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SEASON OF 1888. 



The Hard IWaplcs as Honey.Pro- 

 ducers— Colors and Bees. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY G. W. DEMAREE. 



It has become a maxim that, it does 

 no good to " cry over spilled milk." 

 Methinks if bee-men have any enemies, 

 as many think they have, they have 

 had their revenge — " sweet revenge " 

 — on account of failure of the bee- 

 business the past year. 



On account of the light rainfall dur- 

 ing the two preceding years, I was 

 prepared for a light honey crop last 

 spring, and I was not deceived in my 

 calculations. Only the very best Ital- 

 ian colonies gathered a surplus during 

 the early honey harvest. I would not 

 have taken more than enough honey 

 for home consumption, if I had not 

 felt " honor bound " to fill my " stand- 

 ing orders." As it was, I took the 

 lightest crop of honey in all my pre- 

 vious experience. 



After the short early flow was over, 

 it seemed that nothing in the shape of 

 bee-forage yielded nectar, and the 

 light supply of stores faded away to 

 an alarming rate. Then came on the 

 great heated spell which lasted nearly 

 four weeks, and my bees dwindled 

 badly on account of the excessive heat, 

 but by the use of shade-boards not a 

 single comb melted down. 



The "fall rains," as we bee-men 

 call them, began about two weeks 

 ahead of the usual time, and I felt sure 

 that a fall harvest would be gathered 

 by the bees. During the last week of 

 August a "shower" of thin nectar 

 flowed into the hives, and I visited the 

 fields to find out the source from 

 whence it came, and found the bees 

 working for life and wealth on the big, 

 coarse weed known among farmers as 

 " horse-weed." 



The blossoms of this weed are very 

 imperfect to the unaided eye, resemb- 

 ling most of all the common rag-weed. 

 I never before knew bees to get anj-- 

 thing but a little pollen from this 

 source. The flow lasted but a few 

 days, and then stopped oS' short. The 

 thin nectar made a big show, and 

 started brood-rearing rapidly, and 

 never did I see thin nectar disappear 

 so raijidly. 



Tlie rainfall was regular and abun- 

 dant through SeiJtember and October, 

 and the fall bloom exceeded anything 

 I have seen in this locality for years ; 

 but nothing seemed to yield neclar. 

 The weather was good, bad and in- 



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different, and the bees fussed over an 

 ocean of blossoms, and tried to rob 

 everything in sight, but all failed. 



I could not give up the "smart- 

 weed " — it had never failed before. I 

 waited for it to get a little more aged, 

 and waited on and on through October 

 and into November, and hoped that 

 the first frosts might squeeze some 

 nectar out of it, but it was " no good." 

 I sometimes was tempted to lay the 

 blame on the poor bees, until I found 

 that several colonies had actually 

 starved in the midst of a sea of bloom. 



A neighbor of mine being a mile 

 away, moved oft", and left his bees in 

 my care, to sell them. They were 

 mostly black bees, and I failed to find 

 a buyer for them, and had to move 

 them to my bee-yard. There were 17 

 colonies of them, and every colony of 

 blacks starved, leaving me but 5 out 

 of the 17 alive, and these were nearly 

 full-blooded Italians ; and yet we are 

 told that black bees are superior comb- 

 builders ! 



I spent considerable money and 

 much valuable time several years ago 

 to free my breeding field of all black 

 blood, and I did not wholly succeed, 

 but now the year 1888 has finished 

 the job for me. There will not be a 

 black drone within five miles of my 

 apiary next spring, and I doubt if the 

 stock will " save seed" in this part of 

 Kentucky. 



Ilai-d'or Siisai- JVIaple. 



Mrs. Chaddock seems to be in doubt 

 as to whether or not this tree produces 

 nectar. In fact she seems to decide 

 that it does not. We must remember 

 that very few honey-producing trees 

 and plants keep up their reputation 

 in all localities, in so great a country 

 as this. 



In Kentuck}', sugar .maple rarely 

 ever fails to jield nectai'. It is a pro- 

 fuse bloomer, but opens its flowers so 

 early in the spring, that rains, and 

 otherwise unfavorable weather is likelj' 

 to be in the waj- of the bees. 



I have often seen a shower of honey 

 come in from this source, and have en- 

 joyed the sight of my bees falling like 

 leaden bullets at the entrances of the 

 hives. The bloom is very short-lived, 

 however, and the flow lasts but a few 

 days, at best. 



Flotver Colors and Bees. 



By the way, I read with much jileas- 

 ure Mrs. Chaddock's articles. When 

 she does come, she sails in among the 

 cooing doves, and " makes the feath- 

 ers fly." In fact, I begin to fear for 

 my "reputation" as the "stinging 

 hybrid," since Dr. Mason has "gone 

 through" "Observer" in the Canadian 

 Bcc Journal, and Mrs. Chaddock has 

 made the fur lly among the professors 



and scientists, on the discussion of the 

 color of flowers in connection with 

 honej-gathering. I am decidedly with 

 Mrs. Chaddock, and dead against the 

 l^rofessors and scientists. 



Laying aside all romance, and all 

 guesses, I have found by actual obser- 

 vation, that the richl^'-colored flowers, 

 as a rule, produce very little nectar. 

 Our best honey-yielding flowers are 

 decidedly viodesl in color and general 

 appearance. I have seen bees search- 

 ing among grass and weeds for tiny 

 "bits "of Bowers that the ordinary 

 observer would pass without notice. 



In my opinion, and I have not ar- 

 rived at it hastily, bees rely upon their 

 instinct and industry to find nectar, 

 more than on any organs of sight or 

 smell that the\- may possess. I am 

 quite certain that the color of the 

 flowers has little to do with it. 



Christiansburg, Ky. 



BEGINNING. 



A Liady's Expericnee in Keeping; 

 Bees. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY MRS. B. J. LIVINGSTON. 



Five years ago a swarm of bees was 

 placed in our yard under a huge bass- 

 wood tree. For five years I have 

 groaned over them, and wislied I knew 

 what to do to help them furnish us 

 with honey. But all I knew about 

 bees was, that they could sling. 



But last September I visited a 

 friend's apiaiy — just a primitive attair, 

 and thought that I caught a ray of 

 light. I borrowed her volume of the 

 American Bee Journal for 1887. and 

 have found them more fascinating 

 than a novel. 



As soon as I returned home, I sent 

 for an Italian queen, and made mj' 

 first experiment with the colony, which 

 seemed very weak and helpless. It 

 was in an old hive of the Langstroth 

 style. I smoked the bees down, with 

 cobs in an old kettle, burned my di'ess, 

 and found that my hands trembled so 

 that I could hardly control them. 

 However, I soon discovered how help- 

 less the little things were In a smoke, 

 and so I became verj' brave. 



I found about four quarts of moth 

 litter in the hive, which I cleaned 

 thoroughly, the bees meanwhile being 

 emptied on a sheet. 



The new queen was the first one in 

 the hive ; then the stream of bees be- 

 gan to flow in, and I fell in love with 

 them then and there. The renovated 

 hive, with the old frames thoroughly 

 ovei'hauled, was standing on one end 

 of the sheet, and myself on my knees 

 watching intently for the old queen, as 



