AMERICAN BKri JOURNAL. 



69T 



contrary. It has been said, and urged, 

 that very yellow queens are poor layers. 

 Perhaps a majority are so, but there are 

 reasons why this is so. Not one of these 

 light-colored queens in a hundred is 

 reared under the swarming-impulse — 

 the only sure way to get extra-good lay- 

 ing queens. 



Then, a queen sent through the mails 

 is no criterion to go by. Who ever saw 

 a good laying queen after she had gone 

 through the mails ? I have received 

 queens from the east, west, north and 

 south, and I have never had a queen 

 sent me through the mails but what 

 would invariably fizzle out after a few 

 months' use. I have never had one to 

 live more than seven months when put 

 to actual good use, and the majority are 

 " done up " at two or three months. 



Dark-colored queens, artificially reared 

 and sent through the mails have proved 

 as futile as any. 



Did I wish to change an apiary of 

 dark-colored bees to yellow or light 

 again, I should let the bees rear their 

 own queens after the swarming impulse 

 and give my attention to distributing 

 yellow drones all through the apiary. 

 Doing this a few years will brighten the 

 color fast enough, and keep the bees 

 hardy. Get a fine, yellow queen, that 

 produces very fine colored drones, and 

 have her come in a nucleus by express, 

 every time. 



FERTILE QUEEN LAYING BUT ONE KIND 

 OF EGG. 



About two years ago, after making 

 several tests. I stated that the fertile 

 qiieen laid but one kind of egg. Jennie 

 Atchley's test this summer is getting 

 nearer me. The law governing the fer- 

 tile sex of a queen-bee's egg is yet un- 

 known, the same as that of a hen. 



Updegraflf, Iowa. 



Apiaries Destroyed by a Gale in 

 Florida. 



[The following private letter was 

 written to Dr. Mason^and he sent it to 

 us for publication, thinking that it 

 would be of interest to our readers: — Ed.] 



New Smyrna, Fla., Oct. 28, '93. 

 Friend Mason :— On arriving home I 

 found my apiary of 50 colonies, in 2- 

 story Langstroth and Gallup hives and 

 frames, almost ruined. The gale of 

 Oct. 12th and 18th overflowed the en- 

 tire grounds, and hives, combs, bees, 

 etc., with logs, drift, etc., in a high old 



mix. Ten colonies in a higher part of 

 the grounds on a bench were not over- 

 turned. I possibly can save 10 more in 

 an uncertain condition. My combs are 

 filled with sand and salt water to a 

 great extent, valueless except for wax. 



The honey season here the past year 

 was a failure, though my colonies were 

 well supplied with stores before their 

 destruction. I have plenty of wax, 

 frames, hives and foundation, but no 

 honey to feed to build up in time for 

 next season. 



My neighbor, Mr. T. H. McFarlan, lost 

 all, having brought 50 colonies here last 

 spring. Some of those he united at the 

 commencement of the honey season 

 (mangrove), but got no honey. They 

 are now all destroyed with the combs. 

 Now I have been thinking that with a 

 little help from a few of my friends, we 

 can come right side up by mangrove 

 time next year. Had we honey to stim- 

 ulate the queens, we could be independ- 

 ent, but not having it we must do the 

 next best thing, which I concluded was 

 this : 



If I can borrow a number of queens 

 from my friends in the North, say one 

 or two from each, as they can spare 

 without detriment to themselves, I can 

 return them by June 1st, or before if 

 necessary. By moving those colonies I 

 have remaining, to a suitable place on 

 the main land, they will secure early 

 forage, and build up rapidly. Now if 

 you, or any of your friends, have any 

 kind of a laying queen — black, hybrid, 

 or Italian — I could use a number to 

 good advantage. I would not object to 

 donations, but if they were to be re- 

 turned, I should like the sender to state 

 the kind of queen he sends, its value, 

 and when he wished it returned, or if 

 another of like condition would be ac- 

 cepted in case of loss in introducing. 



At this season there are no doubt 

 many who have light colonies and extra 

 queens, if we only knew of them. You 

 are in a position to know of those friends 

 that would be likely to have them. 



Things look demoralized here, but it 

 might have been worse. Other neigh- 

 bors have lost also. I think I can get 

 spring forage by Jan. 1st to 15th, by 

 moving. I will write to a few of my 

 other friends whom I think would be 

 willing to give my friend and myself a 

 lift in this emergency. 



A nucleus with a laying queen will 

 soon build up, when, if we wait until we 

 rear a young queen, we may "get left." 

 It is time we wish to save, in order to 

 get strong colonies to extract from, as 



