744 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Come, fellow workmen, let us eoires- 

 poiiil, intei'change, coiiipHre notes, and 

 work together for the "Coming Bee." 

 To this end, under like circumstances, 

 I would like to compete for a similar 

 prize in any part of the country. Let 

 some one try his hand with other races, 

 if he thinks they will prove better 

 producers ; whether it be witli brown, 

 black, two-banded, or one-banded, 

 Cyprian, Holy-Land, Austrian or 

 Egyptian ; there is room enough for 

 all. 



But I, with many others, am con- 

 tent with the beautiful, golden hued, 

 gentle, industrious, and prolitie Ital- 

 ians. When coming in from the liekls 

 of clover and linden, ladened with 

 golden drops of nectar, as they drop 

 upon tlie alighting-board, like a 

 shower of golden drops, I know that 

 it is not the poetry of the matter alone 

 which delights me,but the golden coins 

 as well, wiiich their produce brings. 



Wilton Junction, Iowa, Oct. 21, 1882. 



For tbe American Bee Jouma]. 



Bee Notes from Iowa. 



WM. TAXTON. 



The busy bee is at rest and the sea- 

 son is at hand to compare notes and 

 prepare for another season's work. 



My small report went in with south- 

 east Dakota, with which my location 

 and the flora are nearest allied, al- 

 though I live on the east bank of the 

 Sioux. 



I commenced the spring with four 

 colonies, one strong and three little 

 more than nuclei. I took 400 lbs. of 

 extracted honey and increased to nine, 

 by division ; I will not say in good 

 condition for winter, because I suc- 

 ceeded in getting a live queen so late 

 that I expect to tind unfertile queens, 

 next spring. Probably Good's food 

 for queen cages would have saved the 

 shipper two valuable queens, and me 

 much valuable time. I fed my bees 

 up to July. 



Some years ago while residing near 

 Manchester, Delaware Co., Iowa, I 

 made a trip west, leaving home about 

 Aug. 20th. At Fort Dodge I found 

 bees just building up, and on return- 

 ing, in September, that the tirst swarm 

 had issued Aug. 28 and they were still 

 swarming and at work in the supers. 

 This was so unusual to me that I in- 

 quired whence came the nectar, and I 

 was answered goldenrod ; but my in- 

 formant was unable to point out the 

 plant with which at that time I was 

 not familiar. 



My bees had closed the season's work 

 and killed the drones. I never looked 

 for surplus from fall bloom. I wrote 

 to a friend, suggesting the moving a 



E art of his bees and mine for another 

 arvest, but he did not look upon the 

 proposal with favor. Yet I could not 

 rid my mind of the practicability of 

 extending the season by change of lo- 

 cation , and especially where a short 

 remove, as in this State, will caiTV 

 you from the richest fields of clover 

 and forests of linden to the best fall 

 pasturage. 



Had business matters favored it was 

 my plan to spend the coming winter 



in the South— buy , transfer and handle 

 bees past the best honey How, and 

 siiip North by carload, not caring to 

 reach this point before July. 



Will some readers of the Bee Jour- 

 nal, located where bees are compara- 

 tively idle consumers, at a season not 

 later than the last of June, correspond 

 with me on the sulfject. 



Controlling fertilization is among 

 the important unsettled problems. D. 

 A. Jones on his isolated island can 

 test the pure races and crosses, beyond 

 any-gness work, but the high latitude 

 and chilly lake breeze make the season 

 short, and the surrounding water must 

 make the loss of queens heavy. In 

 my opinion it is only on a prairie, 

 comparatively new, without tree, stub, 

 or stump, to harbor wild bees, that 

 (lueens can be bred to the best advan- 

 tage, and fertilization absolutely con- 

 trolled, without confinement. It is 

 is only a matter of moving your nuclei 

 with the desired drones to a safe dis- 

 tance from tame bees. 



The dollar queen has come in for a 

 good share of abuse during the season. 

 Even the lazy drone has found its ad- 

 vocate, while scarcely a voice is raised 

 for the cheap queen. It may be true 

 that the drone gives heatto the young 

 Virood, but to me it seenss very like 

 feeding a dozen idle loafers to "warm 

 a room by animal heat. Otherdrones 

 may build comb. I believe mine do 

 not. 



That some breeders of dollaniueens 

 are honorable men, breeding and send- 

 ing out just such (|ueensas they would 

 use at home, you are all forced to ad- 

 mit ; the dollar queen, then, is only 

 such, because untested; breeders 

 think they can afford them for that 

 price. I want to know that the strain 

 is of the best, with good chances for 

 pure mating, and for obvious reasons 

 I will do my own testing, and believe 

 I can do so cheaper than the breeder 

 can. 



I am not a dealer in bee-keepers' 

 supplies; never raised a queen, but 

 for my own use or to give away, and 

 could not give time for the necessary 

 correspondence; but to him who has 

 had the courage to advertise, and by 

 fair dealing has worked up a trade, I 

 would say, if he has a choice strain 

 he wishesto keep pure, some one could 

 undertake to breed and test for him, 

 afwholesale only, for one dollar, be- 

 cause to do so he would only have to 

 take a queen for shipping from a full 

 colony and replace her by one from 

 nuclei, with full assurance that twen- 

 ty-one days would show her brood pure 

 as the one she replaced. 



Mr. Heddon has placed before us.his 

 dark, long, red-clover bees, with such 

 candor and force, that I am almost a 

 convert to the principle : "Handsome 

 is, that handsome does." 



What untrained eye would look for 

 beauty in the Merino, his coarse, ugly 

 horn, wrinkled, surly face, and gaunt, 

 11-shaped body, several sizes too small 

 for his dirty coat'? Yet his owner 

 could see beauty in " Gold Drop," 

 when every ounce of blood in his veins 

 was worth its weight in gold, and he 

 could see additional beauty in each 

 fold of his loose, dirty, wool-covered 

 skin— yet, the intrinsic value being | 



equal, I must confess a preference for 

 the compact Down, or the square, 

 stately Cotswold. with snow-white 

 fleece in graceful ringlets. 



The interesting test of Prof. Cook 

 and others, shows the tongue of the 

 Italian longer than the black, the Cy- 

 prian still lunger, and the Syrian equal 

 to either, in the yellow ; then by breed- 

 ing in the good points, and out the 

 vicious, may we not ho]>e to (ind all 

 the good qualities, that, by careful se- 

 lection, Mr. Heddon has found in his 

 mixture of yellow and black V 



ilr. Jones says the best in his yard 

 is a cross of Italian with Syrian; his- 

 chances for observation are' large and 

 his opinion worthy of consideration, 

 and I, for one, fondly hoxje to lind th& 

 advent of the new races result in im- 

 provement worthy of the bold enter- 

 prise of the man who at great cost has. 

 given them to us. 



Beloit. Iowa, Nov. 7, 1882. 



For the Amerlc-in Bee JournaL 



Kevolriiig Frame Holder. 



N. H. BARNHILL. 



I send you a rough sketch of a con- 

 trivance I use, and Hud of great as- 

 sistance while examining frames, and 

 introducing queens, it consists of a 

 frame somewhat similar to a clothes 

 horse, with a revolving head, to the 

 end of which two wires are attached, 

 which can be expanded to suit any 

 frame. The revolving head enables 

 you to examine both sides, also to clip 



the queen's wings, without disturbing 

 her, by the use of a pair of spring 

 scissors, as used in knives, etc. I 

 could not get on without it, unless I 

 had some other assistance. 



A A are strips of cloth, tacked to- 

 pins to prevent spreading, and are 

 handy for tools to hang on. 



B B, pins of wood to hold the cloth. 



C C are wires to hold the frames, by 

 slipping them over the end bars. 



D, the hive. 



E, the bolt to hold the wooden re- 

 volving head to the upper bar of the 

 frame holder. 



r, the frame in position. 

 G, revolving head, containing wires 

 to hold the frames. 

 Evelyn, Ga., Oct. 14, 1882. 



