GLEAN l\f;s IN BEIC Ct'LTlliP: 



Jan. 



.-.TiO lbs., makiiis- 300 lbs. in all. Started with black 

 bees in .sprinj!-; bought !} Italian queens, and made 

 artilleial swarms with tliem. lam awai-o that my 

 report will look like small potatoes, and few in a 

 hill, l.isiile most of the repoi'ts from Texas, and I 

 shall try hard to do better ne.\t year, although I 

 Think T have a poor ^location. AVe did not have anj- 

 rahi to do any good from June to October. 



G. W. E. Kkm.kv. 

 TaiiMlewood. Lee ( '<>., Te.vas, Dec. :i~, 1HS4. 



t'KO.M 71 TO n.">. .\S1> .")50!) I.BS OV HO.NEV. 



I eoinmenced the 'season with 71 colonies, half 

 good, the rest below par, having sold most of my 

 best colonies. I made ~'500 lbs. of white-elovcr hon- 

 • •y in one-pound sections, and 3000 lbs. of extracted 

 basswood and white clover; comb honey all sold at 

 15 to 17 cts. per lb., extracted going oil' at 8 to VI cts. 

 I increased to 17.') colonies reduced down to 14(1 by 

 imlf hig all colonies with old queens to colonies with 

 young prolilic'queens. I put 130 colonies into cellar 

 N'ov.r.'i. weather being three degrees below zero: 

 chair |)acked ten colonies on summer stands. 



Wm. Adpenhrookk. 



.N'orth Prairie, Wis., Dec. S, 1884. 



It seems to me. friend A., vou oiio-ht to 

 lie .satisfied, and it seems to "me. too. tliat 

 Wisconsin does ^- pan out" " prettv well tliis 

 (generally speaking- 1 bad season. 



.V PRETTV FAIK KKl'OKT, "CONSIDKUINCJ. " 



.\s Others are sending in reports, good and bad, 

 some even worse than mine, I will let you have my 

 first year's experience in apicultui-e. I commenced 

 in July, ]88;j, with 'one colony in a boot-box, for 

 w hich colony T jjaid .S3.00. They were black" and 

 cross. I transferred them'a few days after getting 

 iliem home, into a Simplicity hive, then bought a 

 H'sted Italian <iiieen of Dr. (irilHth, tor the sum of 

 .■<:.'.00; that changed the color and also the temper of 

 that colony. One colony did not satisfy me, how- 

 (■\(T. so I bought all the^bees for sale n(>ar mo, until 

 I had t:.". colonics. Among them were several colo- 

 ciies.'ol blacks; but most were Italians. Several 

 were as good as 1 ever saw. I took two colonies to 

 the Helleville Fair and was awarded first i)remium. 

 I ha\ (■ now almost got through Italianizing, and 

 want no more blacks. The honey crop was i-ather 

 >hort this past season, but I can not conii.lain, as 

 several of my best colonics gave me from KIO to 2O0 

 11>S. surplus," which was th<' result of early spring 

 feeding, having the brood-chamber crowd..] with 

 bees at the approach of white-clover bloom. 



A WOIU) l.\ K.WUK OF NO SKf.VH.VTOIiS. 



My; tli'st year's e.vpcriencc with sections il.ir I 

 worked otdy for comb honey) leads me to the con- 

 clusion that jfriend Hutciiinson knows what he is 

 liilkiiig about wh.'u he says that separators can be 

 clispeiiscd;>itli. I used them [in 20 hives, with the 

 poorest result. Those without separators went to 

 work tlr.et, and Unishcd their work best. Uees ai-e 

 alljrighl up to date. W. M. Ib.ss. (!.->. '-(i. 



I.eliauon, Ills.. Dec. 24. Is8l. 



Friend K., you did spleudidix, especially 

 considerin.u' the risk von ran ili u'oiiio- in .so 

 iK'avily the lirst season. And jil)\v let me 

 advise, or. ratlicr. caution von. thai it vou 

 do not look out you will liave trouble liext 

 season. If you succeed in wiideriiiu' well. I 

 shoidd say it will U' safer for vou to work 

 tor lioue> . iiud not continue to increase very 

 much, until vou uct a little older in the busf- 

 ness. 



DON'T know but I am a candidate for Blasted 

 [ Hopes .just now. What beesi have (now united 

 down to 4 swarms) I look from a man who owed 

 me ^12.00, because I knew if 1 didn't take them 

 1 would never get any thing; and for lack of 

 means to feed and care for them in-oi)erly, I sup- 

 pose they will die this winter. That isn't the worst 

 feature of my "JJlasted Hopishness," however. 

 Over a year ago I had sulhcient contidence in his 

 I honor to indorse notes with him to the atnount f>f 

 I abotit :?150. 1 have already had to pay J^IO of it, and 

 I expect to have to pay the rest; and as I already had 

 I a prettj- good load of debts of my own, 1 don't know 

 but it will "snmsh" me. What makes me especial- 

 i ly provoked with him is the fact, that although he 

 i can not pay a cent he can and ilocs buy and chew 

 nearly a dollar's worth of the very highest-priced 

 tobacco every week, even if liis children have to go 

 I destitute of necessary clothing, etc. Brother Root, 

 go on in your good work against the abomlimble 

 .stuff. I am not as good a Christian as you are; and 

 sometimes when I think of such things I lose some 

 temi)er, an<l say hard words. Don't i)i-int this, friend 

 K..at least not with my name or address. I suppose 

 |)robably it is foolish to write smy thing about it: 

 biU you always seem to be ."jo friendly to evcrybod> 

 that it seems like talkin.ff to an old acquaintance. 



X. y. /. 



Friend X. Y. Z.. do not set Idiie over your 

 ' misfortunes. There is a moral to yonr story 

 that may do somebody else some "<>••>"''. it' it 

 , does not help you an> ; and the moral is. to 

 j stand on yoin- own feet. Xever ask anyl»ody 

 I to indorse with you, if it is a possible Ihin^' 

 to avoid it. and then you never need indorse 

 with aiiyltody else, if any of yoni- friends 

 feel liurt, and take offense Itecaiise \()u re- 

 fuse to do such a favor for litem, they are 

 not real true friends. A'ery likely, sooner 

 : or later they will be .ulad you did "refuse to 

 I accommodate them. i)on"l ever let such a 

 I thouc:ht enter your head aslieins" smashed." 

 ! I am fully convinced that people sonu4imes 

 1 flive up. "and let things uo. -when resolute 

 lioldijiu-on would ])ut theui in jjood shape. 

 Xow. Just mind what 1 say, will you V Let 

 this ))e a jessiui for >ou. llut do not ii'ive ui> 

 one l)it. 



SOMKTUINO AliOCT TUK ItKASOX WHV WK DO NOT 



(;i;t .iw MoHK than wk no. 



'I'oda.N, on Thanksgiving-day, I feel inclined to 

 think more about Blasted Hopes than :ibout thanks, 

 as the season around here can be called a poor ou<'. 

 I began the season with 18 cf>lonics, and had l.'> 

 swarms, so that 1 have now IK! colonies. These gave 

 me :!.")4 lbs. comb honey, and V)0 lbs. extracted. I 

 don't think many bee-keejH'rs from this part of 

 the couiiti-.v will report, as the honcy-croj> is a very 

 small n\-.r. .\ while ago I had a talk with a stran- 

 ger, whom I hai'Pened to meet, and who claimed to 

 bi- a liee-kccper with 80 colonies. While talking I 

 asked him if he rei)ortC(I hi..< honey cro).: belaid, 



" No, sir, 1 won't." 



liu|uiring more, he replied: 



" Vcs. if it had been a good year 1 would have ro- 

 i ported: b>U if 1 look at tlu' bec-impcrs, and find 

 • that .«ome who had a larg<> crop say that they had so 

 and so many years' experience, and they had man- 

 aged so as to have much surplu«: meaning that, on 



