OR, MANUAL OF THB APIARY. 317 



faction. This is the best argument in favor of any business. 

 I repeat, then, that the beginner better purchase " dollar 

 queens" of some reliable breeder — one who has made queen- 

 rearing a success for years, and given general satisfaction. 



I have feared that this "cheap queen " traffic would crush 

 the hard effort, requiring study, time, money, and the most 

 cautious experiment and observation, necessary to give us a 

 very superior race of bees. There is reason to hope now that 

 it will, at most, only delay it. Enterprising apiarists see in 

 this the greatest promise for improved apiculture, and already 

 are moving forward. Enterprising bee-keepers will purchase 

 and pay well for the bee of the future that gives sure evidence 

 of superior excellence. One thing is certain, "dollar queens "- 

 are in the market, and are in demand ; so, whether the busi- 



FiG. 144. 



Benton Gage, — Prom Department of Agriculture. 



ness tends to our good or evil, as rational men we must accept 

 the situation and make the most of things as they exist. 



Let me urge, however, upon the progressive apiarist, that 

 there is no possible doubt but .that the bees of the future will 

 be immensely superior to those of today. Man can and will 

 advance here as he has in breeding all other stock. If the 

 obstacles in the way are greater because of the peculiar natural 

 history of the bee, then the triumph, when it comes, will be 

 greater, and the success more praiseworthy. 



TO SHIP QDEBNS. 



For shipping queens the character of the shipping-cage 

 and of the food are of the first importance. Nothing serves 

 better for a cage than Benton's (Fig. 144), already mentioned. 



