TMS MntiBRicjtri mmwi jQURifSi^. 



879 



fore white clover blooms, I thought 

 that I could spare some bees for ciueen- 

 rearing early ia the spring, to see how 

 it would result ; so April 9, I removed 

 a Sj'rian queen and 6 brood-combs 

 with brood in them, and gave them a 

 brood-comb with eggs from one of my 

 best Italian queens, with some more 

 combs of honey. 



About April 29 three queens hatched 

 out of five cells that were built ; the 

 cells were placed in nucleus hives a 

 day or two before they hatched, and in 

 due time the queens were laying, and 

 doing finely, as far as I could see. So 

 far this season I could get only five or 

 six good cells built in full colonies of 

 bees. 



I agree with Mr. Chas. Dadant, as 

 given on page 311, that large brood- 

 chambers are the ones to test the pro- 

 lificness of queens ; for I place consid- 

 erable value on a queen-bee that is 

 prolific, and first-class in other respects. 



La Paz, lud., May 29, 1889. 



BE ES' H UM. 



Spring Work — Cleaning up tiie 

 IIive§, etc. 



Written for the Country Oentlcman 



BY GEO. A. STOCKWELL. 



The honey season of 1889 has be- 

 gun. The flow of nectar is not in a 

 swelling stream, but leak as little as it 

 may, it encoui'ages the bees, and the 

 great family begins " to rock a thou- 

 sand cradles," and to knead a thou- 

 sand loaves of pollen-honey bread for 

 the occupants. 



This returning to the business of life 

 is an interesting feature in bee-keep- 

 ing. Like impatient children kept in 

 by illness or bad weather, the bees ap- 

 pear to fret and to contend with them- 

 selves in their eagerness to rush forth. 

 Early in the season, in sunny, mid-day 

 hours they frolic and play, we know 

 not how many games, in the porch of 

 the hive. Every hive should have a 

 porch. The bees appreciate it as much 

 as the bee-keeper enjoys his veranda. 



The first work of spring is to clean 

 house. The hive with movable bottom 

 now shows its convenience. The body 

 is lifted aside, and the bottom-boai-d 

 swept. This is not enough. Every 

 frame in the bodj' of the hive sliould be 

 taken out. Dead bees, and wax-litter 

 from the uncapping of the cells may 

 lodge between, mold, and spoil the 

 comb if not removed. 



Will not the bees remove dead bees 

 and all litter ? They will, and one 

 man whith a wheelbarrow will carry 

 off a mountain in time. If a dead bee 

 be lodged and secured between combs, 

 the bees will carry it away by piece- 

 meal. 



But there is work to be done more 

 satisfactory than tugging all summer 

 at the uncleanlincss of a hive. Ten 

 minutes work of the liee-keeper places 

 the hive in good condition, and the 

 occupants have only to brush up, re- 

 pair a little comb, and go about their 

 regular business ; luitil the time comes 

 to put on the surplus boxes, the bed- 

 spreads and comforters should be kept 

 on, and well tucked in. The bees can- 

 not be too warm up to June 1. 



At mid-day set a table before them, 

 place a feeder under the quilt filled 

 with warm honey. The colony may 

 be strong, but the object in feeding is 

 to encourage the queen that she may 

 lay many eggs, that comb-cradles may 

 be full, and full-grown workers may 

 be numerous when the flood-tide of 

 hone}' comes. 



Bee-keeping has been discouraging 

 for two jears, but it cannot be that a 

 third will follow in succession. Let 

 every farmer — every one — remember 

 that the more bees we have the greater 

 will be the distribution of the fructify- 

 ing pollen, and the greater will be the 

 yield of all plants. 



Providence. R. I. 



CONVENTION DIRECTORY. 



1889. Time and Place of Meeting. 



Auk. 31.— Haldimand, at Flsherrnie, Ont. 



B. C. Campbell. Sec, Cayuga. Ont. 



Sept. —.—Maine, at Llvermore Falls. Me. 



J. F. Fuller, Sec. Oxford, Me. 



Dec. 4, 6. 



-International, at Brantford, Ont., Canada. 

 K. F. Holtermann, Bee. Brantford, Ont. 



I7~ In order to have this table complete. Secre- 

 taries are requested to forward full particulars of 

 time and place of future meeUnn.— Bd. 



s£kS£^i 



Rolling in the 



Eckman, Richmond, 



28, 1889, says : 



Bees are rolling in 

 fast from wild China 

 Everything bids fair 

 yield in this part of 

 gathered no surplu 

 account of too much 

 are fine tliis season. 

 eating roasting-ears 



Honey. — J. W. 



Texas, on May 



the honey very 

 and horse-mint, 

 for a large honey- 

 Texas. My bees 

 last season, on 

 rain. All crops 

 We have been 

 for two weeks. 



Bees in a Starving Condition. 



— Jas. W. Tefl't, CoUamer, N. Y., on 

 June 3, 1889, writes : 



I have reared one queen this season, 

 and have 3 colonies to work in the 

 sections — this was previous to May 15 ; 

 since that time it has been cold and 



rainy, and the bees could not go out 

 to gatli(;r from wliite clover, raspber- 

 ries and other plants in full bloom. 

 On June 1 I examined every colony, 

 and found them full of young bees, 

 from 6 to 8 frames full of brood, and 

 some drones ; but I do not think that 

 there is 10 pounds of honey in the 

 apiary, which is .something remarkable 

 for this part of the country at this sea- 

 son of the year. I shall feed only those 

 colonies that throw out brood. On 

 June 2 and 3 bees were working lively, 

 although it rained, and there was a high 

 wind. I examined 10 colonies of bees 

 of my neighbors, and found them all 

 in a starving condition. This is rather 

 discouraging, is it not ? 



Dry Weatlicr in minnc§ota. — 



Wm. Enke, Rocliester, Minn., on June 

 1, 1889, says : 



The season here is very discourag- 

 ing. The continued dry weatlier killed 

 most of the clover, so that now but 

 little is to be seen. Bees are now 

 gathering some honej'-dew, which 

 just keeps them breeding well. The 

 prospect now is tliat we will not get 

 any white hone}' except from bass- 

 wood. We have frost two or three 

 times a week. 



Snow-Storm and Fro§t. — A. H. 



Lind, Calumet Harbor, Wis., on May 

 31, 1889, says : 



This morning we had quite a snow- 

 storm, enough to make the ground 

 white for about an hour. I fear that 

 if the weatlier does not change very 

 soon, our crop of white honey will be 

 very small. Corn, potatoes, beans and 

 grapevines have .been damaged the 

 last week by frost, and I am afraid for 

 the linden blossoms. Clover is com- 

 ing into bloom, but yields no honey. 

 I put 17 colonies of bees into the cellar 

 last fall, took out 14 in good condi- 

 tion, and sold one, leaving 13 for the 

 season's work. 



Colonics Short of Stores — W. 



D. Markham, Hart, Mich., on June 3, 

 1889, writes : 



Having kept bees for 25 years or 

 more, I never before have hatl tliis ex- 

 perience, and being warned by Mr. 

 Doolittle and others quite often to look 

 to the bees right away after apple- 

 blossom, and having been cold and 

 wet for about two weeks. I began to 

 be uneasy, and on investigation I 

 found reason to be a good deal 

 alarmed. In walking around among 

 them (I have about 100 colonies), I 

 saw at the entrances of a few hives an 

 unusual amount of dead bees. I quickly 



