184 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



of the second season. What an apiary 

 we should have if every colony were 

 headed by a young and vigorous mother 

 in the early spring of the year. 



It would require courage, the courage 

 of a firm business man to remove all 

 two-year-old queens, for some of these 

 look* at their best at that age and I 

 would hesitate to lay violent hands on 

 some of my superb two year old queens, 

 they always look at their very best when 

 I go to supersede them. 



In my locality I have found it best to 

 supersede queens a while before the 

 close of the summer honey harvest, or 

 late in September after breeding has 

 well nigh ceased for the season. 



The locality must govern this matter 

 to some extent. 



2. To change all queens at the end of 

 the season would well nigh prevent all 

 loss from failing queens. Aside from 

 accident, all loss on this account would 

 be obviated. At the prices that queens 

 can be purchased, it would pay in hard 

 cash to head every colony with a strong 

 young queen. 



But we hve in an age of sickly senti- 

 mentality which stands in the way of 

 enlightened progression. 



We have hundreds of bee men who 

 would not hesitate to cheat their cus- 

 tomers a little, who become full of 

 pious horror when they hear of bees 

 being used to the profit of the owner 

 though it causes their destruction. 

 Such people will see their fowls and 

 other domestic animals slaughtered 

 and eaten, while they themselves go 

 about full of chicken, hog, and beef, 

 proclaiming against the barbarity of the 

 apiarist who lias the consistency and 

 firmness to destroy his bees and queens 

 at times when he "finds it profitable to 

 do so. Consistency is said to be a 

 precious jewel, and there is nothing 

 truer. 



QUESTIONS BY W. M. MATTA. 



Will you please answer the following 

 questions in the next issue of your 

 journal. 



1. If a virgin Italian queen is intro- 

 duced into a colony of black bees and 

 not allowed to meet any Italian drones 

 will it gradually change the whole col- 

 ony into Italians? 



2. If an Italian queen is introduced 

 into a colony of blacks, how long will 

 it take to change them into pure Ital- 

 ians. 



ANSWERS I5Y TIENllY ALLEY. 



1. If a virgin queen is introduced to 



any bees, and not permitted to be fer- 

 tilized she will not change the colony 

 any except as to drones, as after she 

 has been in the hive several weeks she 

 will commence to lay drone eggs, or 

 rather she will deposit eggs in worker 

 cells that will produce drones only. I 

 think tlie person who makes the in- 

 quiry desires to know whether a col- 

 ony having an Italian queen which has 

 mated with a black drone will gradually 

 work back to pure Italian bees again. 

 No, they will not, until the young 

 queens for several generations meet a 

 pure Italian drone. 



It would take but a little while to 

 work all the Italian blood out, or to 

 work all the blacli blood out and back 

 to pure Italians again. 



QUESTIONS BY A NOVICE. 



1. What is to be done with a super- 

 abundance of pollen? My bees persist 

 in filling their brood combs with pol- 

 len from top to bottom ; in some cases, 

 leaving little or no room for brood, 

 even though the queens be young Ital- 

 ians. 



2. Is it useful for a beekeeper to 

 have a few surplus queens on hand at 

 all times to supply a hive whenever 

 needed? What do you consider the 

 best method for keeping such queens? 



3. Is there any practical method for 

 keepina: surplus queens through the 

 winter ? 



ANSWERS BY J. E. rOND, JR. 



1. I do not fairly understand this 

 question. I have never found in my 

 experience a superabundance of pollen ; 

 in fact, I have never found that more 

 pollen was gathered than was worked 

 up into brood. I should say on first 

 thought that the fault was with the 

 queen, as I cannot conceive it possible 

 that a fairly prolific queen, in a hive 

 having cell room enough for her laying 

 powers could be crowded out by ex- 

 cess of pollen. If, however, the queen 

 is all right, the trouble may be recti- 

 fied by removing the frames filled with 

 pollen, substituting empty fi-ames, with 

 starters of foundation. This would 

 induce the bees to make comb, and the 

 cells would be filled with eggs before 

 they are drawn out sufficiently to be 

 used for pollen. The comb filled with 

 pollen can be emptied thereof, or can 

 be laid by for future use. I must think, 

 however, that a change of queens will 

 remedy the ditlfculty. Queens, al- 



