18 



THE AMERICAN APIGULTUIUST. 



a new manual. 



Ed. Am. Apiculturist. 



The various manuals of beekeep- 

 ing are, in my judgment, lacking 

 in one ver}' essential particular, 

 t.e., thej^ do not give accurate des- 

 criptions of an^- hive but the one 

 their prejudice seems to favor. 

 Tims Mr. A.B. C. does not seem to 

 think any hive but his "Simplicity" 

 worth mentioning ; Mr. L. C. Root 

 thinks the "New Qainby"the7iepZt{S 

 ultra; Prof. Cook describes minute- 

 ly his modified "Gallup" and gives 

 cuts of a couple of others, but as no 

 descriptions are given, one is at a 

 loss to decide whether the hive that 

 is most popular in Canada is in- 

 tended for a bee hive, a dog kennel, 

 or a small barn ; Mr. Newman 

 starts a chapter on "What hive to 

 use" but apparentl}^ cannot adjust 

 his spectacles to see any farther 

 than the Laugstroth ; Mr. Kretch- 

 mcr describes his hive only, Mr. 

 Reed the Mitchell ; Mr. Alley can 

 probably be excused for not des- 

 cribing any but his "double-walled 

 and queen-rearing hives" as his 

 book is intended principally to 

 teach his method of queen-rearing. 

 I might go on mentioning other 

 manuals, but so far as I have read 

 they are nearly alike in this partic- 

 ular, and unless the beginner is 

 possessed of all of them he may 

 choose a hive not at all adapted to 

 his wants. There are a great many 

 very valuable hives in use in Amer- 

 ica, each one containing some fea- 

 ture peculiar to itself and it seems 

 to me if a book were written des- 

 cribing minutely those in use that 

 arc found to give excellent results, 

 with a few lines detailing special 

 management, such a work would 

 certainly have a largo sale. Each 

 manufacturer or supply agent 

 would, no doubt (for the better 

 advertisement of his wares), con- 

 tribute the necessary cuts des- 



criptive of his favorite. By all 

 means Mr. Editor, let us have the 

 book. Who seconds the motion ? 



Apis Canadensis. 



Kingston^ Canada^ Dec. 5, 1884. 



NEW YOKK AND FLOUIDA. 



Dear Sir : On the twentieth of 

 November I packed sixty colonies 

 of selected Italians for Sanford, 

 Fla., the remotest southern point 

 where we have steamers daily from 

 Jacksonville, a distance of two hun- 

 dred miles north, and owing to 

 poor management did not succeed 

 in getting them here until sixteen 

 days after shipment. Have them 

 pleasantly situated, without any 

 loss, in a fine orange grove, three 

 and one-half miles southwest of 

 Sanford and they are in a prosper- 

 ous condition. Have brood in all 

 stages in some, and all have started 

 brood-rearing nicel}' so far. Bees 

 swarm in this vicinity in March 

 and April under ordinary circum- 

 stances, but think by stimulating 

 can divide the last of February or 

 the first of March. Our principal 

 honey-producing plants in this vi- 

 cinity are palmettoes, magnolia, 

 and orange, and several swamp 

 varieties of which I cannot give 

 the name at this date. Bees are 

 not bringing in much of any honey 

 but are carrying pollen freely. No 

 one in this vicinity pays beekeeping 

 much attention, but all say the bees 

 do well. Don't think there are anj'^ 

 Italians in Orange county and if 

 mine continue to display tlie same 

 energy tliey have since I arrived no 

 flower will bloom unvisited b}' them 

 as they are the first I hear as I a- 

 wake and the last to give it up at 

 night. The mercury rose to-day 

 to ninety-six, and ranges from 

 eighty to ninety'. Weather very 

 fine at present. 



C. G. Ferris. 



