THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



393 



out must be carried to the same ex- 

 tent as in other animals. 



To conclude, my friend, I have 

 never had a doubt that you lacked one 

 whit in earnestness, honesty or good 

 purposes. I believe that" you are 

 doing much to make the system you 

 uphold with your practice less dam- 

 aging ; but I cannot believe that an 

 art like thatof queen-rearing, that de- 

 mands the highest and best ability, 

 can ever reach the high ideal so desir- 

 able, unless stimulated by at least a 

 respectable compensation. If it can, 

 it forms ;ui exception among the voca- 

 tions of the world. 



Lansing. iUch., June 7, 1882. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



A Visit to tlie Texas Couveution. 



W. K. MAUSHALL. 



The Texas fJee-Keepers' Convention 

 met at Mclvinney, Texas, April 2-5, 

 1882. The Convention was well at- 

 tended, considering that Texas has 

 but recently begun to make any ad- 

 vance in bee-culture. We met in the 

 grove in which Judge Andrews' 

 apiary is situated. The Judge has 

 some 300 colonies of bees, all bright- 

 colored Italians. He uses the Ameri- 

 can hive, and for a number of years 

 has been breeding the light-colored 

 Italians. He is an amateur bee man, 

 and more than any man I have ever 

 seen keeps bees for the fun of the 

 thing. He has some of the most 

 beautiful queens 1 have ever seen. 



Texas has a diversity of sale and 

 production, and, of course, has some 

 localities better than others for tlie 

 culture of the bee. Eastern Texas, 

 along streams, affords good bee pas- 

 ture. In Northern and Western Texas 

 the prairie lands, especially along the 

 streams, bees have done well. In 

 these localities the ratan vine and the 

 horse-mint are the great honey pro- 

 ducing plants. In Eastern Texas we 

 have the ratan vine, linden, sumacs, 

 chinkapin, and, in the fall, the golden- 

 rod and cotton. 



Though this was but the third 

 meeting of the State Association, we 

 had representatives from quite a 

 number of counties. 



The Convention owes its origin and 

 success largely to the efforts and in- 

 fluence of Judge Andrews. The hos- 

 pitality of the Judge, and that of his 

 estimable family, made the members 

 of the Convention feel quite at home, 

 and they spent a most enjoyable time 

 in his beautiful grove, among his 300 

 colonies, just in the lieight of the 

 swarming season. A number of im- 

 portant manipulations were conduc- 

 ted in the presence of the Con- 

 vention. 



The Convention discussed a num- 

 ber of important subjects, such as 

 " Should we breed for color i"' " Does 

 tlie impregnation of the queen affect 

 her drone progeny i"' " What is tlie 

 best liive for this climate V" " How to 

 secure the largest amount of honey, 

 and where, and how to market it V 

 It was agreed on all hands, tliat sev- 

 eral of the subjects that interest the 

 Northern bee-keepers so much are of 



no interest to us here, sucli as how to 

 winter, and the causes and cure of 

 dysentery. There is no trouble in 

 wintering in this climate, and dysen- 

 tery is almost entirely unknown. 



The outlook for our industry is 

 quite inviting. In 1865 I imported my 

 lirst Italian queen— probably the first 

 ever imported to this State. Now 

 they are scattered all over the State, 

 and intelligent bee-keepers are spread 

 through all sections of the State. 

 Quite a market for honey lias sprung 

 up in our large towns. 



At our Convention there was a 

 manifest disposition to spare no pains 

 nor expense in securing the best strain 

 of bees. The Cyprians, Syrians and 

 albinos are all being testied this year. 

 The population is crowding into our 

 vast territory, and next year we will, 

 in all probability, be able to report 

 vast progress in our favorite industry. 

 The prospect for alarge yield of honey 

 this year is good. 



Marshall, Tex. 



For the Americun Bee Journal. 



Tlie Dollar Queen Traffic. 



O. O. POPPLETON. 



I see that the columns of the Jour- 

 nal are again being tilled with articles 

 on the " dollar queen " business, but 

 have noticed that not a single one of 

 the scores of such articles have been 

 written by one of that class of bee- 

 keepers who are the most interested 

 in the discussion, viz: the buyer and 

 user of such queens. As one of that 

 number, I will try and add my mite. 



The article from Prof. Cook's pen, 

 in a late number of the Bee Jouk- 

 NAL,, I regard as the ablest one yet 

 written on that side of the discussion, 

 and also the most candid, with possi- 

 bly two or three exceptions, especially 

 the one from Mr. L. C. Root, but both 

 in my opinion have allowed a tlieory 

 to lead them into an error. All that 

 part of the Professor's article in which 

 he speaks of the great desirability of 

 taking special pains in the breeding 

 of our bees, meets with my hearty 

 commendation ; but I utterly dissent 

 from his opinion, that " tiie dollar 

 queen traffic stands directly in the 

 way of the best achievements." 



The truth is, that the theory which 

 Prof. Cook's article so ably advocates 

 is magnificent as a theory, but it is 

 utterly impossible for our thousands 

 of practical bee-keepers to carry it 

 out. He essentially admits this fact 

 when he says, in one place, that he 

 " cannot lind time with his numerous 

 duties to do this as he thinks that it 

 ought to be done," and in another, 

 that " he would do this work if he had 

 time to give to it, and had capital to 

 warrant the undertaking." If the 

 Professor, with his abilities and sur- 

 roundings, cannot even attempt to 

 carry out his own theory, how can he 

 expect our average bee-keepers to do 

 so ? Americans are a practical peo- 

 ple, and American bee-keepers are 

 not one whit behind their neighbors 

 in that respect, and practical theories 

 are the only ones tliat will be ap- 

 proved in the long run, and if the 



Professor with an assured income 

 from another source, can lind neither 

 time nor capital to carry out this the- 

 ory, certainly neither myself nor the 

 hundreds of others who are dependent 

 on their bees for the wherewithal to 

 buy bread and butter for themselves- 

 and little ones, can be expected to do 

 so. None except those who have 

 large capital and a peculiar situation 

 can possibly do this work. lie says 

 in his article that " to breed the ideal 

 queen will require such a rigorous 

 weeding out that only a small propor- 

 tion of the queens reared will be suf- 

 fered to live." May I ask if this very 

 fact does not prevent our bee-keepers- 

 from even attempting to breed the 

 ideal queen, however desirous all may 

 be to do so, for such a course would 

 destroy all idea of obtaining any 

 revenue from our bees V If the ob- 

 taining a revenue is notour prime ob- 

 ject in keeping bees, then I have 

 thoroughly mistaken the aims and ob- 

 jects of our business. 



I understand that the vital point 

 which Prof. Conk inakesis, the cheap- 

 ness that untested queens can be pro- 

 cured for destroys any large demand 

 for higher-priced, better queens, and, 

 therefore, no one could sell enough 

 queens at a high enough price to pay 

 for rearing them as he suggests, lioil 

 this entire discussion down, and that 

 is really the only seemingly tenable 

 point raised against the " dollar queen 

 traffic," and if true, we would all of 

 us be forced to admit the strength of 

 it; but, honestly, I do not believe that 

 point is true. 



We can all of us remember how 

 much was said in the bee papers a few 

 years ago, about the extra vigor and 

 value of daughters of imported moth- 

 ers, and how tliis idea so industriously 

 circulated, caused nearly every one 

 wlien ordering (pieens to demand of 

 the seller that they be the daughters 

 of imported queens. I am not fully 

 posted in the business, but am satis- 

 tied that within two or three years af- 

 ter the inauguration of the " dollar 

 queen traffic," the demand for im- 

 ported queens at a high price was at 

 least doubled. Scores, yes hundreds 

 of practical bee-keepers in our North- 

 ern latitude will buy early queens at 

 a dollar each, and make them pay 

 too, who neither would nor coukl buy 

 tliem at two or three dollars each, and 

 let me assure Prof. Cook that if either 

 himself, L. C. Root or any other bee- 

 keeper of equal reputation for honesty 

 and ability, will raise queens as he 

 thinks they ought to be raised, they 

 would never have to send them to be 

 tested before being purchased, and at 

 good round figures too, and every one 

 who sells dollar queens would be 

 forced to use these particular queens, 

 or retire from the business in dis- 

 grace. In other words, the " dollar 

 queen traffic " itself, instead of being 

 ttie greatest hindrance, would be the 

 greatest incentive to the best achieve- 

 ments, for it would force the purchase 

 of hundreds, where otherwise only 

 scoresof the high-priced queens would 

 be bought. 



Prof. Cook says he has purchased 

 several untested queens, and won a 

 blank each time. In his '-Manual" 



