594 



gleani:ngs in bee cultuue. 



Aug. 



this absence of honey ? I should like to hear 

 friends Koot and Cook theorize on this subject. 

 Should we not be able to remedy the difficulty, it 

 would at least be a satisfaction to know the cause. 

 During the height of our clover bloom, when hill 

 and valley were robed in white, bees were in a 

 starving condition, and no nectar whatever coming 

 in. To say that 1 am discouraged is not the fact in 

 the case. I shall ever keep the guiding star of 

 hope in view, believing it to be " an evil wind that 

 blows no man good; " and though misfortunes 

 come, we must make the best of circumstances, 

 and wield them to our own good. 



Spring, III., July -1, 18SV. .1. M. Hamhaugh. 



Friend II., so far as I am concerned I can 

 not even suggest the leason why there 

 should have been little or no lioney in the 

 white-clover bloom this year, and this, too, 

 over such a vast expanse of country. It 

 was not there, and that is all we know aboitt 

 it. Tlie same thing has happened before; 

 but never befor;^ has it been so general, the 

 country over. It seems to me it is like in- 

 quiring why it rains som-.^times and does not 

 at others ; that is, so far as 7 can see it is a 

 matter entirely beyond our control. 



Bli^^TED p0PEg. 



NO BREAD AND BUTTER AND HONEY, THIS YEAR. 



fES, we have it terribly— never had it before. 

 We can truly sympathize with those who 

 have had a like experience. We started out 

 in the spring with 48 swarms, all in good 

 shape; yes, ihey were booming, and our 

 prospects were bright. They were arranged in 

 four rows in the apiary, seven feet apart each 

 way. They looked nice in their little white cottage- 

 roofed houses— were admired and gazed at by all 

 who passed. I was proud of them. I was, for a 

 fact, and here may be the cause of my present con- 

 dition. As the season advanced, the drought came 

 with a relentless grip. Th^e hot sun soon used up 

 what little white clover escaped the severe winter, 

 and, in fact, ail other tlowers. As a result, to date. 

 I have not a single new swarm nor a pound of sur- 

 plus honey; and as I look over the apiary this 

 morning there are three vacant places, and many 

 more must follow soon. It is truly sad, thus to part 

 with ray little friends; but sadder still the pleading 

 of my little grandchildren, Beth and Joe, who 

 beseechingly plead, " (Jrandpa, we want some bread 

 a' butte' honey," and I am powerless to give the 

 honey. It was never so before. 



But I am not alone. Others in this vicinity are in 

 the same condition. Those who were near the 

 linn had a slight show. We are not thus located. 

 The prospect for fall Howers is exceedingly slim. 

 We have not had a good rain since May, 1886. But 

 T am bound to take u]) with friend Hutchinson's 

 advice — " keep a stiff upper lip." J. Swift. 



State Center, la., July 18, 1887. 

 We like the ring of your words, friend 

 Swift, even tliough they do sound forth 

 Blasted Hopes. We sincerely hope and be- 

 lieve that yon will " keep a stitt' upper li)*," 

 and that in another year grandpa may be 

 enabled to sweeten the months of the dear 

 little ones with '' bread a' butte' luniev." 



NOT ONE POUND OF HONEY. 



At last I must go into Blasted Hopes. The 

 drought in this part of Wisconsin has killed the 

 clover, root and branch, so that our great honey 

 crop from white clover, beginning June 1st, lasting 

 40 days, is an entire failure. Bees bred up strong 

 on raspberries, but no swarming. I do not think 

 there is one pound of honey to the hive in my yard, 

 as we never have any fall yield here. I can not see 

 any possible chance to save even one single swarm 

 from extermination. There will not be one pound 

 of surplus raised in this vicinity. E. A. Morgan. 



Columbus. Col. Co., Wis., June 30, 188T. 



THE BEST SEASON. 



fHIS has been the best season we have had in 

 ■ a long time, but the bees have swarmed too 

 much. I presume I have had 300 swarms. 

 Most of the first swarms have sent off from 

 one to three. It has been a continual How of 

 honey since spring. If I could keep my bees from 

 swarming I could made piles of honey. I shall 

 make, or shall have made, about 6000 lbs., mostly in 

 sections, 3 x 3— a little less than a pound, for which 

 I expect to get from five to six cents above the 

 market price of one-pound sections, or, at least, I 

 have years before. C. M. Lincoln. 



Rupert, Vt., July 30, 1887. 



ANOTHER STORY FR(JM REAL LIFE. 

 CHAPTER I.— .JUNE 15. 



You say you want reports discouraging. I will 

 give you one that takes the lead of them all. Last 

 fall I had five swarms, and now I have none. My 

 last one died the 14tfi of this month, from the want 

 of stores. Bees are not making their living here 

 now. 



CH.\PTER II. — .JULY 1.5. 



Bees are doing well. The.v are making lots of hon- 

 ey here now. The nth of July there was a swarm 

 came from some other place, and went into one of 

 my hives that had bees in last year. They are do 

 ing nicely. C. H. Stewart. 



Altona, Col. 



DOING THEIR DUTY. 



Bees in this locality are doing their duty, gather- 

 ing the sweets. This spring I transferred ten col- 

 onies from the old-fashioned hive to a hive that 

 suits me some better. They have the lower part all 

 tilled snug and. good, and ai-e at work now tilling 

 the sections, which consist of 15 I-lb. sections on 

 each stand. Basswood is just in full bloom, and a 

 good prospect for a large yield of honey. I have 

 alsike clover sown, 4 or 5 acres. I also have buck- 

 wheat in full bloom. S. B. Tedrow. 



Caledonia, O., July 3, 1887. 



NO cause FOR COMPLAINT. 



There is no surplus from white clover, but we 

 have had a good start in sections from alsike. Bass- 

 wood is in full bloom, but the crop, I think, will be 

 short. Teasels so far have not been touched. They 

 will be in full bloom as basswood closes, and will 

 give us at least 10 days additional. If it were not 

 for this I fear 1 should be left with many partly 

 tilled sections. Taking the season as a whole, there 

 is no cause for complaint. C. M. Goodspeed, 



Thorn Hill, N. V., July H, IS*^"- 



