1882 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



549 



honey - flow, no extremes of weather are 

 wanted. 



CONNECTICUT — 11. L. ,71 FFBEY. 



The fall forage for 1S81 was not ijuite up to that of 

 1880. A great many stocks went into winter quar- 

 ters with light stores, though strong in bees. The 

 latter part of September was very pleasant. Th* 

 month of October, bees tl(>w about half the time. 

 During November, bees were very quiet, unless in 

 sheltered places, until the ^i'.ith and oOth, when they 

 tlow almost as in summer, to be again shut in until 

 December 20. Those in sheltered localities flew 

 enough to keep them healthy, when there was an- 

 other general shut-in until March 2d, when there 

 was a general fly, and again on the 5th, but not so 

 strong. On the 23d there was a good tlying-out, and 

 no more generally good weather till the last week 

 In May, though in extra sheltered places bees came 

 out a little. 



Apple bloom was only patchy, and more the ex- 

 ception than the rule, liaspberries were fair, and 

 worked on considerably. 



HONEY FHOM WILLOW. 



In the northwest part of the State I found a variety 

 of willow that is new to rae (the spikes are a canary 

 yellow, about 2 in. long, sometimes longer) that 

 holds its bloom from two to three weeks. The wood 

 is very brittle. The flowers possess only stamens; 

 the cup of the flower contains a drop of honey, as 

 large as a medium-size pinhead, light amber color, 

 the consistency of basswood, and of good flavor. I 

 consider it as good as goldenrod, if not better. The 

 bees work steadily on it, and are very good natured, 

 even hybrids being (juite docile. One good stock of 

 bees having 7 combs were given three more empty 

 combs, and they filled and capped them in one week. 

 The same stock boxed about 20 lbs. besides, of clear 

 willow honey. It was the onlj^ stock tried, Dut all 

 the others in the same locality did equally well, con- 

 sidering their chance. I have been through over 

 one-half of th3 State, and I never saw but few of the 

 same kind of willows, and then but solitarj' bushes 

 always covered with bees. 



White clover showed itself in favorable patches 

 June 7, and was in general bloom by the 1.5th; but 

 the general lightness of the stocks, caused by the 

 late spring, made but little surplus honey from 

 white clover. 



Basswood was a medium bloom in a few places, 

 though the majority of the trees did not show a sin- 

 gle flower. 



Sumac bloomed uncommonly heavy, and the flow- 

 ers Avere dripping with honey, but of short duration, 

 caused by the drought. 



Buckwheat was a failure, as a rule, though excep- 

 tional pieces on wet land yielded honey abundantly. 



The early fall-forage plants being dried up, there 

 has been but little honey gathered since sumac; but 

 the past three weeks of showers have made vegeta- 

 tion again look green, which, with some warm 

 weather, may give us an ample late supply for win- 

 ter. Brood in the hives is a scarcity, and stocks are 

 generally quite weak. 



At the New Milford Agricultural Fair, Sept. 30, 

 through the untiring efforts of Mr. Wm. L. Burgess, 

 of West Morris, Conn., the nucleus of a State bee- 

 keepers' society was formed, with Mr. Burgess the 

 elected President. He is very enthusiastic and en- 

 ergetic in the cause. 



If I remember rightly, at the last annual meeting 

 of the N. A. B. K. S., a resolution was passed to 



make the presidents of the State societies the vice- 

 presidents of the National Society; therefore, be- 

 fore I vacate to my worthy successor, I would otfer 

 as a resolution. That the National Society request all 

 the editors of the several bee papers to send a list of 

 their subscribers to the vice-presidents of the differ- 

 ent States, thereby placing the vice-president in 

 possession of a means of obtaining a general and 

 more correct knowledge of the exact apiarian condi- 

 tion of his State, making his report more valuable 

 and informative. [I heartily concur.— Ed. Gl.] 



As nearly as I have been able to ascertain, Con- 

 necticut contains about 80,000 stocks of bees, of 

 which 95 per cent are still kept in box hives, half- 

 barrels, nail-kegs, and the like patent dcvicen of the 

 fogy style. 



Of the number of stocks heard of, not over two- 

 thirds will have a supply of stores sufficient for win- 

 tering. 



Woodbury, Conn., Sept. 30, 1882. 



MAINE — J. A. MORTON. 



County 



Ariicistook 



Aiidruscoggin , 



PfiKibscot 



Waldo 



Sonirrset 



Fiankliii 



Oxford 



Cumbeiland... 

 Sagadahoc 



1(H)0 

 KKK) 

 800 

 1200 

 lOOfl 

 500 

 5.50 



1.50 



To the officers and members of the N. A. B. K. S. 

 in their thirteenth annual convention, this imperfect 

 report is respectfully submitted. 



Nine of the best counties give over 10,000 colonies 

 at the beginning of winter, 1,S81, of which more than 

 30 per cent died during the winter from starving, 

 freezing, smothering, and various other causes too 

 numei-ous to mention. Nine-tenths were in box 

 hives, and about the same proportion were black 

 bees; the rest were in improved hives of various de- 

 signs, mostly with movable frames, of all sizes, from 

 7x9 to 9x18. 



Nearly all the box hives are arranged to receive 

 sections for surplus over the brood-nest. This is es- 

 pecially the case in Aroostook County, where the 

 colonies number nearly 3000, and produce 20,600 lbs. 

 of box honey at 20 cts. per pound. These ai-e all 

 black bees in box hives, and nearly everyone winter- 

 ed in cellars or special receptacles. 



In Penobscot and other eastern counties, there are 

 a few Italians; also in Kennebec, which is a good 

 county for bees. Many of the bee-keepers bought 

 quite freely out of the State, thus increasing their 

 stock, and these were nearly all Italians In movable- 

 frame hives. 



About one-half of the bees in the State are winter- 

 ed on their summer stands, with slight protection. 

 There are, so far as I could ascertain, but few chaff 

 hives. Most of those dying which were wintered in 

 cellars or warm rooms, die from spring dwindling, 

 caused, as many think, by the sudden and severe 

 changes of temperature to which they are subjected. 

 The winter of 1.S81 was a hard one; spring of 1882 

 was late, cold, and changeable. Bees came through 

 very weak; many had to be fed, or died before they 

 could gather any honey. Along the northern and 

 northeastern counties, the midsummer harvest was 

 quite good; but along the seashore and southwest 

 portion of the State the drought was too severe for 



