AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



347 



far, and it was only about 100 yards 

 from the house. We felled the tree, 

 secured about 20 pounds of nice honey, 

 and a very large colony. We saved all 

 the comb and brood, and have a good 

 colony now. I think we can find another 

 tree if we look for it, as we got a good 

 course from the tree we cut. 



Mr. Chas. Kirschman also found a bee- 

 tree but he got no honey, neither did he 

 save the bees. He hived them, but they 

 came out and left. 



Next year I will try putting hives with 

 old combs in the woods, as others were 

 quite successful in catching swarms that 

 way. 



The bees in this part of the country 

 are all blacks and hybrids, except mine. 

 I have some Italians,"hybrids and blacks, 

 but the yellow Italians are my choice. 



The American Bee Journal is in- 

 deed a welcome weekly visitor, and 

 from its pages I learn many a lesson. 

 Bee-keepers of Missouri, read the Bee 

 Journal, and send in the reports of 

 your honey crops, and how your bees 

 did this year. Let it be good or bad, it 

 is always worth mentioning, so that we 

 may hear more from our Missouri bee- 

 keepers. F. N. Blank. 



Prairie Home, Mo., Aug. 25. 



Rain Needed for Fall Flow. 



The spring was wet and cold, and 

 frost killed nearly all the fruit blossoms. 

 I lost quite a number of colonies by 

 spring dwindling. White clover came 

 in good, also basswood, which gave the 

 bees a good start. We had quite a num- 

 ber of showers this season, but it is get- 

 ting very dry now. If we do not have 

 rain soon, the fail flow will be light. 



Gillett, Wis., Aug. 30. R. Howell. 



"Washing'ton Flax" as a Honey-Plant 



I find in this State, growing wild, and 

 generally coming where logging camps 

 have been, or slashing of timber has 

 taken place, a flax called here " Wash- 

 ington flax." The Indians, from this 

 plant, make a good thread, very strong, 

 more durable, and of a superior quality 

 to our domestic article. The plant 

 grows about as high as one's head, and 

 has more the appearance of hemp in its 

 growth than of flax. The flower is a 

 purplish red, and is good for bees, be- 

 cause it continues so long, and at the 

 very times the bees need it. It contin- 

 ues here until late in September, the 

 flower is rather plenty. I mailed you 



yesterday a sample of the seed, and I 

 urge bee-men and agriculturists to give 

 it a, trial. I know from experience that 

 it is a superior honey-producer, and be- 

 lieve it can be made profitable as a flax. 



Who knows but this is the beginning 

 in the introduction to civilization of a 

 plant heretofore untried, which can pro- 

 duce our food and clothing, thereby aid- 

 ing in settling partially the vexed tariff 

 question ? If our own people in this 

 State would raise their own food, pro- 

 duce, make and wear their own cloth, 

 the tariff question would settle itself. 



Any of our bee-men sending postage 

 will be mailed some of the seed this sea- 

 son, if application is made before it is 

 gone. R. H. Ballinger. 



Port Townsend, Wash., Aug. 25. 



[The sample was received all right. 

 Thank you. We are always glad to 

 learn of new honey-plants that are 

 /loney-plants ; and of course if they can 

 at the same time be utilized in other 

 ways, so much the better. We trust 

 that so far as possible the new plants 

 may be tried, and reports given thereon. 

 Bee-pasturage must be secured by plant- 

 ing specially, if the natural resources 

 are insufficient. — Editor.] 



Nucleus Plan of Introducing. 



Some one has said that queen-bees are 

 more easily introduced when the colo- 

 nies to which they are to be introduced 

 are in a prosperous condition. But such 

 has not been my experience. Colonies 

 usually rear drones when prosperous, 

 and I have found it more difficult to in- 

 troduce a queen to a colony with drone- 

 brood than to one without it. I have 

 always found it less difficult to intro- 

 duce queens to full colonies early in the 

 spring, before the bees have built up, 

 and late in the fall, after they have 

 ceased brood-rearing, than at other 

 times. 



When bees are so prosperous as to 

 think of swarming, which they usually 

 do when they are rearing drones, I re- 

 frain from trying to introduce to them 

 a queen under any of the ordinary plans. 

 The nucleus plan will work well at any 

 time, and if I had a valuable queen to 

 introduce at a time when my bees are 

 prospering, I would use the nucleus 

 plan. H. F. Coleman. 



Sneedville, Tenn, 



