# Better Queens by Jay Smith



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Here's the full text of the book:

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesbetterqueens.htm


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

Thanks Michael....... Looks very good.

Is it OK to print it???


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

As far as I can find out the copyright ran out a long time ago. But I will be trying to get the pictures and illustrations scanned later.


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## tecumseh (Apr 26, 2005)

a essential additon to anyone's knowledge that might wish to raise queens....

mucho thanko mr bush...


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## sierrabees (Jul 7, 2006)

I remember reading about this system a long time ago but this is the first time I have seen a thorough description. I love his writing style. I've saved the whole thing on my computer. Thanks.


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## drobbins (Jun 1, 2005)

Thanks Michael

A very easy and informative read
I'm gonna try it next year

Dave


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## Beemeister (Jun 26, 2006)

Thank you Michael!

I've been trying to locate a copy of that book for a couple of weeks now without any success. Thanks so much for sharing it. This is like Christmas in November! A couple of days ago I managed to find a copy of Queen Rearing Simplified and am anxiously awaiting it's arrival.

Thanks again Michael.

Tim


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## George Fergusson (May 19, 2005)

We just get further and further in your debt Michael. Can't wait for the pictures









George-


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## swarm_trapper (Jun 19, 2003)

excelent book thanks mike! is there any place to buy it in print?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>is there any place to buy it in print?

If there was, I wouldn't have spent three days typing it in. My hands still hurt.


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## sierrabees (Jul 7, 2006)

I wish we could all go out to Nebraska and lend some hands so you could rest yours after what you've done for us.


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## Chef Isaac (Jul 26, 2004)

I am reading it right now.... i had to con my wife into letting me buy more printer paper


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## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

I have a highend scanner. There is no need to type it


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## kensfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

I printed it out yesterday and started reading it last night.. thankyou!!


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## MGBee (May 25, 2004)

Thank You, Michael!

Regards,
Miles


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## balhanapi (Aug 22, 2006)

Thats a lot of effort Michael! Typing for three days!! 

Let me know if I can be of any help 

I have saved the book I'l read it on a priority basis.
Really appreciate that ..
Thanks


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## Chef Isaac (Jul 26, 2004)

I havent read his method yet....havent gottan that far but when Mr. Smith said that grafting does not produce quality queens, I think about the quality of queens from Ol Sol, Purvis brothers, Honey run Apiaries, and Kona.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I havent read his method yet....havent gottan that far but when Mr. Smith said that grafting does not produce quality queens, I think about the quality of queens from Ol Sol, Purvis brothers, Honey run Apiaries, and Kona.

Jay Smith Literally "wrote the book" on grafting. He probably grafted more queens than anyone in history and probably advised more people on grafting than anyone. But he was always looking for "Better Queens". His "Queen Rearing Simplified" is one of the more quoted books on the grafting method. Someday, maybe I'll get time to type that one in...


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## Chef Isaac (Jul 26, 2004)

I cant wait until the pictures.... i am a picture guy!!!!


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## Hillside (Jul 12, 2004)

Michael types it in and everyone prints it back out. That just doesn't seem right. So, in an effort to save a tree or two, I converted the text to Palm Reader format for anyone who has a Palm device and wants to carry the book around.

You can grab it here. 

www.hillsidegreenhouse.com/bees/

I didn't do any formatting, but it displays pretty well as is.

Even though the screen on a Palm is small, I use the Palm Reader a lot. I can carry around a dozen books and not hurt my back.


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## Fusion_power (Jan 14, 2005)

I read through this book and surprisingly enough, didn't find that much to get excited about. The basis of his method is non-grafting, using large quantities of bees to start and finish the cells, and feeding of honey rather than sugar syrup.

What I would add today is use of collected pollen to enhance the nutritional status of the starters and finishers.

It is a very good book to read but there are other queen breeding books that should be considered.

The small scale queen breeder will have difficulty adapting some of the methods because they are set up for raising large numbers of queens.

Fusion


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## Chef Isaac (Jul 26, 2004)

Looks like, and I have only gottan through about half the book, that he is suggesting using the "punching" method of queen rearing were you cut up some cells and place them on a frame with no grafting.


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## mwjohnson (Nov 19, 2004)

Yes,I think George said it best,we get further and further in your debt.

I am trying to understand the wood frames...?

Also,was Mr. Smith using hives with frames that ran the "warm" way? That is the only way I can see to create a front and rear compartment?

Mr.Smith's enthusiasm IS contagious,isn't it?

Thanks again Mr. Bee


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I read through this book and surprisingly enough, didn't find that much to get excited about. The basis of his method is non-grafting, using large quantities of bees to start and finish the cells, and feeding of honey rather than sugar syrup.

His goal is the "best possible queens". His previous book, "Queen Rearing Simplified", which I hope someday to put online as well, was for many years "the" book on grafting. If you want to make a lot of good queens, it's a good book

>It is a very good book to read but there are other queen breeding books that should be considered.

Most of which are variations on his methods in "Queen Rearing Simplified".

>The small scale queen breeder will have difficulty adapting some of the methods because they are set up for raising large numbers of queens.

True, he doesn't really talk about the little breeder until the end, but you can still do graftless queen rearing with a scaled down version of his system.

>Looks like, and I have only gottan through about half the book, that he is suggesting using the "punching" method of queen rearing were you cut up some cells and place them on a frame with no grafting.

Sort of. But he's cutting STRIPS out not, puching one cell.

>I am trying to understand the wood frames...?

He's trying to limit where the queen has to lay so she will lay in the new comb he gives her every day, and not find some other nice place to lay, while at the same time giving her and the bees some room.

>Also,was Mr. Smith using hives with frames that ran the "warm" way? That is the only way I can see to create a front and rear compartment?

He was fond of Dadant hives. I don't have the pictures handy right now, as I sent them with a friend to scan them in.

>Mr.Smith's enthusiasm IS contagious,isn't it?

I think so.

>Thanks again Mr. Bee

You're welcome.


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## Albert (Nov 12, 2006)

Mr.Bush,
Thanks for the info. Saved the book to disc and printed out. Got to this forum on your account too!

Thanks Again, Albert


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I have added the pictures to the book.


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## BWrangler (Aug 14, 2002)

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the info. There's lots of stuff in this little book that would take a queen producer decades to discover. At least it took me that long :>)

And yep, the bees will always make the best queen possible with the resources available. A queen producer, who understands this, will be way ahead of the crowd when he works with his bees instead of the other way around.

Grafting techniques can still be used to maximize very early larva feeding. It requires using a Chinese grafting tool. With it, a larva can be grafted as soon as the egg bends over and the bees supply the very first feed. It will look just like a damp spot on the bottom of the cell with the egg laying down on it. With other tools, it's impossible to consistently graft such young larva without damaging them.

But even the Chinese tool must cause some disturbance. And I'm not quite sure that the waxing, dunking, cooling, etc. of the cell strip, used with Jay's method, would cause less disturbance than using the Chinese tool. 

The best method might be something like a Hopkins method that could be done with eggs in the comb an d no disturbance to the larva at all.

I've built a tool for grafting eggs according to Steve Taber's plans. But I've only tested it on a limited basis. I got the same kind of results he did.

Regards
Dennis


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I'm planning on more work with the Hopkins method. It has the added advantage of not needing any special equipment except a shim to hold it up.

One of the nice things about a Jenter is that you can transfer them when they are so small you can't hardly see them as anything but a slight break in the smooth surface of the food AND you get all the food with the transfer.


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## Chef Isaac (Jul 26, 2004)

I agree with you about the jenter method but never liked that fact that you had to confine the queen although I am getting better at handeling the queen. I ove those queen muffs!!!


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I don't handle queens much. I use a hair clip queen catcher most of the time to catch her and put her in the Jenter box. You still have to be gentle of course, but it's easier than accidentally pushing her down too hard.

I am enjoying the queen muff a lot. I have had only one queen fly since I bought it and that was my own fault.


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## albee (Nov 16, 2006)

Thanks MB
Great book to read on a cold winter day.


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## Buzz Lightyear (Jun 7, 2006)

This work alone makes my small contribution to the site insignificant. I shall be sending a little Christmas gift to the site. Hillside, any chance of a version in isilo or mobipocket for the English?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>This work alone makes my small contribution to the site insignificant. I shall be sending a little Christmas gift to the site.

That's a great idea. I think you should. But just to clarify, the book is not on this site, as in www.beesource.com, it's on my site, as in www.bushfarms.com. Since I'm not collecting contributions, one for here would always be appreciated by all of us, I'm sure.


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## Buzz Lightyear (Jun 7, 2006)

Done. Thank you Mr. Bush and everyone who has helped me with their contributions.


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## power napper (Apr 2, 2005)

Thanks Mr Bush. It is appreciated.


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## Hillside (Jul 12, 2004)

Buzz,

I haven't had much chance to do much more than scan the forums lately so I missed your question about other reader formats. I'm sorry that I don't have software to make other formats. Maybe someone reading the forums will chime in with a solution for you.


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## Beemeister (Jun 26, 2006)

Thanks again Michael for making "Better Queens" available to all of us. 

I'm not quite clear on Jay's technique of cutting the comb into strips. What happens to the larvae on the other side of the midrib of the comb? I can't make out exactly what is happening here from the pictures. I'm guessing they are just entombed when the wax is brushed on. Is that what is happening?

Thanks 

Tim


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I'm guessing they are just entombed when the wax is brushed on. 

Yes. I usually confine the queen on one side with #5 hardware cloth so there are none on the other side. Jay, apparently, didn't like confining her.


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