78 ALEXANDER'S WRITINGS ON PRACTICAL BEE CULTURE 



queen is failing to keep her hive well filled with brood without any 

 apparent cause, then we supersede her in early summer; for if she 

 is kept until fall the colony will have but little brood, will be weak 

 in bees, and the young queen we give them will start so little brood 

 that the chances are the colony will be dead in the spring, or so weak 

 in bees that it will be almost worthless. But if the queens we wish 

 to supersede are in full strong colonies, with their hives well filled 

 with brood, then to buy queens In the fall for these colonies is all 

 right; and if the new queen does not start much brood she will still 

 have a good colony to winter in. 



These are very important points that should never be overlooked in 

 superseding our queens. I want a queen to occupy the hive she is to 

 winter in at least 40 days before the breeding season closes. This 

 gives her time to become acquainted with the colony and fill the brood- 

 nest once or twice with brood. If we all look to this part of our 

 business as we should we shall have fewer weak colonies in the spring, 

 and In the end we shall have more surplus, and secure it with much 

 less labor. 



Another question I am frequently asked is, "What is the opinion 

 of the farmers in your locality in regard to the effect of your bees 

 working on their buckwheat-fields?" 



Some 25 years ago, when we came to Delanson, it was almost the 

 universal opinion that our bees would injure their buckwheat so as to 

 make the crop almost worthless, but the farmers soon changed their 

 ideas on the subject. The buckwheat here is all thrashed by men who 

 have thrashing-machines, and go from farm to farm thrashing the 

 grain for a stated price per bushel. These men soon noticed that, when 

 they came within three or three and a half miles of our apiaries the 

 yield of grain was much better than outside that circle; in fact, it 

 yielded sometimes nearly twice the amount per acre. This was a sur- 

 prise to some farmers. Their orchards also gave them much more 

 fruit. The change of opinion among them has been so complete that 

 they are now anxious to have our bees do well. 



I sometimes wonder if there is any other business that has had 

 to go through the mire of ignorance and superstition equal to bee- 

 keeping. 



Still another question I am often asked is, "Will the greater part 

 of the honey in the future be produced by the specialist, or by men 

 who have other lines of business to follow in connection with bee- 

 keeping?" 



In order to give this question any thing like a correct answer 

 we must not only go back and review the bee-keeping of the past, but 

 we must look upon it in the future as being subject to the same natural 

 laws and conditions as all other lines of business. For some time 

 we have seen a continual concentration of capital in every line of busi- 

 ness. The men who have a thorough knowledge of their business, and 



