536 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Aug. 22, 



have to say is on my own line of experience, and is presented 

 with the best wishes to all bee-keepers. 



I obtained my first 5-banded bees from L L. Hearn, but 

 in a very short lime I learned that G. M. DoolitUe had given 

 Mr. Hearn his start in these bees. Mr. Hearn's bees proved 

 to be.unprofitable, and so the next queens were obtained from 

 the author of "Scientific Queen-Rearing." The first queen I 

 obtained Mr. Doolittle had named " Dandy," for which I paid 

 $6.00. I introduced her to hatching brood, as the weather 

 was warm, and everything seemed favorable for a colony of 

 " goldens," as I added a few more frames of hatching brood ; 

 but what viras my surprise in a couple of weeks to find this 

 fancy queen failing. I then put her into a nucleus and kept 

 her colony weak until autumn. Early in October 1 put her 

 nucleus in a chaff hive, and gave her plenty of good combs 

 with nice, sealed honey, and brood hatching, from a good 

 hearty colony, and as I knew the bees would not expect much 

 from their queen during the winter, 1 left them severely alone 

 until early in the spring. 



On opening the hive I found a young queen and "Dandy" 

 still at large in the hive. I lifted out a comb with "Dandy" 

 and adhering bees, making a weak nucleus. lu three weeks 

 " Dandy " had disappeared, and three queen-cells were started. 

 These were given to a strong colony, made queenless, to feed 

 and complete the cells. Mr. Doolittle sent another to replace 

 her. That was very kind in him, but the second one never 

 filled more than three or four Lingstroth frames with brood ; 

 and from this queen, and the three reared from " Dandy," I 

 reared 29 queens, nearly all of which I sold for $2.00 for 

 choice, and $3.00 for the selected or very best. Some of these 

 queens were sent to Canada, and some to Pennsylvania, some 

 South and West. Some of the old readers will remember that 

 I sent the samples of bees to Thomas G. Newman, the then 

 editor of the American Bee Journal. The bees sent showed 

 the sixth yellow segment. Of course these were picked bees. 

 So far as I can know, and have knowledge, not one of these 

 reared fancy queens produced bees that were hardy enough to 

 come through the winter without adding black stock. 



My next breeder was a very yellow one from .T. D. Givens, 

 of Texas. This queen kept two or three combs fairly stocked 

 with brood and eggs for about three months, and then was 

 superseded by the bees. I keep bees partly for pleasure and 

 study, and took a fancy to the yellow color ; but now I am 

 about dead to the "goldens," though it was a bard death to 

 die. 



Last autumn I ordered one more of these queens from Mr. 

 Wood, of Massachusetts, and one from the famous breeder of 

 these bees in Maryland. I gave each plenty of combs with 

 late hatching bees from hardy blacks — these were packed in 

 a long chaff box containing 11 colonies. One of these colonies 

 died early in the winter. The other was about fizzled when I 

 unpacked them In the spring. The queen was yet alive, and 

 a few black bees, but not a single yellow bee lived through 

 the winter. 



But the greatest fault I find with them is the unprolific- 

 ness of the queens. I never had a colony of them to get popu- 

 lous enough to get the swarming-fever. When these queens 

 mate with hybrid drones, they are some belter, but all in all 

 the " goldens " ought to soon be a thing of the past, unless 

 they can be improved in some way. 



THE PREVENTION OF SWARMING. 



To keep bees from swarming, I practice the following 

 method : 



1. I keep the drone-brood shaved out. Bees will swarm 

 with but few drones, but they are sure to swarm when crowded 

 with drones. 



2. When the colony begins to get strong, I put a couple 

 of the middle combs on the outside, and the two outside combs 

 in the place of the two middle ones removed, then remove two 



more of the middle combs, and in their place put two empty 

 combs. Now the bees will begin to think they are not quite 

 ready to rear drones and young queens. 



3. Raising the entire brood-chamber by placing a piece 

 of lath under each co'rner of the hive or brood-body, so that 

 the air can freely circulate under the entire cluster of bees, is 

 the be.^t preventive of swarming of any one thing that can be 

 done. I believe I am the first to make mention of this 

 through the American Bee .Tourual. I have often discouraged 

 swarming even after queen-cells had been started, by simply 

 raising the brood-chamber a fourth of an inch from the bot- 

 tom-board '; and with what a rush will the bees crowd into the 

 upper apartments when this Is done ! 



Updegraff, Iowa. 



Czir)zidizir) Bccdon)^ 



Tlio Nortli American Bee-Kccpers' Association. 



The July number of the Bee-Keepers' Review is chiefly 

 devoted to a consideration of the above-named organization. 

 In commenting on one of the articles, the editor says : "Affil- 

 iation was done away with at the last annual meeting." This 

 will be news to many. But as no full report of the last an- 

 nual meeting has yet been given to the public, only those who 

 were actually present can be expected to know what business 

 was done. It is to be hoped that the Secretary will see to It 

 that tht Constitution and Rules now in force are printed for 

 consultation by the members. Otherwise they will be like 

 moles, working in the dark. 



[The Constitution as revised at the last annual meeting 

 was published on page 60 of the American Bee Journal for 

 Jan. 24, 1895.— Editor.] 



Mr. W. A. Chrysler. 



W, A. Chrysler, whose picture is shown on the first page 

 this week, was born Nov. 14, 1863, in the Province of Que- 

 bec, Canada, and at an early age moved to the Province of 

 Ontario with bis parents and settled on a farm near Chatham. 

 His time was spent at practical farming and obtaining a fair 

 business college and high school education. 



When about 17 years of age he took the " bee-fever " 

 very badly, as some call it, and he has had it ever since, with 

 no let-up. 



Soon after embarking in the bee-business (having wheels 

 jn his head) he began making some of his own supplies, not 

 that he could not buy them cheap enough, but it was, and is, 

 his special delight to work with machinery as well as with the 

 honey-bee. He made most of his machinery and learned to 

 operate it by practical experience. People looked to him for 

 supplies and he naturally drifted Into the supply business in 

 connection with the bee-business. 



Mr. Chrysler takes special delight in attending bee-keepers' 

 conventions, and no doubt will be on hand at the Toronto 

 mooting of the North American. The Ontario Bee-Keepers' 

 Association, at its last meeting, elected him as one of its 

 Directors. 



He has been married nearly five years, and has one of the 

 best of wives and two bright children — a girl and a boy. 



Uouey-Producers and Apiculturai Organizations. 



In giving his opinion about apiculturai organizations in 

 the July Review, Mr. James Heddon says one weak condition 

 in connection with them is that the leaders have not been 

 honey-producers, consequently they were not filled with &pi- 



