786 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct 



THE HONEY;' CROP A FAILURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



The hone^crop on the Pacific coast is very light 

 this yeaanri this locality. Bees are doing very well, 

 fng mostly on alfalfa and sunflower. I have 

 "about 200 stands, some of which have done almosi 

 nothing, while others have done well. One colony 

 has put up 2«i pounds of comb honey for the sea- 

 son, up to date. J. G. Oilstrap. 

 Lemoore, Cal., Sept. 3, 1889. 



SEASON POOR. 



The season here has been a very poor one for 

 honey— very wet and cool weather during June and 

 July. We are now having quite a yield from buck- 

 wheat, and may get our unfinished sections filled 

 with that and goldenrod. Quei ns in nuclei stopped 

 laying for about ten days the early part of August, 

 but are now laying finely again. I never sold (re- 

 tailed* so much honey before in August. Cause, 

 high sugar and scarcity of small fruits. 



Albion, N. Y., Aug. 26, 1889. G. H. Ashbv. 



You make a good point in your conclud- 

 ing sentence. The high price of sugar is 

 doing very much to give the bee-keepers a 

 better price for their products. Truly, it is 

 an ill wird that blows nobody good. 



A REPORT FROM ARIZONA. 



Up to present time the present season has been a 

 rather poor one for honey. Bees are generally at 

 work in February; but this season, on account of 

 cool nights our bees did but very little until the 

 middle of June; and owing to the water for irriga- 

 tion failing, it soon became very dry. Our bees 

 have done but very little since July 15. We have 

 taken only 420 gallons from 85 colonies; but as the 

 season is very long here, and we sometimes ex- 

 tract as late as the latter part of November, we can 

 not tell how things will be by that time. We sell 

 our honey at home for $1.00 per gallon, or $4.00 for 

 a five-gallon can. Annie M. Skinner. 



Mesa City, Maricopa Co., A. T., Aug. 22, 1889. 



Why, it seems to me, my good friend, that 

 if your honey is nice you have got the price 

 very low ; if it is as thick as we usually of- 

 fer it, it would be only 8 cts. a pound at re- 

 tail. So the amount of honey in your arid 

 region does depend largely upon irrigation. 



A DISCOURAGED SISTEK. 



Two years ago last spring I bought a hive of bees, 

 and thought it would be just fun to watch them 

 " work for nothing and board themselves." I sent 

 away for supplies and literature, and studied bee 

 culture all of that summer. They did very well, 

 and in the fall I had three hives, with plenty of 

 honey for them all winter. I put them into winter 

 quarters in the most approved manner, as I sup- 

 posed, but in the spring they were all dead, with 

 plenty of honey in each hive. 1 was so discouraged 

 at the loss of my pets that I have not tried again. 

 Mrs. H. A. D. Westover. 



David City, Neb., Aug. 24. 1889. 



Why, my good friend, you have no reason 

 at all to be discouraged. Was not the hon- 

 ey you had left worth nearly what the ex- 

 periment cost you — especially if you in 

 your figures estimate the " fun " for what it 

 was worth ? Very likely, in Nebraska you 

 will need to winter in the cellar. Get some 



more bees, and fill your empty hives, and 

 you can surely master the matter of winter- 

 ing, by the help of the ample directions 

 given by our able writers. 



Bees are going for the buckwheat, with a grand 

 rush. It has started the swarming fever. 

 Tidal, Pa., Aug. 23, 1889. S. Heath. 



My honey crop is about 22,000 lbs. comb, and 3000 

 lbs. extracted, from 185 colonies, spring count; in- 

 creased to 275. C. Theilmann. 



Tbeilmanton, Minn., Sept. 16, 1889. 



FROM 3 TO 13, AND 150 LBS. OF HONEY. 



I commenced the season with 3 hives of bees. I 

 transferred and increased to 13 colonies. The bee- 

 keepers in this section of the country will remem- 

 ber this one for the large rainstorms we have had. 

 1 shall have about 150 pounds of surplus honey, 

 leaving my bees with good supply to winter on. 



Arden, N. Y., Sept. 18, 1889. J. G. Earl. 



bees doing splendid. 



Bees are doing splendid in this part of Canada. 

 They are working on buckwheat. As I saw that 

 they were very busy to-day I started toward the 

 hives to see what they were working on, and 1 did 

 not have to open the hive, for I could smell it at 

 quite a distance. There is quite a number who 

 have a few colonies, and I let these have Glean- 

 ings to read, and they get a good lot of informa- 

 tion out of it, so I think next year they will take it 

 for themselves. Thos. J. Smith. 



Aylraer, Ont., Can., Aug. 14, 1889. 



BEES HAVE DONE WELL. 



Bees in this immediate vicinity have done quite 

 well, notwithstanding the wet season; but it may- 

 be owing to there not being any large apiaries. I 

 understand they have not done as well in Addison 

 Co., where the large apiaries are. 1 have ripened 

 some of the Ignotuni tomatoes from the seeds you 

 gave me, and they are smooth and nice— not quite 

 so early, seemingly, as the Mikado, but a better 

 habit of growth—not so sprawling. A. A. Lewis. 



Waterbury, Vt., Aug. 19, 1889. 



FROM 60 TO 130, AND 4000 LBS. OF HONEY. 



I commenced the season with 60 colonies, mostly 

 in good condition. I lost only two through the win- 

 ter. I divided about half by artificial swarming, 

 while they were workiog on dandelion, which did 

 not furnish as much honey as in some years. Clo- 

 ver was a little late in coming on. I do not think 

 my apiary would have averaged 5 lbs. of honey per 

 colony when the clover commenced yielding honey. 

 I had to feed some colonies to prevent starvation; 

 but when tbey did commence gathering honey it 

 came in with a rush. The combs being empty, the 

 queen filled every thing with brood, which caused 

 an abundance of swarming. I never had such a 

 time with swarming. I was not expecting it, and 

 not prepared, so I had to do the best I could. Every 

 thing swarmed until I increased to 133, and had 

 some 20 that left for parts unknown. I have taken 

 from several new swarms, after filling the hive, 75 

 sections of comb honey up to date. I have taken, 

 altogether, 4000 lbs.— 1000 comb, and 3000 extracted. 



New Sharon, la., Sept. 3, 1889. Geo. BriQGS, 



