Cedar Vale, Kan., Sept. 15, 1878. 

 " Our tall honey rush is just commencing. 

 Aster and golden rod is in abundance, we 

 have two liinds of astor here, both excellent 

 honey yielders. My bees have at this time 

 an average of 45 or 50 lbs. of capped lioney, 

 and my reason for leaving that amount is 

 that 1 am as yet unacquainted with the 

 country, and know not what the fall re- 

 soures for late honey will be, but indi- 

 cations at this time are good. I think there 

 will be considerable surplus yet. 1 find 

 ready sale for extracted noney at 20 cents 

 per lb. Could sell all my bees at $10. per 

 colony, but intend keeping them, as they 

 pay me well. My honey is a No. 1 article, 

 very clear and Avhite, and weighs 12 or 123^ 

 lbs. per gallon. "j D. Baktgis. 



New Eichmond, Ind., Sept, 16, 1878. 

 "I wintered about 100 colonies without 

 loss, on summer stands packed with chaff. 

 Had 10 snowed under 4 feet deep for a 

 month, 2 years ago, and all was well. 1 

 tiiink we should breed for the characteristics 

 we desire in a working colony, rather than 

 "fancy " or appearance. I want good box- 

 workers, no matter what the size or appear- 

 ance of the queen. I have 1 colony that has 

 not swarmed for 3 or 4 years, and is always 

 in good condition and gives good surplus. 

 J. O. Shearman. 



Hamilton, O., Sept. 21, 1878. 



Friend Newman.— I will send you a 

 condensed report of the meeting of the 

 South-western Ohio Bee Keepers' Associa- 

 tion, held in Lebanon, O., Sept. 14, 1878. 



Drones can be kept for late queen-rearing, 

 by taking a queen from a colony that has 

 plenty of them, and keeping her in a nucleus 

 till late in the season, then she can be re- 

 turned. Queens will shake about in thecell 

 when they are dead, but] if they are alive 

 they wil not. Nine lbs. of honey will last 

 a moderate sized colony from Nov. 1st until 

 April 1st, but a good colony requires 25 lbs. 

 to last through winter and spring. "Root" 

 and "King" smokers were on exhibition, 

 besides a "Savage" queen cage, and "Mitch- 

 ell" bee hive. As Mitchell is trying to 

 get a liold in our neighborhood, 1 would take 

 it as a favor, if any one that has had deal- 

 ings with him that were not satisfactory, 

 would send me a short account of it, on a 

 postal card, to be used at our next meeting. 

 Has he raised any queens at Sandusky this 

 last summer, as* per his pamphlet ? Next 

 meeting to be held in the same ])lace on the 

 second Friday in Februarv, 1879. 



W. S. Boyd, Sec. 



Peoria, 111., Sept. 22, 1878. 

 "Noticing that a colony of bees were not 

 as populous as they ought to be, I exam- 

 ined them. Lo! and behold, the brood-nest 

 wasn't there. It was entirely cut out in 

 some frames, leaving openings as large as 

 my hand; in others it was cut down to the 

 base of the cells, and looked as it it had 

 been newly varnished. There was not a cell 

 of brood in the hive; and not one for the 

 queen to lay in, for the rest of the frames 

 were all capped honey. It had a fair amount 

 of bees, a queen and a large amount of cap- 

 ped honey. There was no moths, and the 



hive was clean, as though they had just 

 finished house cleaning. Why did they cut 

 out brood-nest ?" Mrs. L. Harrison. 



[We cannot explain this freak without 

 more particulars. Was the comb old ? This 

 sometimes causes them to tear it down. 

 Has any of our readers had similar experi- 

 ence ? If so, we would like to hear from. 

 -Ed.] 



Greene, Iowa, Sept. 9. 1878. 

 " My bees have done well since the first of 

 August. I got all my surplus, 2,500 lbs., 

 in four Aveeks, from buckwheat and fire- 

 weed. I have one hive on the scales ; the 

 most gathered in one day was &)^ lbs., and 

 the least 214 lbs." E. Eikenberky. 



Byron, N. Y., Sept. 9, 1378. 

 Hive No. 79 has so far given me one hun- 

 dred and three boxes of white honey, weigh- 

 ing two hundred and eight pounds." 



J. E. Moore. 



[Good enough. That must be your "ban- 

 ner colony," is it not, friend Moore ?— Ed.] 



Hope, O., Sept. 7, 1878. 

 " Instead of an extraordinary honey yield 

 we had almost a failure. Comb foundation 

 has helped me out of many difficulties al- 

 ready. I never saw bees stronger or work- 

 ing more vigorously than now." 



E. McNiTT. 



Yinton, Iowa, Sept. 9, 1878. 

 " 1 began the season with twelve colonies, 

 and had nine swarms. One of the swarms 

 left the hive after the queen began to lay, 

 and united with another swarm. White 

 clover yielded abundantly. From then till 

 the end of August they did nothing. Now 

 they are at work on fall flowers, which are 

 abundant here. I have ready sale for all my 

 honey at fifteen and twenty cts. per pound." 

 Jas. Kalston. 



Lincolnville, Ind., Sept. 14th, '78. 

 "I think I have done pretty well this sea- 

 son. I robbed my bees a little too much last 

 season ; half of them would have starved if 

 I had not fed them. I examined them early 

 aiid found one colony starved to death. I 

 immediately bought $o worth of sugar and 

 fed it all to them. This lasted till white 

 clover began to blossom, but just before the 

 clover began to bloom they pitched in and 

 robbed out one colony, leaving but eighteen 

 colonies. I have sold all my honey at twenty 

 cents per lb. It was pronounced the nicest 

 comb honey in the market." 



Joel Brewer. 



Nodaway Mills, Ta., Sept. 9, 1878. 

 "Bees in this part of the country are 

 storing from buckwheat, smart-weed, Span- 

 ish needle and golden rod; but the past few 

 days has been so cold, that they could not do 

 much. The Spanish needle honey I like 

 very much; it is clearer, but a little thiner 

 than buckwheat, but very pleasant to the 

 taste, after standing for awhile. Gathering^ 

 has been good all summer until the last of 

 August, except about 2 weeks before and 



