950 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



July i5 



to them, and the swarm re-itored to order 

 as soon as possible. Among these three 

 classes are to be found the various stages of 

 demoralization, all more or less connected 

 with danger, threatening the queens to be 

 introduced into such hives. For this pur- 

 pose I use the queens which for any reason 

 are next in order to be discarded. This is a 

 satisfactory method of saving any uncertain 

 swarm. Even if found quite reduced it takes 

 much work off your hands and puts these 

 ramblers to work again, giving them time 

 and assistance, if need be, to recuperate, 

 after which they receive, in turn with the 

 rest, a young queen. All young queens 

 should be given to orderly swarms onli' so 

 as to insure their safety and to give them a 

 fair opportunity to exhibit their ability in as 

 short a time as possible. And for another 

 reason— in giving a No. 1 queen to demoral- 

 ized bees they wiJfind themselves incapable 

 of providing for the brood, which is neg- 

 lected, and in time decays, while the queen 

 is retarded and disgusted; nor could this 

 be overcome until enough young bees are 

 matured to resume the work, and the result 

 would be altogether unsatisfactory. A few 

 of the ) earlings may prove to be poor, some 

 of the two year-olds show s-gns of failing, 

 and all of the three- year olds are to be re- 

 placed by young queens as the season ad- 

 vances, using the superseding swarms for 

 cell building, giving them the smallest num- 

 ber possible, say from one to three, under 

 construction at one time, when they can be 

 transferred, cell by cell, to the hives to be 

 superseded. 



1 will not go into the details of the pro 

 cess, but call your attention to the fact that 

 you are gaining considerable time in this 

 way. By taking the matter in your own 

 hands the young queen will be ready to lay 

 before all of the eggs in the hive have 

 hatched. 



Now a few words in regard to the value 

 of a good queen. Those that gather the 

 most honey are not the most valuable, in my 

 estimation, but a queen having the greatest 

 number of desirable qualities Some years 

 ago 1 raised a queen which I called a Taylor 

 queen. She was a great honey gatherer, 

 but her bees were cross. I found among her 

 third generation a queen superseding, when 

 but a little over one year old, which at- 

 tracted my attention, and an examination of 

 the Taylor queen, in the different apiaries, 

 found them all in the same mood. I raised 

 from another queen of good habits, color, 

 and form, requiring two supers for two sea- 

 sons, and found that all the young queens 

 were absolutely uselets. This I state to 

 demonstrate what it would have meant to 

 me if they had been allowed to remain. 

 Both of the mother queens were very good 

 in one way, and very poor in other ways. A 

 third queen, of bright color, excellent form, 

 and good disposition, was hardly ever found 

 laying in the super. The combs were built 

 smoothly, and were filled in less time than 

 any other in her locahty She was certainly 

 more valuable than the two before- mention- 



ed queens, taken together. I had been dis- 

 appointed in both, lost an opportunity while 

 raising and trying the young queens, and, 

 on finding them worthless, the old queens 

 had also ceased to be, while the young 

 queens from the last one mentioned were 

 mostly raised cell by cell, while superseding. 



I feel certain in saying that 1 gathered 

 over two tons of honey last summer more 

 by having these young queens, and have no 

 doubt that there will be a fair stocK to im- 

 prove upon during the coming season. 



I trust that, in selecting and relating these 

 personal experiences, the value of a good 

 queen will be more fully realized; yet, with- 

 out a proper system of management, these 

 points can not be successfully brought out, 

 nor should we forget that making greater 

 demands on the queen, under certain condi- 

 tions, their vitality is exhausted in a short- 

 er length of time than if left to themselves, 

 and their health is more often impaired. 

 We should, therefore, learn to raise good 

 queens, ever to raise the standard of health, 

 and never allow any condition to prevail that 

 will bring on a decline, a3 would have been 

 the result had I allowed those undesirable 

 queens to spread through the apiaries. 



V^^HY A BUCKWHEAT HONEY-FLOW CHECKS 

 FOUL BROOD. 



In footnote to article in June 1st Glean- 

 ings you wish to know why I claim buck- 

 wheat honey is death to foul- brood germs, 

 etc. I will say frankly I do not know. Ab- 

 solute knowledge is not to be had in this 

 world. I believe buckwheat honey to be 

 strongly acid from the amount of poison in 

 bee- stings and the odor of the apiary at that 

 season; and I believe in its efficacy as a dis- 

 infectant, because, while foul brood will gain 

 steadily during a flow of clover, raspberry, 

 etc., yet just as soon as buckwheat starts, 

 in, foul brood disappears. For instance, 

 last summer I left one colony untreated to 

 show my brother from Florida, on his ar- 

 rival, what real foul brood is; but a flow 

 from buckwheat set in two weeks before 

 his arrival On his arrival not a cell could 

 be discovered in the colony, and the colony 

 is free to date. 



My deductions are drawn from an obser- 

 vation of more than a dozen years, vet they 

 may be in error, although Alexander's ex- 

 perience seems to confirm my views. A col- 

 ony or tAo show slight tracts of disease at 

 present, and, as u^ual, 1 find it steadily gain- 

 ing during apple, raspberry, and clover flow. 

 I wish you could see it as I have it now. 



