TTH® mfmmmicn,n mmm jQiamnmi^. 



491 



lumber. Others ' have used hives of 

 3,500 to 4,000 cubic inches, that were 

 filled with bees and honey, and did as 

 well or hetter than the smaller hives. 

 This much is believed: "The more 

 worker-bees, the more honey can be 

 gathered." A large family will need 

 house-room in proportion. But a very 

 ' large hive is so unwieldy to handle. 

 As some bees are averse to carrying 

 honey above; a broad hive with frames 

 may do for extracted honey. As that 

 is not the commercial style or demand, 

 other arrangements and " tixin's " are 

 necessary. 



It appears now, that the Langstroth- 

 Simplicity hive and frames, with the 

 one-piece, one-pound sections, is meet- 

 ing the general idea of a "standard." 

 All the other improvements can be 

 attached. 



The next important question to be 

 settled, is the kind and arrangement 

 of the honey-board. Also an easy plan 

 <M- device for forcing or coaxing bees 

 to " escape " from the surplus honey, 

 and a simple, automatic swarm-hiver. 

 I believe there is more resting on the 

 honey-board or second-iloor device in 

 securing surplus honey, with a miui- 

 mimi of labor and trouble in handling 

 honey and bees, than anything else. It 

 seems to me that a board tloor in two 

 pieces ('divided lengthwise of the hive) 

 is easily removed, with a bee-entrance 

 at the front end only (opened or closed 

 by a tin slide or other convenient ap- 

 pliance), is going far toward meeting 

 a growing demand. It is not neces- 

 sary to have so many openings for the 

 bees to go above. 



A slat honey-board, or one with 

 openings at the back end, causes the 

 bees to run over the comb and brood 

 below. The nurse-bees are disturbed 

 by the rushing, eager workers, and 

 the workers are retarded by the nurses 

 and young bees. During a good honey- 

 How in warm weather, the bee-escape 

 to the outside maj' be left open, facili- 

 tating egress and ventilation. In a 

 ten-frame hive you can take out for 

 extracting one or more frames on each 

 side of the brood -nest, or exchange 

 with old blackened brood-comb, and 

 always have good, fresh stores for 

 winter. 



Brother bee-keepers, give all the 

 oti'ered new "improvements" a fair 

 trial, and " hold fast to that which is 

 good ;" and do not forget to report 

 your experiences for the benefit of the 

 fraternity. 



Longmont, Colo. 



CO\VEi\TIOM DIRECTORV. 



"Bees and Honey " is the title of one of 

 the very best books on bees. The present 

 edition is largely re-written, and is fully up 

 to the times. It is profusely illustrated. — 

 Farm, Field and Stockman. 



1890. Time and place of meetiity. 



Aug. 19.— Northern Illinois, at llnriem, Ulw. 



D. A. l<'nller, Sec , Clierry Vailey, liis. 



Au(?. 129.— Haiclinmtul, nt South Cayuga, Ont. 



E. c. Campbell. Sec, Cayuga, Ont. 



Sept 10.— Ionia County, at Ionia, Mich. 



11. Smith. Sec , Ionia, Mich. 



Oct. 29-31.— International American, at Keokuk, la. 

 C. P. Dadant, Sec, Hamilton, Ills. 



Oct.— Missouri State, at Mexico. Mo. 



J. W. Rouse. Sec. Santa Fe, Mo. 



J^" In order to have this table complete. 

 Secretaries are requested to forward full 

 particulars of the time and the place of 

 each future meeting. — The Editor. 



International Bee-Association. 



Pbesident— Hon. 11. L. Taylor.. Lapeer, Mich. 

 Secretary— C. P. Dadant Hamilton, Ills. 



National Bee-Keepers' Union. 



President— James Heddon ..Dowagiac, Mich. 

 Sec'y. and Manager— T. G. Newman, Chicago. 



s£!dSI4^^^' 



lIiitavorabl«' Season for llees. 



Last year was the best honey year I ever 

 saw. I commenced the season with 5J6 

 colonies, increased them to 54, and secured 

 3,000 pounds of fine comb honey. This 

 season, so far, has been unfavorable. I 

 began with -16 colonies, that had wintered 

 well on the summer stands, but after apple- 

 bloom they killed off the drones. They 

 have swarmed very little, and are tardy in 

 going into the surplus sections. 



Wm. Shier. 



Marlette, Mich., July 8, 1890. 



Kees^Xhreatened M'illi Starvation 



I have 350 colonies in four different 

 places, and not one-pound section of honey 

 from them yet ; I have seen only one hive 

 with any signs of white along the top-bar. 

 Bees in this county are on the point of 

 starvation. G. G. B.^ldwin. 



Port Huron, Mich., July 8, 1890. 



A Oood Season <br Itecs. 



I am happy to say that we have, at last, 

 one good season for bees. I never knew 

 them to do better. Good weather struck 

 us on June 17, and still continues. When 

 it has rained, it was in the night, and the 

 bees have lost no time. All the conditions 

 are just right for honey and queens. 



Henry Alley. 



Wenham, Mass , July 7, 1890. 



A California Flow«-r. 



Will you ]ilease tell me if the enclosed 

 samiile Hower is golden-rod i If it is not, 

 can you describe the California species, so 

 that wo may know when we find it ? 



Mrs. p. W. Mintuoks. 



Terra Cotta City, Calif. 



By request. Prof. Cook replies to the 

 foregoing questions as follows : 



The plant sent is not golden-rod, nor is it 

 at all like it. I think that any one who will 

 examine the figure of golden-rod in the 

 last edition of my " Bee-Keepers' Guide," 

 will easily distinguish the plants. It is a 

 composite, so there are many flowerets on 

 one head. The colors are usually yellow, 

 and the spreading shape of the flowers 

 makes it easy to identify these, which are 

 among the ii'iost beautiful of our American 

 flowers. — A. J. Cook. 



Poor Prospects tor a Honey Oop 



Our prospects are very poor for a good 

 honey crop this summer. Clover and bass 

 wood are just about gone, and we have 

 very little honey yet. The brood chamber 

 is well filled, but only a little in the sec- 

 tions yet. Our only hopes are for a fall 

 honey-flow for surplus honey. Bees are in 

 good condition — all colonies are strong, but 

 not inclined to swarm much. Out of 320 

 colonies I bad only 35 swarms. Black bees 

 are swarming a good deal, and going to the 

 woods. I still hope to get some honey yet. 

 N. Stainingeu. 



Tipton, Iowa, July 9, 1890. 



IVew Jersey Xea. 



Will you kindly state, through the Bee 

 Journal, the name of the enclosed flower, 

 and whether or not it yields nectar ? It 

 abounds here in a wild state. 



R. B. SCHOFIELD, M. D. 



Newark, Mo. 



[Prof. C. M. Weed, to whom we sub- 

 mitted the above question and sample of 

 leaf and flower, answers thus : " Appar- 

 ently it is New Jersey tea, Ceanothris 

 Americaniis L. According to Gray, the 

 leaves of this plant were used for tea dur- 

 ing the Revolution." Whether it yields 

 nectar or not, we are unable to say. — En.] 



Uee-Keepins in L.onisiana. 



My bees are doing very well so far ; I 

 have extraited up to 30 pounds per colony. 

 The swarming amounted to about 50 per 

 cent, increase. We are selling honey here 

 at 75 cents per gallon. I will sometime 

 send a sample of my honey. It is different 

 from Northern honey in flavor. 



A. Brandt. 



St. Sophie, La., July 1, 1890. 



A Queer Vear ior Bees, etc. 



This has been a remarkably queer year 

 for bees. The winter was mild ; there was 

 plenty of brood, but no honey in apple- 

 bloom, so halt of the bees starved during 

 the last of May. As we had no honey the 

 past three years, I was disgusted and dis- 

 couraged, and so I fed only enough to keep 

 the bees alive. I lost none, and so when 

 the honey-flow did come, the bees had 

 dwindled to mere nuclei, but it beat all for 

 honey that I ever saw. 



It always pays to have "new blood" in 

 the apiary ; I have a few queens of that 

 kind, and they have had no better chance 

 than the bees by their side, yet they have 

 stored 40 pounds of honey, and some of the 

 others have not stored a pound ; so I think 

 that it pays to give 75 cents or one dollar 

 for a new queen. It I had fed my bees so 

 as to have held them where they were on 

 April 5, I could have had IJ.f tons of honey, 

 where I now have only half a ton. 



My bees kid not swarm too much — I had 

 only 13 swarms from 45 colonies, spring 

 count. The swarms were small, and the 

 bees around here seem determined to leave 

 for the woods. I account for it in this way: 

 It has been so very warm, and the farmers 

 being so busy they did not shade the bees. 

 D. R. Roseisrough. 



Casey, Ills., July 7, 1890. 



