AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



417 



directed by prudence, fortitude, and 

 temperance. 



Besides the points spoken of — the 

 points are many — the details must all be 

 attended to if success follows. The 

 largest cash return is only realized by 

 placing on the market the nicest honey 

 in the best possible shape. 



QUESTION-BOX. 



" What can be done to cure the name- 

 less bee-disease ?" 



Mr. Nichols had colonies affected with 

 the disease, but had never found a 

 remedy. Colonies always dwindled away 

 until the hive was empty. 



Mr. Mason had given healthy bees to 

 affected colonies, but without any good 

 results. He had, when moving a part 

 of his apiary to a new field, taken 

 affected colonies along, thinking differ- 

 ent food might prove a remedy, but all 

 died. 



Mr. B. W. Peck had cured the disease 

 by introducing a new queen, from which 

 it might be inferred that the queen was 

 the cause of the trouble. 



" How can you unite bees success- 

 fully ?" 



Mr. Webster did it by placing hives 

 over each other, first smoking the bees 

 well, and have a small hole between the 

 2 colonies. 



Mr. Mason said he united by shaking 

 the bees from both swarms in front of 

 the hive where the united bees are to 

 stay, putting the best combs in this 

 hive. 



The subject of self-hivers came up, 

 but so far they have not proved very 

 satisfactory. Hiving swarms was also 

 talked up, but no new points were ad- 

 vanced beyond what has already been 

 mentioned. 



Bee Forage. 



This was discussed by Mr. B. W. Peck, 

 of Richmond Centre, O. He said : 



The subject is one of great impor- 

 tance, as upon it the success or failure 

 of the honey-producing industry de- 

 pends. Whether or not it will pay for 

 the average bee-keeper to plant for 

 honey alone, and what plants to plant, 

 are what ought to be brought out in a 

 convention of this kind. It is estimat(^d 

 that there are 800,000 bee-keepers in 

 North America. The annual produc- 

 tion of honey is about 100,000,000 

 pounds, valued at about $15,000,000. 



Whether the amount of honey pro- 

 duced annually is increased or dimin- 

 ished depends largely upon the amount 

 of forage. Among the principal honey- 



producing plants are the following: 

 Soft maple, elm, pussy-willow (which 

 blossoms in April, and yields both honey 

 and pollen) ; hard-maple (comes into 

 bloom the first of May, and yields honey 

 and pollen) ; the middle of May, dande- 

 lions and fruit blossoms do much toward 

 building up the apiary, especially if the 

 weather is favorable ; next follow rasp- 

 berry, blackberry, and white and Alsike 

 clover, the two latter yield the most of 

 the early surplus ; July follows with 

 basswood and whitewood, or tulip — the 

 former being the best honey-yielding 

 plant or tree we have. 



For Fall honey we have in August 

 and September the corn-tassel, buck- 

 wheat, heart's-ease, smartweed, and last 

 but not least, the national flower — 

 golden-rod — which yields a very fine 

 article of Fall honey. 



The basswood, or linden, is fast dis- 

 appearing on account of the use of the 

 tree for lumber and other purposes. 

 Bee-keepers are even using large quan- 

 tities for sections, which is wrong, for 

 poplar makes a whiter section, though 

 it cannot be used in the manufacture of 

 the one-piece section. 



If the wanton destruction of our 

 honey-yielding timber goes on, we will 

 either have to plant for honey, or give 

 up the bee-business. I do not believe 

 that it will pay to plant anything that 

 cannot be utilized for other purposes 

 than honey. 



We can and should plant the basswood 

 for shade, and induce our neighbors to 

 do the same, instead of the maple ; the 

 former is a beautiful shade tree, equal 

 if not superior to the latter. 



The blossom of the linden is very 

 beautiful, and, when loaded, the aroma 

 is most delightful, especially when fre- 

 quented by what appears to be whole 

 colonies of bees. But with all our plant- 

 ing for honey, we must remember that it 

 takes a large area of honey-producing 

 plants to furnish honey in paying quan- 

 tities. 



The past season white clover blos- 

 somed profusely, yet for some reason 

 failed to yield any honey worth men- 

 tioning. Yet the weather seemed to be 

 just such as we desire for the secretion 

 of honey. Alfalfa yields honey bounti- 

 fully in Colorado, California and other 

 Western States, yet in Ohio it seems to 

 be of no account for honey. In Ohio 

 and Pennsylvania, and some other 

 States, the golden-rod yields large quan- 

 tities of honey. 



I will close by urging all bee-keepers 

 to take new courage, study more closely 



