HE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



255 



Selection has been the chief factor in the de- 

 vclopenient and building \ip of our improved 

 breeds of horses, cattle, sheep, swine, and poul- 

 tr>-. Men have devoted the best years of their 

 lives to a single line or branch of this work — and 

 not without their reward. In bee-keeping but 

 little has been done in this direction. The de- 

 velopment of a bright yellow bee has been the 

 most noticeable thing that has been done in 

 this line. This is the most ea.sy of accomplish- 

 ment, as results are .so quickly and ea.sily dis- 

 cernible. To breed for honey-gathering quali- 

 ties is a much slower process. As soon as bees 

 hatch out we can decide in regard to their color, 

 and as to whether we wish to rear queens from 

 their mother for the purpo.se of improving the 

 color of our stock; to decide in regard to their 

 working qualities requires months — perhaps 

 years. 



Every experienced bee-keeper must have no- 

 ticed how much more surplus is stored bj- some 

 stocks than by others. Time and time again, 

 when visiting bee-keepers, have I been shown 

 some particular colony, and heard the owner 

 tell with pride how much honey it had stored 

 year after year; always coming through the 

 winter in good condition, or doing this or that 

 that was so desirable. The strange thing is that 

 l>ee-keepers so seldom .seem to realize the value 

 of such a colony, or queen, as a starting-point 

 from which to improve the stock of their whole 

 apiary. If the>- do realize it, they seldom take 

 advantage of the knowledge. Suppose, by the 

 introduction of improved stock, a man can in- 

 crease his surplus, on the average, one year with 

 another, ten pounds per colony, and that is not 

 an extravagant estimate, on 100 colonies his crop 

 would be increa.sed 1000 pounds. The cost for 

 hives, grounds, labor, wintering, etc., is nearly 

 the same with one kind of stock as with another, 

 just as it costs as much to keep a scrub cow as it 

 does to keep a Jersey, and a gain in surplus that 

 comes from improvement in .stock is the most 

 profitable that can be secured. To improve your 

 stock, get the very best that you can for breed- 

 ing purposes, and with this stock your apiary: 

 then watch carefully, and breed from tho e cole, 

 nies that do the best. Contunie this year after 

 year, and you will be surpri.sed at the results. 



This matter of beginning with as good stock as 

 you can get, is all-imporianl. IJont lose yearsof 

 time by commencing with common or inferio'- 

 stock. c;et the best; and thus be able to com- 

 mence right where some other breeder left off. 



As explained in previous advertisements, I am 

 selling queens from stock upon the development 

 of which a good man has spent twenty years; 

 making cro.sses, and then each year selecting the 

 best to breed from. I have several times tried 

 this strain, and know it to be the best that I have 

 ever tried. 



Thepriceofthe.se queens will be J1.50 each. 

 This may .seem like a high price, but the man 

 who pays it will make dollars where this breed- 

 er and myself make cents; and when you come 

 to read the conditions under which they are sold, 

 it will not seem so high. The queens sent out 

 will all be young queens, just beginning to lay, 

 but, as there are no black bees in the vicinity, it 

 is not likely that any will prove impurely mated. 

 If any queen should prove to be impurely mat- 

 ed, another will be .sent free of charge. Safe 

 arrival in first-class condition will be guaranteed. 

 Instructions for introducing will be sent to each 

 purchaser, and if these instructions are followed, 

 and the queen is lost, another will be sent free 

 of charge. This is not all; if, at any time within 

 two years, a purchaser, for any reason what- 

 ever, is not satisfied with his bargain, he can 

 return the queen, and his money will be refund- 

 ed, and 50 cents extra sent to pay him for his 

 trouble. It will be seen that the purcha.ser runs 

 NO RISK whate:ver. If a queen does not arrive 

 in good condition, another is sent. If he loses her 

 in introducing, another is sent. If she .should 

 prove impurely mated, another is sent. If the 

 queen proves a poor layer, or the stock does not 

 come up to the expectations, or there is any rea- 

 son why the bargain is not .satisfactory, the 

 queen can be returned and the money will be re- 

 funded, and the customer fairly well paid for his 

 trouble. I could not make this last promise if I did 

 not KNOW that the stock is really superior. 



I said that the price would be J1..50 each. There 

 is only one condition under which a queen will 

 be sold for a less price, and that is in connection 

 with an advance subscription to the Review. 

 Any one who has already paid me, or who will 

 pay me, Ji.oo for the Review for 1S99, can have a 

 queen for $1.00. Of course, all arrearages pre- 

 vious to 1899 must be paid up before this ofTer 

 will hold good. This special offer is made with a 

 view to the getting of new subscribers, and as 

 an inducement to old subscribers to pay up all 

 arrearages and to pay in advance to the end of 

 the year. 



W. Z, Hutchinson, Flint Micl^. 



