AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.. 



47 



to say about this on page 628. Is your 

 plan the same, or would you make 

 further suggestions ? 



I see my bees are gathering a greenish 

 pollen. What do you think they get it 

 from ? Allow me to express my grati- 

 tude for your lessons in bee-keeping we 

 get in the " Old Reliable." 



D. Bachman. 



Grand Prairie, Tex., June 14. 



Brother Bachman, I will do the best I 

 can in answering your questions. I have 

 read Doolittle's article you mention, as 

 well as all others he writes that I get 

 hold of, for he is one of our safest guides 

 leading out on the long road of apicul- 

 ture. But as I cannot now remember 

 exactly his words, nor have I time to 

 turn and re-read at present, I will add 

 that where a colony is weak there is a 

 cause for it. To remedy the matter, re- 

 move the cause. If your colony has be- 

 come weak from lack of stores, feed 

 them, and give them a good start oflf. If 

 they have become weak by a bad queen, 

 move her, and give them a good one. If 

 they are too low to build up rapidly, 

 give a frame or two of hatching brood 

 from other colonies. Watch your honey- 

 plants, and during a scarcity of honey 

 be sure to feed enough to keep them 

 building up, and as soon as honey ap- 

 pears in the fields, you will see them 

 build up very quickly. 



Now, to build up a colony of bees 

 rapidly (and this is the way we usually 

 like to do it), give them a good queen, 

 plenty of food, and bees enough to stay 

 at home and do the house-work, and 

 keep the nest warm to hatch the eggs, 

 and some to spare to work. This, I 

 think, will cover the whole ground of 

 the management of weak colonies. I 

 might stretch out and write a long arti- 

 cle on every point that touches upon the 

 management of weak colonies, but I 

 think it unnecessary, as I am sure 

 that if you will follow Doolittle, and 

 heed my remarks above, you have a 

 good plan for building up weak colonies. 



In regard to your greenish pollen, I will 

 say that many years ago I kept a large 

 apiary in the valley just about two 

 miles south of your apiary, and I noticed 

 this same greenish pollen. I noticed 

 the bees working on the blooms of a 

 little running vine that grows there, 

 and is now in bloom. Its blossoms re- 

 semble a small snow-ball flower, only 

 they are a little reddish hue. If the 

 greenish pollen does not come from this 

 source, I do not know where it comes 

 from. 



I am glad indeed that you appreciate 



my writings. I receive many congratu- 

 lations from all over the country, and it 

 helps me to brace up, and makes my 

 pencil feel lighter when I read them. I 

 feel proud to know that I am able to 

 help some bee-keepers, even if I have a 

 poor, awkward way of explaining what 

 little I know about bees. 



Jennie Atchley. 



CONVENTION DIRECTORY. 



Time and place of meeting. 



1894. 

 July 19.— Carolina, at Charlotte, N. C. 



A. L. Beach, Sec , Steel Creek, N. C. 



Aug. 1,— Central California, at Hauford. Calif. 

 J. F. Flory, Sec, Lemoore, Calif. 



Aug,16.— East Tennessee, at Whltesburg,Tenn 

 H. F. Coleman, Sec, Sneedville, Tenn. 



Oct. 16-18.— North American, St. Joseph, Mo. 

 Frank Benton. Sec, Washington, D, C. 

 1895. 

 Jan, 28,— Venango Co., at Franklin, Pa. 



C. S. Pizer, Sec, Franklin, Pa. 



Feb. 8, 9.— Wisconsin, at Madison, Wis. 



J. W. Vance, Cor. Sec, Madison, Wis. 



Jt^~ In order to have this table complete, 

 Secretaries are requested to forward full 

 particulars of the time and the place of 

 each future meeting. — Thb Editor. 



North American Bee-Keepers' Association 



Pres.— Emerson T. Abbott St. Joseph, Mo. 



Vice-Pres.— O, L. Hershlser Buffalo, N. Y. 



Secretary— Frank Benton, Washington, D. C. 

 Treasurer— George W. York...Chlcae'o. Tils. 



National Bee-Keepers' Union. 



President— Hon. R, L. Taylor. .Lapeer, Mich.. 

 Gen'l Manager— T. G. Newman, Chicago, IlL 

 147 South Western Avenue. 



May-Flo-^vers and IVIistletoe is 



the suggestive name of a book of over 250 

 pages containing selections of poetry and 

 prose for all seasons, for older boys and 

 girls, from the best writers of the day, 

 with dialogues, motion songs, and drill ex- 

 ercises for smaller children. It is suitable 

 for rhetorical exercises in the school and 

 entertainments given by church, library 

 and benevolent societies. Beautifully illus- 

 trated, and each poem or selection set in a 

 colored border. Cloth-bound; size, 8x10 

 inches; price, postpaid, only $1.00. Clubbed 

 with the Bee Journal for one year — both 

 for $1.75 ; or given free as a premium for 

 sending us three new subscribers to the 

 Bee Journal for a year. 



Oreat Pretniunis on page 85 ! 



