River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1904-01-07
TRAFFIC III QUEEN BEES.
Winged Workers Raised I'm the soWth
and West Sold by New York
Dealers.

OF the many orders for queer things re-
ceived by New York exporters from
various quarters of the globe, perhaps
none is more interesting than an occa-
sional request for queen bees. Such or
ders come principally from the West
Indies, and inasmuch as the commits
sion merchant is generally called upon
to handle the honey and wax produced
there by the progeny of these insects,
he finds safe business investment in
shipping the bees, even though they
form no source of profit - themselves,
says the New York Post
Queen bees are reared in the west and
south, in the districts where clover is
abundant, and the industry is by no
means insignificant Ohio is a large
breeding center There is one firm in
Medina which has 900 colonies devoted
to the rearing of high-class honey
queens, besides a factory in which are
manufactured the hundred and one
things used by the up-to-date bee
keeper.
There are many grades of queen bees,
and the breeder must thoroughly un-
derstand the highly organized insects
if he expects TO produce vigorous,
healthy stock that can be depended on
to gather honey in large quantities. To
this end he selects for mothers none but
honey queens Casually imported)-
queens whose progeny have eXcelled all
others i'll the apiary. In placing his or
der the buyer is requested to specify
whether he desires red clover" or a
honey" queen. The first mentioned
stock is bred for red clover, while the
last named will show UP well during an
ordinary honey flow from clover, bass
wood and other flowers The prices
vary according to the grades. An I'M
tested queen costs one dollar tested
queen two dollars, aud those called Sc
lect tested three dollars Breeding
queens and select breeding queens bring
five dollars and $3.50. respectively, and
an extra select" one year old, is worth
$40. Imported Italian queens, furnished
by the best breeders of that country, are
the ones usually sent TO the West Indies,
and they are thoroughly tested in the
cost from three to five dollars each, but
common Italian queens. bred in this
country from pure impoIted stock, can
be bought at lower figures.
Bees canont be supplied before May Is
nor later than November Is. They
travel in certain amount of luxury, be-
ing shipped in ventilated boxes, contain
ing one or more roomy apartments, and
the postage to all parts of the United
States and Canada is one cent. All the
cages, as they are called, are provisioned
with special bee candy, SO that the
! queen may never go hungry, and the
export cages, in addition, with a small
portion of sealed honey. The honey and
| the prepared food make satisfactory
! combination, and so to rs per cent. of the
queens are delivered alive no matter
what length the journey may be. Bees
| for export travel in cages larger than
the ordinary size, and come to New York
through the mails or by express, after
ward going to their West Indian desti-
nation, not in a mailbag, but under the
care OF the steamers purser. The cages
are marked Queen bee! Deliver
quick!" and postmen, eXpressmen and
ships officers follow the instructions
! faithfully.
Cuba, Jamaica and Santo Domingo
are the islands to which the greatest
number of queens are sent and it "a
from there that New York receives the
bulk of it's imported honey. Last year
more than $4,000 packages-tierces, bar
rels and tins-were received here, and
as a tierce will hold 100 gallons, a bar
rel so and tin something less than 20
gallons, 1t may be seen that the merchant
is amply repaid for the trouble he takes
in supplying the orders for queens.
There are various grades Of imported
honey, the quality depending on the
kind of flowers from which it is extract
ed. Where bees feed on the flowers of
the tobacco plant, honey is dark, and
contains a slight favor of tobacco, but
in some parts Of Cuba the apiarist grows
fields Of q certain flower-producing
plants, and from these the tiny workers
extract an excellent strip. All OF 1T,
however, contains dead bees and other
foreign matter, and must be clarified
after it's arrival. It goes through the
hands of the broker here to large grocery
houses, jobbers and confectioners, and
when the New York market is full the
surplus is shipped in bond to Germany
and Holland, as these countries consume
even more per capita than the United
States. In Germany "honey cakes" are
well-known article of food, while in
Holland honey often takes the place OF
butter among the poorer classes.
Forgot Himself.