THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



41 



Osage, Iowa, June 29. — This season is hard 

 on the black-bees, and also on the one and two- 

 striped Italian ; but the pure three-striped fel- 

 lows are gathering pollen, rearing brood, send- 

 ing forth swarms, &c., while the one and two- 

 striped and the blacks have to be fed to keep 

 them from actually starving to death. I have 

 before this heard that the two-striped were just 

 as good for breeding and working purposes as 

 the pure ones ; but this season, thus far, demon- 

 strates the superiority of the pure Italians over 

 all others. Crops, with the exception of corn, 

 are extraordinarily good thus far.— E. G. 



PoKTLAND, Maine, June 14. — Enclosed I 

 send you two dollars to pay for the fifth volume 

 of the Bee Jow'nal. I cannot afford to take it 

 at a less price. Eacli number is worth to me the 

 price of the whole volume ; and I take extra 

 pains to advise all my bee-keeping friends to 

 subscribe for it. I am under great obligations 

 to several contributors, especially to friend Gal- 

 lup for his bold way of instructing us in the 

 mysteries of bee-keeping. If any of your con- 

 tributors have occasion to visit this city, I hope 

 they will call on me. 



The season here is cold and backward. No 

 swarms have come out yet to my knowledge. 

 My colonies are strong, and I think will swarm, 

 if the weather gives them an opportunity, though 

 one or two have exhausted their patience and 

 cast out tlieir drones. Notwithstanding the 

 season lias been bacliward, I have found my bees 

 to breed rapidly by the use of Mr. J. L. Hub- 

 bard's little tin-cone bee-feeder — the simplest^ 

 best, and handiest that I have ever seen ; and 

 thanks to Mr. Hubbard, no patent. 



I have supplied friends in this vicinity with 

 twenty hives of pure Italian bees this spring, 

 and if I do not miss my calculations, I intend to 

 be the means of inducing one thousand persons 

 in tliis State to keep bees. 



Only think of the immense amount of honey 

 that goes to waste in the United States — enougli 

 in five years to pay the whole national debt, 

 principal and interest. Of course it cannot all 

 be gathered ; but any additional accumulation 

 of it adds so much to the real wealth of the 

 countrj'. I think, with a little exertion, the 

 increase in this State may be fivefold in a very 

 few years. — M. G. Palmer. 



Cincinnati, Ohio, June 19. — I thouglit I 

 might this year liave a chance to test tlie superi- 

 ority of the Italian-bees over the black-bees, if 

 tliey possess auj'- in regard to producing more 

 honey. So, in the spring, I set a hive of Ital- 

 ians and one of black-bees side by side, both 

 having young queens of last year, and being of 

 tlie same strength — the Italian liive having a 

 little advantage. I examined them both yester- 

 day. Their breeding apartment is alike full of 

 bees, brood and honey ; but the black-bees have 

 filled tlieir supers (eighteen small frames hold- 

 ing about I5 pounds each) almost full, while the 

 Italians have yet hardly commenced working in 

 theirs. What may be ilie cause of it ? I must 

 add that both stoclvs were v/eak in the spring 

 from the effects of last year's disease ; but they 

 are now strong and preparing to swarm. I have 

 the Langstroth-hive, with ten frames in. 



I keep my bees on the roof of my house in 

 town, and have very good luck with them. I 

 took yesterday from a young swarm, made on 

 the 22d of May, fifteen frames of honey, each 

 weighing 1| pounds. I took on tlie 22d of May, 

 fourteen small frames, each weighing one pound, 

 or a little over. They had made this honey, I 

 believe from the blossoms of locust-trees in my 

 neighborhood. The honey was very nice and 

 white. These are black-bees. — C. F. M. 



LANsiNGAaLLE, N. Y., July 5.— Bees are not 

 doing much here this season. No swarms yet, 

 and the probability is that there will not be 

 many in this vicinity. — D. W. F. 



Fulton, III., July 6. — Bees are swarming 

 too much here, for those bee-owners who do not 

 attend to them.— R. R. M. 



Gnadenhtjtten, Ohio, July 5. — Bees in our 

 neighborhood have not gathered much surplus 

 honey up to this time, though we have had 

 regular rains and an abundance of white clover, 

 which is the main source of honey with us. The 

 reason for this, I think, is that the bees having 

 found so little honey the latter part of last sea- 

 son, exhausted their stock entirely last winter. 

 Consequently it took them a long time to fill up 

 their hives before they could work in the sur- 

 plus honey boxes. Besides, the bees not having 

 swarmed last season, many of the queens have 

 become old and exhausted. This keeps the 

 colonies in a weak condition, and hence swarms 

 are not plenty this summer, especially from 

 black-bees. 



The past winter was comparatively mild, and 

 bees wintered well on their summer stands, 

 when protected from winds and rain. We know 

 nothing here of the " bee disease," except what 

 is brought about by bad management, which 

 can only be cured by bee-keepers informing 

 themselves by reading the Bee Journal and other 

 good works on bees. — S. L. 



Hopkinsville, Kt., July 9. — I could not 

 well do without your valuable Journal. The 

 last three numbers have amply repaid me for 

 my subscription. I hope to be able to send you 

 some subscribers in a short time. Bee-culture 

 is gaining ground in this region. This has been 

 a fair honey season. — G. B. L. 



Lowell, Kt., July 6. — My bees went up from 

 thirteen stands to fifty-one this season, all but 

 two natural swarms. Hundreds of pounds of 

 cap-honey besides. — R. M. A. 



Tyrone, Canada, July 6. — The weather this 

 season has been wet, cold, and windy, in this 

 section of Canada, and consequently unfavor- 

 able for bee-keeping. — J. M. L. 



Lewiston, Me., July 13.— There are but few 

 new swarms here this spring. I wintered five 

 stocks the past winter. All came out in fine 

 condition ; but 1 have had only one swarm from 

 them, which issued on the 21st of June. June 

 was a very poor month for bees in this vicinity; 

 it was too wet. July has been quite good so 

 far, and the bees are gathering honey in abund- 

 ance. White clover is very plenty here this 

 season. There are very few bees kept in this 

 locality. I do not think there are more than 



