customs' office engaged to make clear- 

 ance the moment they arrive and have the 

 bees forwarded to you. If an easy distance, 

 have some one wire you as soon as they ar- 

 rive, and go personally and attend to them, 

 bringing them with you if making the trip 

 by auto. If no care is taken in this regard, 

 the bees may arrive and possibly no notice 

 be sent you for a day or two, as some Cus- 

 toms' officials never seem in a hurry, to say 

 the least. The day or two of delay while they 

 are lying in a hot building may be the cause 

 of a lot of loss and disappointment all 

 around. I have bought some bees in pack- 

 ages for the last few years, and I always 

 have some one clear and rush them to me at 

 once. Co-operation between shipper and re- 

 ceiver always works well, no matter what is 

 being handled, and in the ease of bees and 

 queens there is no exception to this rule. 



I almost forgot to mention that for all I 

 have said as to amicable relations in my 

 past dealings with queen-breeders, just at 

 present I happen to have a dispute with one 

 of them. A certain breeder down in Tennes- 

 see was to send me quite a lot of queens 

 last summer; but, thru the rush of orders and 

 not being able to make delivery at the 

 time I had specified, he kindly had another 

 breeder send me queens in his place. But 

 before this he had already sent me a dozen 



