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AMERICAN BKt: JOURNAL.. 



they were covered generously with 

 straw, and when spring appeared the 

 novice found them smothered— killed by 

 too much consideration. 



The following year, while going to 

 church, he secured a large swarm which 

 was the foundation of his present apiary. 



" F. A." began the bee-business in 

 earnest in 1884. He was always hunt- 

 ing bees, and as a consequence he had 

 many curious experiences. Two years 

 after this he followed a swarm to the 

 lake with an old piece of stove-pipe full 

 of stones. Across the shallow water he 

 went, shaking the rattle like a good fel- 

 low, while a companion followed brand- 

 ishing an axe. An artist stood on the 

 shore surveying the scene in blank 

 amazement, thinking, no doubt, that 

 some evil genii had been let loose. 



In 1888 he entered as junior partner 

 in the firm of Andrews & Lockhart, and 

 remained two years. The year 1890 

 saw him starting for himself, with his 

 brothers, etc., who form the firm of F. 

 A. Lockhart & Company. He was then 

 situated in Washington county, but 

 moved his apiary to the lake in 1890. 

 (He had always ha,d an apiary at the 

 lake.) 



In 1890 quite a number of prominent 

 bee-keepers, including Mr. E. R. Root, 

 "Rambler," the Larrabee brothers, and 

 others, spent a week at the lake. That 

 week has been graphically described by 

 the "Rambler" in Oleanings. 



Mr. Lockhart's present apiary could 

 not be in a more beautiful place. It is 

 located near the head of the lake on the 

 slope of a large mountain, many hun- 

 dred feet above the water. The hives 

 are arranged in double rows about ten 

 feet apart on the south side of a spa- 

 cious honey-house. He keeps from 150 

 to 200 colonies. 



On the opposite side of the lake is the 

 Italian apiary. This is fully four miles 

 from the Carniolan yard, and with two 

 miles of lake between, it is very favor- 

 able for breeding purposes. Friend L. 

 is very fond of Carniolans, and is just 

 the opposite in regard to Funics. Many 

 queens are imported yearly from Austria 

 and Italy, so that his apiary is always 

 stocked with the finest to be had. 



The cellar method of wintering is 

 preferred in this part of the country. 



Friend Lockhart has ranked promi- 

 nently among bee-keepers, and has 

 probably been remembered by all who 

 have met him at conventions, etc. He 

 is unmarried, and perhaps is following 

 the example of some other bee-keepers. 

 Plenty of time yet, though. 



W. K. F. 



CONDUCTED BY 



Beeville. Texas. 



Painted or TJnpainted Hives. 



Mrs. Atchley: — Please tell us through 

 the "old reliable " American Bee Jour- 

 nal which is the better, painted or un- 

 painted hives. L. Cowell. 



Ft. Worth, Tex. 



Friend Cowell, I am decidedly in favor 

 of painting hives in this latitude, as the 

 sun shines so very hot that a well-painted 

 hive is somewhat protected from the 

 sun's rays, especially if we use good 

 white paint. You can very soon test 

 this matter. You can take an un- 

 painted board, and one painted white; 

 lay them down side by side in the sun, 

 and you will soon find that the unpainted 

 board is hot, while the painted one is 

 cooler. I know that a great many of 

 our best bee-keepers do not paint their 

 hives, but I think it a great help in warm 

 countries to paint hives well. What do 

 you say, friends ? Jennie Atchley. 



Drones from an TJnmated Queen. 



Mrs. Atchley : — A friend of mine has 

 sent me a very nice Italian queen — she 

 is a beauty in color, and the largest 

 queen I have ever seen, but does not lay 

 any worker eggs, only drones. I think 

 that this queen has not been mated. I 

 have written to my friend, and he says 

 that the queen is this year's rearing, 

 and had been laying worker-eggs, but 

 he thinks that the queen he intended to 

 send probably got killed, and the bees 

 reared another, and he sent her to me 

 before she was mated. Now, since this 

 queen is from selected imported stock, 

 and produces such nice drones, I would 

 kindly ask you whether the drones from 

 this queen will be as good as from a 

 mated queen for breeding purposes. 

 Please let me know, as I have never used 

 drones from a queen that was not mated. 



