76 



Tmm MM®mi©Mif mmm jommmmiL,. 



Hatclain^ Bees— IVIiite Clover. 



I have 20 colonies o£ bees packed in saw- 

 dust, all wintering finely. They have been 

 at work for six weeks, carrying in pollen, 

 getting it at the mill which is near by. Till 

 the last week, the bees have been at work 

 on the natural bloom, and they are hatch- 

 ing young bees by the scores. I send you a 

 sample of bloom that my bees are at work 

 on this morning — five or six bees to each 

 blossom. They are at work on the maples, 

 and we have peach, strawberry, and quite 

 a variety of wild bloom in the woods. I 

 think that this is hard to beat for January. 

 If it staj-s warm a few daj-s longer, grass 

 will be long enough for thecows to get hold 

 of. We have the finest stand of white 

 clover that I ever saw. I had a lively time 

 with bees last spring; I am running a 

 blacksmith shop, post-office, and farming 

 some, so when I have two or three swarms 

 of bees in the air, a mail to change, and a 

 horse to shoe, all at the same time, it is 

 tolerably interesting; but with all this 

 work to do, I always have found time to 

 read the Bee Jourxal; I would rather read 

 it than ony other paper that comes to the 

 office. Joseph A. Weeks. 



Young's Creek, Ind., Jan. 12, 1890. 



nioomins Pear-Xrees— Floods. 



Bees gathered pollen on Jan. 11. They 

 must have secured it from soft maple. We 

 had peach-trees and the Japanese pear- 

 trees in bloom, and it seemed that everj'- 

 thiug was going to bloom, but a small frost 

 now and then will check it some. There is 

 plenty of rain, and high water, the bottoms 

 being flooded from hillside to hillside. Our 

 winter is mild. Bees are wintering well, 

 and there is a fine prospect for a good 

 clover crop. We had only half a crop of 

 honey the past season, the cause being too 

 much rain and bad weather. We expect a 

 better sea.son this year. Louis Wekner. 



Edwardsville, Ills., Jan. 15, 1890. 



No youue: Bees in tlie Hives. 



I have 103 colonies in the cellar, put in 

 on Nov. 25, 1889. I have not seen the 

 mercury higher than 52 degrees in the 

 cellar; although the weather has been quite 

 warm and spring-like niost of the time, they 

 have kept quiet. I never saw so few dead 

 bees before ; I think the reason is, that they 

 moved and bred so little during October. 

 It will be a good test of going into winter 

 quarters with no very young bees— prob- 

 ably with none that had not taken a flight. 

 Now the question is, will they live long 

 enough to rear a good lot of bees in the 

 spring, or not. Bees out-doors are breed- 

 ing quite a good deal. G. H. Ashby 



Albion, N. Y., Jan. 10, 1890. 



Hive tor Seciirins CombJHouey. 



I used hives last season with square tops 

 11 inches wide, which held eight Simplicity 

 brood-frames, spaced I'V inches from cen- 

 ter to center, which come flush with the top 

 of the hive— and a loose bottom-board. 

 When the honey season was at hand, I 

 placed a wood-and-zinc honey-board over 

 the brood-frames, which has a bee-space on 

 both sides ; over the honey-board I place a 

 24-section T-super, with a bee-space above 

 the sections. I use a plain board for a 

 cover. The T-supers are made of %-inch 

 lumber. As these T-supers form the upper 

 stories, there need be no outer case or upper 

 stories; which will allow the T-supers to be 

 tiered up two or more high. As we had a 

 poor season for honey, I did not tier more 

 than two supers high, which seems to be 

 about right for a medium-sized colony. 



I will now name certain parts of hives 

 that ought to, and will, be laid on the shelf, 

 as honey-producing goes into the hands of 

 extensive bee-keepers and specialists ; that 

 is, I think it will be so, on account of the 

 very low price of honey, which calls for a 

 handy hive— a hive that we can handle the 

 crop with the least labor and time, as time 

 lost is money lost. First, is the portico 

 hives— I know whereof I speak, as father 

 used them for seven or eight years, when I 

 was a boy at home; second, the wide 

 frame; third, the open-side sections: fourth, 

 the tight bottom-boards; and fifth, the 

 hives that do not take a standard brood- 

 frame. C. A. BuNcn. 



Nye, Ind. 



Kesiilts of the Past Season. 



I winter my bees in a cave made pur- 

 posely for the bees. Last spring I took out 

 9 colonies out of 10, in good condition. I 

 increased them to 20, and they produced 

 between .S75 and .$80 worth of honey, com- 

 puting it at 10 cents per pound, as that is 

 all we can get here for good comb honey in 

 one-pound sections; but in such seasons as 

 the last, bees will pay well for their keep- 

 ing. I farmed 120 acres andonly cared for 

 my bees during odd spells; I might have 

 done better with them, had I given them 

 proper care. Johx Oliva. 



Blairstown, Iowa, Jan. 14, 1890. 



Poor Crop is tlie Result. 



The weather has been very fine untU this 

 morning, and now we are in a heavy snow- 

 storm. I began the season of 1889 with 16 

 colonies, increased them, by natural swarm- 

 ing, to 33 colonies, and obtained about 400 

 pounds of comb honey. I could not attend 

 to my bees, and the result is a poor crop. 

 The honey is from wood-sage, fig-wort, 

 wild-cucumber, buckbush, and buckwheat. 

 Bees worked on golden-rod but a few days. 

 We had honey-dew only once, and that was 

 in August. I have 17 colonies in the cellar, 

 and Ifi on the summer stands, all of which 

 are doing well. My work with bees in this 

 part of the country is an experiment, and 

 I cannot tell yet whether it will be profit- 

 able or not. My father, long ago, used to 

 keep about 40 colonies in the bee-gums in 

 Shelby county. Ills. ; but we always had 

 plenty of honey from basswood. No bee- 

 keeper can afford to do without some re- 

 liable bee-literature. I often obtain from 

 one copy of the American Bee Journal, 

 what the whole 52 copies cost me. 



G. W. Hanson. 



Chapman, Kans., Jan. 12, 1890. 



Bee-Keeping: in YVyoniing-. 



I started in the spring of 1889 with 3 

 colonies, bought 2 more, increased them to 

 12 colonies, but lost one that was queen- 

 less, though I sent for a queen, and my or- 

 der was overlooked, until it was too late to 

 fill ; so I was out a No. 1 colony, that was 

 worth .¥15 in this part of the country. I 

 got about 160 pounds of comb honey in 

 one-pound sections, which brings a good 

 price here. My bees gathered honey from 

 alfalfa, which I consider an excellent 

 honey-plant, though quite likely it fails in 

 some localities, the same as golden-rod, as 

 that is 'of no use here, for it blooms too 

 late. My bees are in the cellar, and are 

 doing finely. We are having very cold 

 weather, though not much snow. I use the 

 Langstroth 8 and 10 frame hive, with 

 loose bottom-boards, which I find is more 

 handy. One can clean out the hives more 

 quickly, and save the bees that much work, 

 which is quite a job sometimes for the bees, 

 when the hives are badly choked with dead 



and moldy bees. I could not do without 

 the American Bee Journai,, and consider 

 it a valuable paper for all beginners in 

 bee-keeping, as well as for the more ex- 

 perienced. Tiios. B. Brundage. 

 Sheridan, Wyo.Ter., Jan. 13, 1890. 



Convention I%otices. 



ly- The spring meeting of tbe Northern Illinois 

 ■'^JC^fi^Pers Association, will meet at the residence 

 01 D. A. fuller, in Cherry Valley. Ills., on May 19th, 

 1°^* D. A. Fuller, Sec. 



ty TheOhio State Bee-Keepers' Association will 

 te held in Cleveland. O., on Wednesday and Thurs- 

 day. Feb. 19 and 20, 1890. 

 Miss Dema Benkett, Sec. and Trias., Bedford, O. 



jy The Northeastern Ohio. Northwestern Penn- 

 sylvania, and Western New York Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation, will meet in joint session with the Ohio 

 btate Bee-Keepers' Association, in Cleveland, O.. on 

 Feb. 19 and -Hi, 1890. Geo. Spitlek. Sec. 



OS^ The Northeastern Michigan Bee-Keeper' As- 

 sociation will hold its eiKhth annual meeting on 

 Wednesday. Feb. .5, 1890. in the Council Rooms, in 

 the Fire Engine House, at Laoeer. Mich. The first 

 session begins at 10:30 a.m. how rates at the hotel. 

 W. Z. Hutchinson, Sec. 



JS- The _21st annual meeting of the New York 

 State Bee-Keepers' Associai ion will be held in the 

 Court House at Rochester. N. Y., on Feb, .i. fi, and 7 

 18911. lleduced rates will be given at hotels and on 

 all principal railroads. The programme and full 

 particulars will appear in due time. Each county 

 association is requested to send two or more dele- 

 gates. G. U. Knickerbocker. Sec. 



t^^The Wisconsin State Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion, will hold its Sixth Annual Meeting in the Capi- 

 tol, at Madison, Wis..-WEDNESDAY, Feb. .i, 1890. 

 Complete programme of the Convention will be duly 

 mailed to the prominent bee-keepers of the State. 

 A large attendance of bee keepers is anticipated, as 

 the farmers' meeting takes place the same week, 

 we hope, also, to have a Honey Fair during the 

 meeting. Premiums have been offered for the best 

 display, and of samples of extracted and comb 

 honey. Send to the Secretary for a premium list. 

 Mr. A. I. Root is expected to be present at the meet- 

 ing. Dr. J. w. Vance, Sec-, Madison, Wis. 



HONEY AND BEESWAX MARKET. 



CHICAGO, Jan. 22.— We quote: White clo- 

 ver 1-lbs., llH®12'/5c.; 2-lhs., 10@llc. Bass- 

 wood 1-lbs., 10'4@llc. Buckwheat 1-lbs., 8® 

 0c. Extracted, 6 '/j@7 Ho. Beeswax — brig-ht. 

 23®26c.; dark, 23@24c. 



S. T. FISH & CO., 189 S. Water St. 



KANSAS CITY, Jan. 21.— Demand light and 

 prices lower. Ver.v fancy 1-lbs., 12 in a crate, 

 13c.; grood white 1-Ibs.. 12@12'/2C.: dark 1-lbs. 

 and 2-lbs.. 8@10c.; white 2-lbs., ll@.12c. Ex- 

 tracted, white, 6ffii7c. ; dark, 5@(ic. 



HAMBLIN & BEARSS, 514 Walnut St. 



CHICAGO, Jan. 8.— Sales are light, at 12® 

 13c. for white 1-lbs.; dark, 8@10c. Extracted 

 dull at 6@7c. for dark, 7®8c. for fancy white. 

 Beeswax, prime, 25c. 



R. A. BURNETT, 161 S. Water St. 



DETROIT, Jan. 24.— Comb honey is quoted 

 at 12®14c. Sales slow. Extracted, 7@8c.— 

 Beeswax, 24c. 



M. H. HUNT, Bell Branch, Mich. 



BOSTON, Jan. 9.— Best 1 lbs., IGc: best 3 

 lbs., 15c. Extracted, 7®9c. Beeswsix, 23c. 

 Trade is dull. 



BLAKE & EIPLEY, 57 Chatham St. 



CINCINNATI, Jan. 8.— The very mild winter 

 apparentl.r has a depressing effect on the 

 honey market, more especially on comb honey 

 Best white is offered at 14®16c., but conces- 

 sions have to be made to effect sales. There is 

 a fair demand for extracted at 5@8e. 



Beeswax is in good demand at 20@22e. for 

 good to choice yellow. C. F. MUTH & SON, 

 Corner Freeman & Central Aves. 



Clubs for anything in our Premium 

 List may be for either of our Journals, or 

 for any number of either or both of them. 



