216 



July, 1912. 



American ~Bae Joornal 



wet that the colonies have dwindled until 

 I have hardly any first-class colonies left, 

 and many of them have only a pint or a quart 

 of liees, when, at this time, they ought to 

 have a hive full of brood and bees. 

 Parksville. N. Y.. May 24. A. W. Smith. 



A Fine Vagrant Swarm 



I use DanzenbaUor hives and supers. The 

 lower supers of the extracting' combs are 

 moved above when full, and the empty ones 



A HiVK V\ Kl.I. I'ROTECTED KROM HOT SUN. 



put under. The colony represented is one 

 built up from a vagrant swarm captured 

 from a bee-tree. The bees are of a beauti- 

 ful yellow and the cjueen keeps 20 Dan/en- 

 baker frames so full of brood that there 

 isn't room for 10 pounds of honey in tlie two 

 hive bodies. B, G. Kleritz. 



Central Station Apiary. 



A California Description 



While visiting friends at Orange. I was in- 

 vited to accompany Mr. L. A. Korse on one 

 of his daily visits to his apiary just out of 

 the city He has 150 colonies, and runs for 

 extracted honey, as most of them do here. 

 The swarming season is on. and many 

 swarms have recently issued. An extra 

 good season comes about every 5 years, 

 wlien an extra large colony will produce 300 

 pounds of honey, and they have been known 

 to produce even more. Mr. Korse has kept 

 bees for many years, and keeps his apiary 

 free from disease. California has county 

 inspectors, and the diseases are kept under 

 control. Illinois, my home, will be wise if 

 they follow this examble. L. M. Sells. 



Pasadena. Calif.. May 21. 



Half of an Apiary of 50 Colonies Lost 



I lost one-half of my apiary of so colonies 

 during the winter. 



I am an old man 7« years old. 



I am shaking bees according to G. M. Doo- 

 littlc, and want some queens. 



Bedford. Iowa. J. H. Frr( IL 



Sage Honey Crop Short in California 



'i'he present prospects for sage honey are 

 very poor. Not 20 percent of it will blos- 

 som. The weather has been too cold. My 

 thermometer stood at 45 degrees this morn- 

 ing. .Swarming has been very light. My 

 scale hive has gained only 'A pound in two 

 weeks. I have to feed new swarms, and 

 the bees rob. These are the conditions at 

 this date here. G. K. Merriam. 



San Marcos. Calif.. May 25. 



Deceptive Honey" from 

 Tree? 



the Laurel 



In regard to the question asked of Dr. C. 

 C. Miller about deceptive honey, on page 

 117. in the April issue of the American Bee 



.journal for 1012. I will say that the honey 

 might have come from the laurel tree; there 

 is a small amount of it around here, prob- 

 ably not enough to make a difference, but 

 there is a good deal in some places, and I 

 think I have seen it stated that laurel honey 

 has quite disagreeable properties. 



Thomas Leach. .Ir. 

 Sunolglen. Calif.. May 20. 



dung with great success. Of course, it must 

 be perfectly dry. The smoke from it is 

 mild, and will hold fire much better than 

 any other substance I have ever tried. And. 

 again, it has no bad odor. Some people may 

 be prejudiced against the use of it. but if 

 they will take the pains to try it, they will 

 find it to be all right. C. L. Snider. 



Mohler. Wash.. June 7- 



Three Poor Years in North Central Texas Bees Wintered Well — Prospects Good- 



Bees have been almost a failure in north 

 central Texas for the past 3 years, owing to 

 drouth, I have moved part of my 300 colo- 

 nies of bees to Llano county, where I have 

 a better location for them; but a severe 

 drouth is on there now. with prospeets any- 

 thing but bright for a honey crop this pres- 

 ent year. 



This apiary is 65 miles from my present 

 location. We have had plenty of rain here 

 up to the present time. but we nearly always 

 have to feed the bees in this locality up to 

 the first of June. So, after this year. I will 

 be located in Llano county for a time at 

 least. L. B. Smith. 



Rescue, Tex., May 24. 



My bees have wintered fine with but few 

 losses. They are all in 2-story hives, and I 

 find that many have from one to 14 combs of 

 brood, and are doing well, although I shall 

 have to feed until alfalfa comes into bloom, 

 as there is not much else for them to get at 

 present. It has been cold and wet this 

 spring, and we had snow from Christmas 

 time until in April, with but few moderate 

 days. 



Corn planting is now on in full blast. So 

 far crops are looking well, with a good pros- 

 pect for a honey harvest. Alfalfa is nearly 

 2 feet high, and is doing tine. 



J. J. Measer. 



Hutchinson, Kans., May 18. 



Swarm Settles on Automobile 



At San Bernardino. Calif., May 1 1. a swarm 

 of bees flying in a wedge-shaped column 

 caused a havoc in one of the principal 

 streets. Automobiles and buggies collided 

 with several thousand insects, and the oc- 

 cupants beat a hasty retreat. Women took 

 refuge in stores. The swarm finally took 

 possession of an automobile belonging to 

 Mr. W. C. Leccombe. which was standing at 

 the curb, and defied the efforts of the owner 

 of the machine, who was helpless to move 

 his car for several hours Bee-experts 

 finally coaxed the honey-seekers into a box. 



Pasadena. Calif.. May 21. L. M. Sells. 



Missouri Loss Heavy Also 



I had a loss of about 20 percent. I have so 

 colonies in good shape; they are working 

 fine today. Prospects are fair for a honey 

 crop if plenty of rain. Considerable white 

 clover is just coming in bloom. It has been 

 cold and backward here. 



Avalon. Mo.. May 24, K. G. Ashbaugh. 



Not a Colony Lost 



My bees are in fine shape. I haven't lost 

 a colony up to date. J. R. Scott. 



Paris. Tex.. June 8. 



Bees Flourishing in Ohio 



Bees are doing splendidly this spring. I 

 have increased my little apiary from 5 colo- 

 nies to 10. Clover has opened in fine shape, 

 and if the weather continues favorable we 



Transferring from a Barrel to a Hive. 



as witnesses. The owner. Ned Berwick, of 

 Hearst Ave., to the right of the barrel, with 

 his hands clasped; Master John and Mr. 

 Krohliger in the rear. 



Bees are in fine shape, and ready for the 

 honey harvest. J. C, Froiiliger. 



Berkeley. Calif., April 29. 



will have a fair crop. Indications are good 

 for a flow from basswood. 

 Medina. Ohio, June t, J. C. MosGROVE. 



Clover Prospects Fine in New York 



The clover crop in northern New York 

 never looked better, with wet. rainy weather 

 all through May. My bees are in poor con- 

 ilition. but are picking up on dandelion and 

 fruit bloom. The prospects now are for a 

 large crop of honey. J. S. Dean. 



Rensselaer Kails, N. \ . May 28. 



Losses in New York One-Third 



The winter losses are a little over one- 

 third. Clover and other honey prospects 

 are good. I have about 230 fairly good colo- 

 nies now. Okki. L. Hershiser. 



Kenmore. N. Y.. June v 



llorse-Dung for Smoker-Fuel 



I noticed an article in the last issue of the 

 Bee .Journal regarding the use of cow-dung 

 for smoker-fuel. I ha\'e never used cow- 

 dung for this purpose, but I have used horse- 



Convention Notice 



The annual meeting of the New Jersey 

 Bee-Keepers' Association will be held on 

 Friday, July 12, at the apiary of Mr, Chas, H. 

 Root, at Red Bank, N, J. Program for the 

 same is being prepared. K. G. Carr. 



Sgc. tiittf Tr^as. 



