economize in tlie consnniption of food. — 

 Siicli boxes may be placed about the hive, 

 even in winter if neglected earlier, with 

 iireat advantage, only when crowding in 

 the straw we should be careful to disturb 

 the bees as little as possible. Putting bees 

 in cellar duriiig the cold of winter is never 

 to be reconnnended. 



Before closing this report, I must express 

 my very high ap])reciation of my assistant 

 for the past season, Mr. Fisk Bangs, a grad- 

 uate of 1876, whose close attention to the 

 experiments and needs of the bees, faith- 

 fulness in all his duties, efficiency in all the 

 varied labors of the apiary, has made him a 

 very valuable assistant. A. J. Cook. 



Lansing, Mich. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Chips from Sweet Home. 



So far we have no plants that will pay to 

 cultivate for honey. But there are several 

 which pay well for the fruit and honey, and 

 none better than the raspberry. A. F. Moon 

 says of it in The Apiary, page 55, ' the rasp- 

 berry seems to be a special favorite with 

 the bees, and yields a very tine harvest.' — 

 Langstroth, in his book on the Honey Bee, 

 page 296, says, 'The raspberry furnishes a 

 most delicious honey. In flavor it is supe- 

 rior to that from the white clover, while its 

 <lelieate comb almost melts in the mouth... 

 When it is in blossom, bees hold even white 

 clover in light esteem. Its drooping blos- 

 soms i)rotect the honey from moisture, and 

 they can work upon it when the weather is 

 so wet that they can obtain nothing from the 

 ujiright blossoms of the clover. As it furn- 

 ishes a succession of flowers for some 

 weeks, it yields a sujiply almost as lasting 

 as the white clover. The precipitous and 

 rocky lands, where it most abounds, might 

 be made almost as valuable as some of the 

 vine-clad terraces of the mountain districts 

 of Europe.' By planting a few varieties, 

 bloom may be had from May 25, (with us), 

 till frost. Among the earliest and nmst 

 valuable are Davidson's Thornless, Doolit- 

 tle. Purple Cane and Miami; next. Mam- 

 moth Cluster, Seneca, and Golden Thorn- 

 less; and among the latest, Lumb's Ever- 

 bearer and Sweet Home. (For a description 

 of this, see our advertisement in this paper, 

 under our old heading). Not only do these 

 varieties keep up a succession of 'blossoms, 

 from which the bees never fail to get honey, 

 but the bee-keeper is certain of a crop of 

 fruit every year, averaging from 1 to 10 qts. 

 to the bush, which will contribute to health, 

 comfort, and economy— save butchers' and 

 grocers' bills, and make home pleasant. 



HONEY BOXES. 



What honey-box is Palmer going to use 

 the coming season? One of my errands 

 East, was to decide what honey-box to use, 

 as I found the Harbison was behind the 

 times for eastern markets. I now think of 

 using a combination of a section, as used 

 by A. J. King, and G. M. Doolittle, thus:— 

 Top piece and two sides, 2 inches wide; 

 bottom piece, 1% inches wide; top and 

 bottom pieces, }4 inch thick; sides, }-^ inch 

 thick. These are made 3^ inches higher 



than Prize Box, to be used or packed in 

 crate, to be glassed or not, with 5x6 glass, 

 as the trade may determine. Shall hold 

 together while on the hive, and carrying to 

 and from by a strip of manilla paper l}4 in. 

 wide, put on with glue on each side, so to 

 do as Doolittle does. Put sections incases; 

 but tin separators would be quite an 

 expense for over 250 hives, consume much 

 time, also, less honey stored; and these 

 three items are quite important with us. 

 Perhaps it pays better to get more honey 

 and less cents jier pound. Many speak of 

 loving the bee business, etc. I love the 

 pets, I like the business. Why? Because, 

 there is money in it. Take the money from 

 bee-keeping and it will become scarce. 

 Eliza, Mercer Co., 111. D. D. Palmeu. 



For the American Bee ,Tournal. 



Experience of a Beginner. 



" I commenced keeping bees about six 

 years ago, in Fremont Co., Iowa, with 

 about the usual experience of beginners. I 

 bought bees in common hives, transfered to 

 movable comb hives. Bought extractor, 

 text and guide books, and subscribed for 

 bee papers, etc. In the winter of 1878-4, out 

 of 35 or 40 colonies, I had but 4 or 5 left; 

 and only 1 or 2 of them in good condition.— 

 The spring of 1877 found me with .30 colo- 

 nies, Italians and hybrids; one-third of 

 that number in medium condition, and the 

 other two-thirds weak. The spring was 

 cold and wet, so the bees got no honey from 

 fruit blossoms and we had no white clover, 

 so the bees had to be fed until the 1st of 

 July, when sumach and basswood came 

 into bloom. We got no surplus from this 

 sourse, as the weather was hot and dry. — 

 The bloom was of short duration, (inly 

 yielding honey about 6 daj's, and from that 

 time till Aug. 10, they made only about 

 enough to live on; from that until Sept. 20. 

 we got our swarms and surplus honey. I 

 got a ton of extracted and 300 lbs. of iiice 

 ■comb, in frames and sections, and increased 

 to 37. Would have had more increase, but 

 worked against it all I could. I am with- 

 out oees this winter, having sold my bees 

 in October, in Fremont, and moved here. — 

 I expect to go into the business again in 

 spring. I think this is a better location for 

 bees than Fremont. I think with the expe- 

 rience I have had I can make it pay better 

 in the future than I have in the past.' Talk- 

 ing with a man, claiming to be a practical, 

 progressive bee-keeper here, a tew days 

 since. I remarked, ' Of course, you take the 

 Bee Jouknal;' his reply w'as: 'No, I 

 don't go anything on the Journals. I 

 learn by experimenting. Those who write 

 for the Bee Journals don't give the great 

 secret of bee-keeping.' He left me to infer 

 that he knew it about all; at any- rate in 

 hisow'n estimation. Now, Mr. Edi'tor, I am 

 interested in this great secret, because it is 

 the secret of success. We are all interested 

 in it. We have been taking and reading 

 the Journal, thinking we were getting 

 this great secret along with the rest-; but if 

 we have been deceived, you nnist make 

 amends inunediately, by getting Harbison, 

 Capt. Hetherington, Doolittle or some of k 



