1882.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
o 
window, under or over, or by the side of a door 
or sash, or elsewhere, produces a draft that requires 
much extra fuel to counteract the effects. 
Bee Notes for January. 
Breeding Bees. 
There is no subject which is attracting more at¬ 
tention from the bee-keepers of America at the 
present time, than the improving of the quality of 
their stock by judicious care and selection in breed¬ 
ing. The fact that 6ome colony, or colonies each 
year far excel all the others in the amount of the 
stores which they gather, suggests to the thought¬ 
ful apiarist that were he possessed of the requisite 
knowledge and skill, the probable profits of his 
apiary would be far greater than they are at present. 
Apis Americana is a superior strain, or race, of bees 
that has appeared as the result of superior tact dis¬ 
played by some bee-keeper in the breeding of his 
bees. With but little doubt there is in this direc¬ 
tion one of the most promising paths towards im¬ 
proved apiculture. The “ dollar queen ” business, 
which has grown to such deplorable dimensions in 
the last few years, as it of necessity precludes all 
pains-taking, is right in the way of this improved 
breeding. To make the dollar queen business at 
all profitable, haste and no pains must be the 
watch-words of the apiarist. To secure a better 
type of bees, the utmost caution, and the severest 
selection must be the firm rule of the bee-keeper. 
Care as to Queens, 
Heretofore, the principal reliance to secure supe¬ 
riority has been in the careful selection and breed¬ 
ing of the queens. It is easy with care to secure 
the queen-cells from the best colony in the apiary ; 
to see that the queen larvae are so started from the 
egg, that they may be reared in times of greatest 
activity in the hive, so that there may be no lack of 
vigor from unfavorable surroundings ; and to have 
them in full, strong colonies from the first to the 
last, that a proper heat no less than a proper 
nourishment may be secured. All of these points 
have been observed by those apiarists who look to 
superior excellence, and not simply to the dollar. 
the flight of all such drones are not desired to 
meet the queens. Of course, if there are wild 
bees in the vicinity, as is always the case if there 
are forests near by, then this method is only a help, 
not a sure preventive of undesirable mating. A still 
better -way to use the guides is to let the drones 
fly from all but the very best c®lonies on such days 
as there are no young queens to fly out, and about 
one or two o’clock put all the guides at the 
entrances of the hives, and at night, after the bees 
are in the hives, kill the drones. The drones should 
always be kept down either by this method or by 
cutting out the uuhatched drone brood, as they 
eat a great amount of honey and are expensive 
and worthless appendages to any hive. I permit 
drones only in my choicest hives. 
We can usually judge whether a 
scheme of doubtful propriety is 
profitable or not by the rapidity 
with which imitators increase. For 
example, when the little metallic 
toys called “ Batteries ” of various 
kinds were first put before the public, the original 
“Battery man ” soon had half a score of imitators. 
No wonder. Useless combinations of cheap metals, 
producing no electricity, costing only a few cents 
to make, and a penny for postage, for a while sold 
“like hot cakes ” for $1.00, and then at 50c. each. 
—Only a few months ago, the solitary “ Matrimo¬ 
nial Insurance” scheme was looked upon as a cu¬ 
riosity, which might attract a few peculiar or 
“ cranky ” people, and we passed it by with brief 
notice. To our surprise we now have circulars and 
documents relating to no less than six similar insti¬ 
tutions, and there are probably many others. This 
rapid increase shows that there must be many peo¬ 
ple ready to invest money in such companies, and 
that the managers find them profitable. These 
Wedlock or Matrimonial Insurance Companies 
Care as to Drones. 
Among our higher animals, the males are known 
to be prepotent, and it is regarded as important to 
select the sires with great care as to be particular 
with the dams. There is no doubt but that this 
same law holds true among the lower animals, and 
therefore with the bees. In fact this law is at the 
basis of sexual selection in nature, as so well de¬ 
veloped by Darwin. But our bees mate on the wing, 
hence to select the drones has heretofore baffled 
all efforts. The matter has not been practically 
solved, and the demand for a method to accom¬ 
plish impregnation in confinement, is still urgent. 
Method to Control the Drones. 
At the last meeting of the National Bee-Keeper’s 
Society, at Lexington, Ky., Mr. D. A. Jones sug¬ 
gested a way to control, in part at least, the mating 
A BEE GUAKD. 
on the drone side. This is accomplished by the 
use of perforated zinc as entrance guards to the 
hives. These guides are ten inches long, and each 
guide is a box with the bottom and one side removed. 
A cross section of this box is one inch square. The 
holes in this zinc are rectangular, 3 /ie by 8 /n> °f an 
inch long. The zinc occupies about as much space 
as that occupied by the holes, that is about one 
half of the metal is cut away. These holes, while 
they permit the workers to pass freely through, are 
a perfect bar to the drones and the queen. Now by 
placing this guide with the wanting side against 
the end or side of the hive, before the entrance, 
we have a perfect barrier to the drones and the 
queen, while the workers may pass with freedom. 
How to Use the Guides. 
By placing these guides before the hives, in our 
own and near neighbor’s apiaries, we may preclude 
are essentially alike. A member buys, for a small 
sum, a certificate for $1,000 to $5,000, to be paid 
to him if he marries. He is subjected to various 
annual payments and assessments, the whole being 
involved in a mesh of “ ifs ” and “provideds,” 
which require some study to understand. If any 
one is inclined to invest in one of these Associa¬ 
tions, he should first inquire if it is regularly char¬ 
tered? In one State they hold only a charter from 
the Courts, which has been decided to be illegal, 
and they have made no deposit with the State au¬ 
thorities. Their responsibility is governed entirely 
by the honesty of the officers. It is stated that the 
sums paid to agents as commissions are enormous, 
and entirely beyond what any prudently conducted 
company can afford to pay. Ail proper Fire and 
Life Insurance Companies are under the supervis¬ 
ion of State authorities, and give some pledge that 
they will do what they promise. Unless these con¬ 
cerns can show that they are responsible, don’t in¬ 
vest. So much for the legal aspects of the case. If 
there are sharp companies there are 
Also Sharp Investors. 
The holder of a certificate in one of these Wed¬ 
lock Shops, will of course get married as soon as 
possible, and receive his $1,000 to $5,000, either one 
a convenient sum to set up housekeeping with. 
The circulars, though “rather mixed” to ordinary 
comprehension, show one thing quite plainly—the 
sooner an investor gets married, the fewer assess¬ 
ments will he have to pay, and the more money 
will he get. These circulars, no doubt without 
intending it, really invite people about to marry 
to join them, and leave those poor fellows who 
can’t get married to pay the assessments. Alost 
of those who do not marry speedily will be 
Compelled to Forfeit their Polices 
on account of the heavy and rapid assessments. 
Two of these concerns are already reported as hav¬ 
ing failed. The demands for payment of certificates 
being too much for them. Their epitaphs should 
be, “Died of much Marrying.” We look upon 
these schemes as at best of doubtful utility, and 
advise the many who write asking us about them, 
to exercise every precaution, and consider the mat¬ 
ter well before they invest. 
Counterfeit Money or “Queer.” 
As this dodge is just now revived in various in¬ 
genious forms, a word is due to our newer readers. 
Observe, that no matter what may be the offer, the 
parties are too shrewd to have any counterfeit 
money in their possession. The object of each and 
every such scheme is to induce those who are im¬ 
pelled by their avarice or their poverty, to give 
good money and to return therefor—absolutely 
nothing. The swindlers know very well that the 
swindled dare not “ squeal,” because, in order to 
make a complaint, the victim must admit that he 
undertook to buy counterfeit money. That is the 
whole story, and while by noticing this u r e would 
not imply that any reader of the American Agricul¬ 
turist needs this caution, we make this explanation, 
first, to show why the swindlers are not arrested ; 
they only indirectly pretend to offer, but never have 
counterfeit money, and second , because our readers 
may know of thoughtless persons who are tempted 
by these offers, and they may be able to do these 
a good service by warning them that the thing is 
in every form a thorough swindle. 
The Variety of Disguises 
under which counterfeit money offers are made is 
amusing. One person advertises “ Fac-similes of 
U. S. Treasury and National Bank Bills.” No 
doubt dishonest persons send $2 for a package, ex¬ 
pecting to get counterfeit money, but they receive 
only neat small photographs, of no use as currency. 
—Another offers “ United States Chromos, the best 
in the market.”—Another holds out inducements 
“ to push the sale of a certain class of goods which 
I manufacture,” and guarantees 100 per cent profit. 
He says : “The goods are used by every one, and 
the business is stkictly confidential. As it is 
the same as all other large paying enterprises, it is 
not exactly legitimate, possibly you can guess its 
nature. This business is only for those open for 
almost anything there is money in.”—Another is 
disposed to be facetious. He says: “I do not 
wish to sell you any Counterfeit Money. I would 
not touch it for the world. OH no! not at all. 
You might think from the tone of this letter that I 
have counterfeit money of the best quality , but my 
thoughts do not drift in that region. * * I am a manu¬ 
facturer of the Greenback Brand of Cigars _etc.” 
A Grim H.iu«l of Humor 
suggests some of the cheap swindles. The sender 
of a dollar for “ instructions for writing without 
pen or ink ” must have laughed when he read : 
“ Use a lead-pencil.” That is an old joke. A later 
one is to offer to send for $5 “an instrument that 
would play any number of tunes.” The buyer 
must have felt little like laughing when he received 
a common Jewsharp, and still less so at the in¬ 
timation that “ any fool can learn to play it in a 
few hours.”—Under such fanciful names as “Fairy 
Organ,” etc., the common mouth Harmonicon is 
advertised in a similar manner, requiring many 
times its cost to be paid in advance. 
Grinding the Farmers. 
It is rather singular that the medium through 
which farmers are most largely swindled, is some 
kind of a “grinder”—a “Sickle Grinder,” or a 
“Mowing Machine Knife-Grinder.” A farmer is 
asked to sign an agreement—a mere matter of form, 
you know—to sell the grinders, and return the 
proceeds when sold. This ingeniously worded 
“agreement” turns out ( to be either an order, 
signed by the farmer for a number of grinders, 
and for the payment for which he is responsible: 
or, in some cases a promissory note for their al¬ 
leged value. This has been so frequently exposed 
that we have not, for a year or more heard of a 
“grinder” swindle in the Eastern States. But 
these chaps have turned to “ fields and pastures 
new,” and we now bear of them in Missouri, and 
at a few other points in the West. Some farmers 
