454 



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make him a present of 14: colonies as 

 a starter. 



The same year we moved to Ohio, 

 which has since been our home. In 

 the summer of 1875 we lived in a 

 suburb of Cincinnati, and made and 

 sold the Murphj' honey-extractor, most 

 of them going to southern States. 



In 1876, Dr. M. was chosen secre- 

 tary of the Buckeye Union Poultry As- 

 sociation, and held the position for 

 four years. 



In the winter of 1879 he tried what 

 has since been the known as the " Pol- 

 len Theory," and, with the experience 

 of that and succeeding winters, he 

 has been made a firm believer in that 

 theory. This was several years before 

 anj'thing was said about it in the bee-' 

 periodicals. 



In 1881 Mr. Mason succeeded in 

 getting the Tri-State-Fair Association 

 at Toledo to offer Fair premiums for 

 the display of the products of the api- 

 ary, and the display has increased in 

 attractiveness each year ; and last fall 

 it was said the display was the most 

 attractive of any on the grounds. He 

 was appointed superintendent of the 

 department the first year, and still 

 holds the position. 



During the year 1882 and 1883, 

 when but little was generally known 

 about foul brood, his apiary of 75 col- 

 nies was badly infected, nearlj' every 

 colony having it in 1883, and he has 

 frequently stated the loss was from 

 $300 to $500 ; but he cured it that year, 

 and has had none since. 



For several years he has been a 

 member of the Michigan State Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, and in 1886 was 

 made an honorary member. 



At Chicago, in November, 1887, on 

 his 54th birthday, Mr. M. was chosen 

 president of the North American Bee- 

 Keepers' Society. 



Early in October last, he made what 

 he called a " new departure " in bee- 

 keeping. Having become satisfied, in 

 theory, that it was of no special benefit 

 for bees to be flying after frosts had 

 destroyed all honey-producing blos- 

 soms, he concluded to prepare a few 

 colonies for wintering, and place them 

 in the cellar as soon as there came a 

 killing frost. On the night af Oct. 15 

 there was a hard frost. On the night 

 of the 19th he placed t#e prepared 

 colonies in the cellar. On April 27, 

 1888, the bees were taken from the 

 cellar, after undergoing a confinement 

 of six month.s and eight days, and 

 were in good condition, having lost in 

 weight 7J pounds on an average. 



The other colonies, put in the cellar 

 in November,were weighed at the same 

 time (Oct. 19), and. when taken out 

 with those put in Oct. 19, were found 

 to have lost in weight, on an average, 

 over 11 pounds. 



During the past winter he has de- 

 livered two addresses at farmers' in- 

 stitutes, and one at a horticultural 

 meeting, the subject being " The 

 Benefits of Bee-Keeping to the Agri- 

 culturist and Horticulturist." 



Mr. Mason has been chosen to 

 superintend the Apiarian Department 

 of the Ohio Centennial Exposition, to 

 be held at Columbus from next Sept. 

 4 until Oct. 19. 



He is now serving his third term as 

 assessor of the precinct in which we 

 live, having been re-elected by an in- 

 creased majority. 



Mrs. a. B. Mason. 



Auburndale, Ohio. 



Distinguishing Purely Mated 

 Italian Queens. 



Written for the American Bee Jbitmal 



Query 558.— How can a purely-mated Ital- 

 ian queen be distlDguiebed from one mated 

 with a Cyprian or Holy Land drone, or with a 

 drone that iB a mixture of Italian and one of 

 these races ?— Calif. 



By her progeny — H. D. Cutting. 

 I do not know. — P. L. Viallon. 

 By her progeny. — A. B. Mason. 

 I do not know. — J. M. Shuck. 

 By her progeny. — Mrs.L. Harrison. 

 I doubt if she can. — Eugene Secor. 

 Only by her progeny. — J. P. H. 

 Brown. 



You've got me. — James Heddon. 



Only by the markings or disposition 

 of her progeny. — C. H. Dibbern. 



I have had no experience with 

 Cyprian or Holy Land bees. — J. M. 

 Hambaugh. 



By the appearance of her progenj', 

 and in that way only occasionally. — R. 

 L. Taylor. 



1 doubt if it can in all cases. I doubt 

 if it can be certainly in any case. — A. 

 J. Cook. 



In no way that I know of. This is 

 one of the worst features about getting 

 the Cyprians and Syrians into this 

 country. 1 think we would have been 

 much better off had we never seen 

 either. — G. M. Doolittle. 



She cannot with certainty. Her 

 progeny will be so nearly like pure 

 Italians that I do not believe any one 

 can distinguish them with certainty in 

 all cases. — M. Mahin. 



The workers of such a cross-bred 

 queen will many of them resemble the 

 Cyprian or Holy Land workers, as the 

 case may be, and others will resemble 

 Italian workers. The close observer 



can readilj' tell the workers of such a 

 cross by observing the pure races bj" 

 themselves. — G. L. Tinker. 



There is no way by which the mat- 

 ing of a queen can be determined ex- 

 cept by her worker progeny. It is 

 only by strict attention to the matter 

 that this can be done. Three yellow 

 bands is the color test, and is the only 

 test that 1 know of ; and it will not 

 apply to the crosses between the yel- 

 low varieties. All dependence must 

 be placed upon the honesty of the 

 breeder. — J. E. Pond. 



No one but an expert in such mat- 

 ters can make the distinction, and 

 even then it is not certain that no mis- 

 take will be made. Pure Cyprians are 

 marked by the solid j-ellow on the un- 

 derside of the abdomen, which mark- 

 ing is not materially changed by cross- 

 ing with the other yellow varieties. 

 The other yellow races (Italians and 

 Syrians) are marked with dark veins 

 dividing the jellow with the segments 

 of the body. One well acquainted 

 with the peculiar motions and actions 

 of bees of different races may detect a 

 mixture of blood, but there is room for 

 mistake all around. — G. W. Demaree. 



No method has yet been discovered 

 bj- which to determine the purity of 

 the mating of queens, except by the 

 markings and temper of their worker 

 progeny. As the bees mentioned are 

 so nearly like the Italian, we think 

 that it would be exceedingly difficult 

 to determine the matter even with the 

 worker progenj' of such queens — that 

 is, to determine with any degree of 

 certainty. — The Editor. 



Double-Walled Bee-Hives and 

 Supers. 



Written for the AmerUvin Bee Journal 



Query 559.— 1. When wintering bees on the 

 summer standi), which Is the best, a double- 

 walled hive with chaff between the outer and 

 Inner walls, or double-walls with a vacant 

 space between the walls ? 3. Which Is best 

 for winter, double-walled hives, with walls one 

 Inch thick and 2 inches of space between the 

 walls, or single-walled hives with a wall 4- 

 iDobes thick '/ 3. In working for comb honey 

 should the surplus story be double-walled ? lif 

 so, will more honey be obtained thereby 7— 

 Mich. 



1. Probably with chaff. 2. Probably 

 the double-wall. 3. No. — C.C.Miller. 



1. We prefer hollow double-walls. 

 2. It makes little difference. 3. No. 

 — Dadant & Son. 



1. I do not know. 2. Double-walled 

 hive. 3. No.— R. L. Taxlor. 



1. A vacant space. 2. A 2-inch 

 space between the walls. 3. No, no. 

 — Mrs. L. Harrison. 



1. I would use the chaff between. 2. 

 I cannot say. 3. No. — J. M. Ham- 

 baugh. 



