I8S7 



(ILEANINGS In bee CULTUKE 



iHit> 



fair shape for winter. My loss last winter wa6 very 

 heavy— 57 out of 94. F. P. Cr.ARE. 



Oliver's Ferry, Ont., Can., Oct. 20, 1887. 



]^EP0^¥g Dipc@a^^6iN6. 



THE POOREST SEASON FOR BKES. 



fHIS year has been the i>oore8t for bees that I 

 have experieneetl since I have been engaged 

 in the business. I started In the spring with 

 80 colonies in good condition, and increased 

 to 115 by artiflcial swarming. I did not have 

 any natural swarming. I moved about half cf 

 them to a place within reach of basswood pasture, 

 and took 700 lbs. of basswood honey. They filled up 

 in good shape for winter, while those In'my home 

 apiary had to be fed. George Brigos. 



New Sharon, Iowa, Oct. 23. 1887. 



Nu surpia;s. 



Bees have done poorly the past summer. Only 

 one swarm from 21 came through the winter in 

 good shape. No surplus hoiiC3-, and it is evident 

 that I must feed or unite some of the swarms in 

 order to take them through the winter. 



Waynesville, O. G. S. Sale. 



A REPORT DISCOURAGING FROM ARKANSAS. 



This has proved to be a poor country for bees. 

 Honey comes with a rush three times a year, with 

 intervals of great scarcity, during which bees di- 

 minish in numbers; and when honey comes thei-e 

 are not enough bees, so they raise a quantity of 

 brood, fill the lower story, then the How ceases, and 

 1 get none. I have not eaten a spoonful since here. 

 Perhaps I should do better if I fed liberally in those 

 intervals of scarcity. A. Laforest. 



Fayetteville, Ark., Oct. ti, 1887. 



JlE^Dg 0F &WfiW 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS. 



IS IT HONEY-DEW ? 



'E are rejoicing over a good season which 

 came last week. It has brought out the 

 fall blooms, and bees are working lively. 

 They are gathering more honey now, as 

 late as it is, than they gathered in any one 

 same length of time this summer. They don't seem 

 to work much on the blooms— mostly in the tops of 

 large timber. I took the pains to examine the 

 timber. In order to see what they were working on, 

 and I find that there is any amount of small white 

 tender-looking balls, from the size of a bird's egg 

 to the size of an apple; and from these balls there 

 runs a nectar closely resembling pure hone3', and 

 there is an immense nuantity of these balls all over 

 the forest, which is affording a splendid flow of 

 rather dark honey; but it is well flavored, and in 

 the center of these tender balls are pods, wherein 

 is deposited a small white worm, or grub, which ap- 

 pears perfectly lifeless. What will this small white 

 worm produce when fully developed? 



This has been the poorest season for honey here 

 foi" several years, or, at least, since I have been 

 handling bees on frames. Bees did not average 20 

 lbs. of honey per colony, and good strong colonies 

 were, ten days ago, in almost a starving condition. 

 1 have been feeding my bees until this present 



flow of honey; and if it lasts eight or ten days lon- 

 ger, bees will not need any more feeding. They are 

 at work by daylight, as cool as the mornings are. 

 They have been idle so long they are making good 

 use of the present flow. B. G. liiiTTREi,!,. 



Luttrell, Ala., Oct. 10, 1887. 



No, friend Luttrell, it is not honey-dew, 

 but it is honey from what, are called oak- 

 balls. Althoiigli you do not say so, I pre- 

 sume the balls you describe are found on 

 oak-trees. The matter was discussed in our 

 columns in Dec, 1881, p. 601, and on pages 

 Ho. 82, and 182 for 1882, which see. On page 

 182 you will notice an engraving of a twig 

 of the oak-balls. In regard to the insect 

 that produces these balls, I should be glad 

 if Prof. Cook would tell us something about 

 them, or refer us to a description. I can 

 not remember that the insect has been par- 

 ticularly written up by any entomologist. 



ANOTHER G()(JU KEPORT FROM THE ASTERS. 



The past summer has been very poor here for the 

 bees as well as for the farmer, in regard to different 

 crops, fruits, etc. There were, during white clover, 

 about 30 to 35 days of very nice honey-gathering. 

 Early in July the flow suddenly ceased. In the 

 mean time there continued a severe drought up to 

 Sept. 20th, when it rained slowly for a day or so, 

 cooled up, and by the 26th we had a pretty hard 

 frost, bees doing no good. About the 20th to the 

 26th, wild asters appeared. It is all over this coun- 

 try, a few spots excepted. At this time the bees are 

 almost wild over it, and are filling up their old dry 

 combs full as fast as in the white-clover season, ex- 

 cept the very best of the white-clover harvest. If 

 the days were as warm early and late, and as 

 long, as they were in ,Iunc, I believe the bees 

 would fill their combs as they did in .luiie. The 

 shortness of the days, as well as the coolness 

 of the morning and evening, work against this 

 flower. The bees are doing finely on it, and stoi-- 

 ing lots of honey, according to the time they get 

 to work on it. There are two kinds here— a pink- 

 white, which grows larger. Dr. W. S. Jones. 



Central Station, West Va., Oct. 10, 1887. 



THE BUTTER-DISH FEEDER. 



I am feeding 50 colonies with your feeder, and 

 prefer it to all others I have tried. 1 tried butter- 

 boats on top of frames, but they tip over and spill 

 if half full. Brood was so plentiful I could not feed 

 till the 5th. J. C. Stewart. 



Hopkins, Mo., Oct. 13, 1887. 



We have no trouble to get the butter- 

 dishes level full by ''tilting ■' them, as de- 

 scribed on page 791 of last issue. With the 

 Simplicity feeders it is quite essential that 

 they have a level foundation. The butter- 

 dishes can, by " tilting," be made to set lev- 

 el, even upon uneven surfaces. 



.\PPARENT gUEENLESSNESS IN SEPTEMBER. 



The queens you sent me last year were accepted. 

 I have Italianized this year to some extent, but 

 f> r some reason I have lost four or five queens out 

 of ten colonies. Some, and I think most of them, were 

 young too. I have given my last ones brood, but 

 without success. What is the trouble? Is it igno- 

 rant handling, or something in the season? I have 

 not handled them except occasionally, say once a 

 month or so, to see that they were all right. They 



