-'^-^ THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. Noyemb€ 



given time is therefore a desirable to another at intervals of about ti 

 queen. If we assume that the queen days, or the reuioval of brood fro 

 bee IS capable of laying 500,000 eggs the hive of -said queen mother 

 diinng her life, shall we have them my own practice I prefer to remo- 

 laid in two years or four? In my the queen, and queens produced 1 

 early experience with the Italians, I the removal of tbe queen mother 

 had queens that would keep 10 L any time when a good degree 

 frames and all the surplus capacity actiAity exists in the hive with plen 

 I could give them full of brood, the of bees, brood and eggs, and increa 

 bees during the clover harvest work- ing stores. I have never been able 

 ing for dear life to feed the baby bees discover that thev were in any ws 

 which in a short time were to be only inferior to tho-se produced bv iiatur 

 useless consumers. If there be any swarming, while those reared out 

 spot on earth M'here the honey flow is season certainlv are inferior 2d i 

 abundant and peiDetual my argument what age vshall" the queen mother b 

 would not apply, but that place is I take it that with the queen bee ; 

 not A^ estem Pennslvania. with man and all onr domestic ki 



I found that such stocks, while mals, there is a period of greate 

 they yielded an undesu-able increase, vigor, and there are times wheth 

 never gave me any surplus honey or perceptible or imperceptible of gainii 

 even provided themselves with sur- or declining strength. Hence in s- 

 ficient winter stores, while other lecting queen mothers, I would alii 

 stocks with far less brood would give avoid the extremes of life; I wou 

 a good yield of suri>lus honey and well not breed from a queen less than oi 

 tilled combs of winter stores; and or more than three years old— pro 

 sub.sequent years of experience have ably the best age is the summer th; 

 fully satisfied me that excessive breed- the mother bee is two years ol 

 iiig IS not a ti-ait to be desired in About ten or eleven years since 

 the coming bee," but longevity is. purchased an Italian queen from (; 



4. Gentleness or amiabilitj^ of tern- that time) a prominent breeder wl 

 per. The -sting of the bee is bad Pi-ofes-sed to have reared ,six gen, 

 enough even to professional apiarists I'ations of queens in one season, ar 

 but they are not the only ones I gness he had. Without assumir 

 atfected by the presence of vicious it a* a fact in beeology, I would su 

 bees. We claim the right to keep luit it as an hypothesis that the co 

 bees in ^'illages, incorporated towns tinned breeding of queens from youi 

 and cities, and if we, as bee-keepers, 'ineens will stimulate to excessiA 

 tolerate cross bees, they and we must breeding at the expense of vigo 

 grew more and more in disfavor longevity, and honey storing qualitie 

 with the people and ordinancas for -"^s to how to produce the gieatei 

 their removal from such places will number of queens, shall form no pa: 

 become more frequent. In short, of this essay, as bee-keeping has su 

 eveiy consideration of Avistlom, peace, fered enough from that sonrce. ] 

 and comfort dictates the suppression queen breeders would kill at sigl 

 of tlie vicious type of onr honey bees, every objectionable queen and se 



Having thus defined some of the '^^'^ *" numbers at a better price 

 qualities to be kept in view in rearing ^'0"ltl be quite as well for the breede 

 queens. Ave will next consider briefly ^^'^ much better for the purchase: 

 Avhen and how to proceed. Ist. Vigor- ^^^I^av me to wish you a happy an 

 ous long-lived queens cannot be reared '^^^^■^'essful sas-sion of your associatio 

 much outside the swarming season, ''^"^^ ^ prosperons year for the bles-se 

 and no interference of man can pro- ^^^^ ^^^'^ ^'^*^"" owners. 

 duce better queens than the old-fash- W. J. Davis, 



ioned Avay of natural swarming, pro- Youngsville, Pa. 



viding the SAvarming colonies are of 



the type above indicated. But Avhen "^^'•^' *^'^''" ^^^^ ^'^ ^^''^^^ know them. 



the supi)ly of queen mothers is very 



limitetl the process is quite too slow T'lere is more solid and valuabi 

 Hence Ave must resort to the removal '"'^^t^i' '^^ ^'ic^ issue of the Bee-Keepe 

 of the queen mother from one colony ^^^^" ^^ **^^ ^'^^^ space in any othe 



bee-paper. 



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