144 



tilE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPElR. 



ity hives. He gave several demonstra- 

 tions of his methods of handling bees, 

 w^hich are original, particularly his 

 plan of tiering up for extracted honey, 

 supering, etc., all of which was appre- 

 ciated by the spectators. There was a 

 discussion afterwards on the lawn at 

 the Association meeting. Only one 

 member had had any success in getting 

 surplus, and exhibited a sample of comb 

 honey which was pronounced "poplar," 

 and probably gathered from trees in 

 Fairmount Park, which was contiguous 

 to the apiary. 



Yours truly, 

 M. F. REEVE. 



Augud 



may easily satisfy yourself by an ex- 

 amination of their work. If it is caused 

 by poisoned stores, extracting and sub- 

 stituting new will remedy the evil. 

 Spraying fruit trees while in bloom is a 

 most dangerous practice, and one 

 against which several states have 

 stringent laws. It is very seldom, how- 

 ever, that a bee-keeper is found guilty 

 of such imprudence. The best feed for 

 bees at all times is honey. If fed in ex- 

 tracted form it should be slightly di- 

 luted with water. — Ed.] 



Weisenburg, Pa., July 17, 1898. 

 Mr. H. E. Hill: 



Dear Sir: — Last spring I sprayed my 

 fruit trees with Paris green emulsion 

 and since that time my bees have been 

 on the decline. Two of my colonies are 

 in good condition, bu>. the others are 

 very poor; they do not gather enough 

 honey for their own use, and with all 

 my care and feeding they continue to 

 go backward. Their combs were full of 

 moths. I took some of them out and 

 gave them nice clean ones, but they 

 make no use of them, staying all the 

 time upon the old ones. Please give me 

 full particulars and let me know what 

 you recommend as the best for feeding 

 while in this condition. 



Respectfully yours, 



F. H. Wesley. 



TThat the use of the spraying mix- 

 ture has anything to do with the trou- 

 ble is highly improbable, though for 

 want of a more detailed statement of 

 conditions we cannot answer positively. 

 "The others," which are declining, may 

 mean two or three, or it may include a 

 large number; a point upon which we 

 are not informed and one that would 

 have an important influence upon our 

 conclusions as to the cause, which, 

 from the meagre information at hand, 

 we are very much inclined to attribute 

 to poor queens. Upon this point you 



Making- Honey Sell at Home. 



A great deal of our surplus honey can 

 be sold at home, in the small towns and 

 villages if a trade is built up, but you 

 must first build up your would-be cus- 

 tomers' appetites for honey and get 

 them in the habit of using it. 



There is hardly anyone who can say 

 he don't like honey after tasting a good 

 article. But the most of them only 

 think they don't like it, because they 

 have had some poor stuff from the 

 store or elsewhere. 



Here is my plan for one who keeps a 

 few bees for profit and does not want 

 to ship his honey to the commission 

 man: 



It may be a little expensive at first 

 but will pay in the end, as all good ad- 

 vertising does, and how can one get the 

 quality of his honey before the people 

 better than by giving a small sample 

 to those he thinks might be good cus- 

 tomers? If you don't feel able to give 

 away a pound as a sample, send and 

 get some smaller sections that will 

 hold, say half a pound, and place as 

 many of them on your hives at the be- 

 ginning of the honey flow as you think 

 you will need for samples. 



