1887 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



B2o 



in'oceeding's; and wlien they settled I lit'tcil out all 

 the frames to look lor cells. I noticed two cells 

 nearly half built. It was, no doubt, a natural 

 swarm, and the bees all appeared perfectly quiet in 

 the hive until the (jueen bejran her jicepin^. for I 

 did not use any smoke to excite them. 



B. (i. LUTTKKM,. 



Luttrell, DeKalb Co., Ala., July ^'0, 18W. 



l^EP6R¥f5 Digceni^/i^iNfi. 



THE IJRV SEASON. 



f^ HE honey season here has not been a success- 

 ^ ful one, speaking- generally. We have had 

 < one of the most trying- seasons for years, 

 there being- no rain of any consequence since 

 the latter part of May. The fruit-bloom was 

 a total failure, and bees were very late in breeding- 

 up; and the exti-eme dry weather having- cut off the 

 supply of nectar from white clover and basswood, 

 it has been about all bees could do to gather enough 

 to live on thi-ough the season, and be well supplied 

 for the coming- winter. Many farmers are now 

 feeding their stock hay twice a day, and all stock 

 eat it with as much relish as they would in Decem- 

 ber. Buckwheat has not come up at all, and corn 

 will not be half a crop. It seems as though our 

 lines were cast in hard places; but we ne^er say 

 "die," but look for a better show next year, Provi- 

 idence permitting-. M. W. Shepherd. 



Rochester, O., Aug. 6, 1887. 



No honey yet— rain, rain. 

 Bethel, Vt., July 12, 18S7. 



Mrs. C. S. Davis. 



bees F.\IL,ED— 102° IN THE SHADE. 



Bees have failed in this section of country, and in 

 Kastern Illinois the weather is very dry. The tem- 

 perature was 102° in the shade for several days. 



Sylvania, Ind., July 2fi, 18HT. C. V. Lindlev. 



The season is very poor here— not more than one- 

 fourth of a crop. My bees are, however, in g-ood 

 condition. I have my 1S2 colonies (spring- count) in 

 three apiaries, and have had fifteen swarms in all. 



Edinburg, O., July 15, 1887. Chas. R. Bingham. 



liACK 2000 LBS. OF HONEY FROM LASTYEAR'S CROP. 



My .58 colonies of tiees will lack 2000 lbs. of mak- 

 ing as much honey as thej' did last year. This is 

 the worst season for honey I have ever struck since 

 1 have been keeping bees. J. K. Nichols. 



Danville, Ind., July 25, 1887. 



"WHAT HAS THE HARVEST BEEN?" 



The above heading in July 1.5th No., 1887, pages 

 .5:32 and .533, will answer for many around me. W. Z. 

 H. has told it as it is and will be before spring 

 comes again. I. R. Green. 



Unadilla, N. Y., July 26, 1887. 



POOREST EVER KNEW. 



The honey season has closed out, and has been 

 the poorest I ever knew. No honey has been made 

 from white clover. The basswood season was very 

 short. Bees have had nothing to do but rob one an- 

 other. A. A. Irish. 



Big Spring, Mich., July 19, 1887. 



NO RAIN YET. 



Bees are not doing any thing- this summer. In 

 the spring it was too wet, and now it is too dry. If 

 we do not get rain soon it will he a question in my 



mind whether the.\ will nuike honey enough to 

 winter on. G. H. Holmes. 



Defiance, O., Aug. 1, 1887. 



H.\l) TO feed, for THE THE FIRST TIME IN MANY 

 YEARS. 



Bees. have not dime any thing. They opened up 

 strong, and used u]> all their stores before white 

 clover, so we had to feed— the first time for many 

 years. White clover did not yield any honey. We 

 have had no swarms. I don't suppose there are 50 

 lbs. of honey in the brood-nests of my 60 hives. We 

 have had plenty of rain lately, so -sve have good 

 hopes for the fall yield, which, with me. has always 

 been the best. Gustave Gross. 



Greenville, Hi , July 23, 1887. 



1^EP0K3F^ ENC0a^^6IN6. 



FILLED THE HIVE FULL IN EIGHT DAYS. 



E have 31 colonies in good shape. They are 

 working for^coinb honey. 1 hived a swarm 

 June 10th, and June 28th they had filled the 

 hive and a31-lb. section case full of honey, 

 from linden. They are now working on a 

 second case I placed under the first. 



Geo. W. Baldwin. 

 Forest City, Mo., July 13, 1887. 



Bees are doing grand. Geo. S. Wason. 



Hawkesburg, Ont., July 25, 1887. 



Basswood boomed for 7 days, the best I over 

 knew. It came out July 1. D. Hoxie. 



Wautoma, Wis., July 9, 1887. 



THREE TONS OF HONEY. 



Bees are doing finely. I commenced the season 

 with 26, and increased to 60. I shall get about 3 

 tons of honey this season, one-third comb. 



Honey Grove, Tex., July 28, 1887. G. F. Tvr.ER. 



BASSWOOD GOOD. 



White clover was a failure with us. Basswood 

 was good. Mj- bees are gathering honey from 

 sweet clover. No other honey-bearing plants are in 

 bloom, and won't be till August. If it continues 

 dry much longer, fall honey will be scarce. 



Hillsdale, la., July 13. 1887. E. W. Pitzer. 



SW.^RMINO WELL. 



The increase of swarms is favorable— about dou- 

 ble in average apiaries. The honey-yield was light 

 —I think not more than half an average. In my 

 apiary I had 19 swarms the first of May, and in 

 June increased to 38. Up to the middle of July I 

 got 500 lbs. of comb and 100 of extracted. The 

 average of this locality is about 20 Uis. per hive. 

 At this date the bees are working well. 



Ionia, Mich , July 28, 1887. H. Smith. 



HONEY ADVANCED IN PRICE. 



The honey crop in this State, as a general thing, 

 has been a failure, as near as I can learn. Too 

 much wet weather, T think, has been one^of the rea- 

 sons, althongli we had a good clover and basswood 

 bloom, consequently honey has advanced. I am 

 now selling comb honey ii\ 1 and 2 lb. sections at 

 Sets, per pound more than last year. Some of the 

 farmers who keep a few swarms of bees have lately 

 sold their honey at 10 and 12 cts., and are now sorry 

 they rushed otf what little they had. 



E. li. Westcott. 



Fair Haven, Vt.. .Inly 21, 1887. 



