The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1893-01-12
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
CALIFORNIA STRAWBERRIES.


several choice varieties of strawberries culti-
waited in California, some of them being wild
varieties. These wild varieties belong to the
Alpine family of Strawberries, and are mostly
everbearing.
The Honey strawberry fRed Alpine) yields
delicious berries from early in the Spring until
late in the FALL the berries are from small to
medium size, and beautifully eolored.
The Mill City Alpine strawberry is an ever
bearing variety; the berries are small, but
highly colored, and the finest favored of any
strawberry that l know Of
I lately visited man who had a patch Of
strawberries that were everbearing; the berries
were of tho largest size, deliciously favored,
and inclined to be fan-shaped; their color was
a beautiful light red the berries were very
firm, and were also abundant bearers. The
blossom is perfect. and the plants are Of the
largest size. From information gained, it
probably originated from the Sharpless straw
berry. 1 shall send plants to several expert
ment stations and have them report results.
The Cloud Seeding "a Southern variety is
grand berry in California; the berries are large
and of a deep red color, and splendid for long
distance shipment. Cloud Seeding is pistil-
late variety, and should be fertilized by Jessie
or Capt Jack
Mitchel's Early is also another splendid berry
for California; it is very early berry, OF
good size, fine color. and an abundant bearer.
The Burt and Capt. Jack strawberry very
similar, and probably the most prolific of all
known varieties; the berries are of q good
size, beautiful crimson color and are splendid
shippers. At the New York Experiment Station
they yielded at the rate of 11,000 quarts per
acres. L. WATKINS, Grizzly Flats, Cal.
IMPROVEMENT OF OUR BEES.
If we have an extra good colony of bees, how
far shall we push that particular strain OF bees
| in the apiary?
Evidently the auerist had in mind when he
stated his question colony OF bees the progeny
of some particular queen. With this intent OF
the question as basis for an answer, l will try
and tell my experience and Subsequent judg-
ment on the point.
have, aud presume Others have, seen
rousing good colony of bees in the honey season
without queen.
Much depends, CT course oa the size of the
apiary. What would be geod policy for a small
apiary of a dozen colonies would not be the
same for an apias? Of 100 colonies.
Selecting a daughter of very good colony.
or rather the daughter of queen who was
mother of good colony Of bees, did not hesi-
tate in changing NJ whole apiary of four colo
In an apiary q 50 sc4oEies | raised 20 queens
from one veTy Eise breeding queen. and foand
the results Unsatisfactory. majority of the
queens so rears. were Inferior to the mother,
and all seemed TO have sad quality of raising
n swarmiug race kdt w6s this fact due to the
breeding queen2 Candidly, l do not think the
trouble lay es-ZsSg there. i do think that II
the queens had beeg reared at some other time
| than in the s,ssTniias Geason the results would
| have been diGefent Perhaps they would not
have been entirely satisfactory, but / believe
| that the swe-zning mania would have been re-
duced, and iSeEeb5 the colonies produced
might have been greatly improved.
/ shall suppose that the querist IS honey
| producer / have no use for; handsome, but
| lazy; yellev ssEds but honey in honey
| bee. The ease with which pretty bees can be
| raised leaves 60 cxcuse for me to give dlrec-
! tions for theit propagation. l desire bee for
| honey -gatheiizr Qualities. and can heartily IN
dorse the scale OF marking for the Italian bee,
| as given by Une committee OF the N. A. b. K. A.
| last Winter ct Albany, except l would give
| honey-patheriag Al to color one. / do not be-
| lieve color to be valued at five points in pos
sible 100. The schedule of marking as adopted
| by the N. r. B. K. A. is: Comb building, 10;
wntering, "a; honey gathering, 40; gentle
| ness, 10; prSlifcnesS, 20; color, D.
| To the comb honey producer the comb-buiid-
| ing quality in the bees is certainly worth con-
| sidering and he should ever try to perpetuate
| that strain which possesses this quality. To
| the Northern beekeepcr wintering is of some
| Importance. and justly was given third import
| ance in the scale of marking. Gentleness is of
| some Importance. 1t has TO do with the COM
| fort of the apiarist. Prolifcness is necessary,
| as without large number of bees honey cam
| not be gathered and this is the point on which
| the profit largely depends. | have seen a
| colony of handsome, gentle bees, the progeny
| of prolific queen, but worthless. have also
seen colony of inferior looking irritable bees
that wintered we'll and gathered large qUanti-
ties of honey.
Our object should be to eliminate the poor
and retain the good qualities in our bees. Thus,
to return to and answer the questions at the
head of this, L would say that owing to the
difficulty in finding a perfect colony in any
yard | should only use certain queen to a
limited extent. Perhaps it would be safe to
raise one-tenth of ali queens in the apiary from
one mother.
In au apiary of 80 colonies believe We
should breed from the five best queens.
queen will transmit to her progeny certain
traits; hence to certainly improve our stock
We must use Judgment in selecting and breed
ing, and as there is danger I'D too sudden
changes I would not advise the use of any one
queen IS a breeder to srch an extent as to ex-
clude others that might prove to be better
The american Farmer.
NOTES.
We hear so much at the present time about
~ bno-what he will he how he will