144 



THE AMERICAN Al'ICULTURIST. 



host of northeastern beekeepers who 

 have honored the calling. 



The attractiveness of the boolv and 

 its practical teaching should find for it 

 a ready sale. 



J. M. Shuck. 



Willamina, Yamhill Co., Ore. 

 April 22, 1885. 

 S. M. Locke, Sik : 

 I have just received j'onr first and 

 second volumes bound together in 

 cloth, and must say that it exceeds my 

 greatest expectations. Every beekeep- 

 per should have it. 



Frank S. Harding, 

 Pres. of the Willamette Valley B. A. 



Oxford, Bvtler Co., Ohio. 

 Dear Sir : 

 Vols. 1 & 2 of the "Apiculturist" re- 

 ceived, and after carefully examining 

 its contents, I have no hesitancy in 

 pronouncing it fully up to any bee 

 journal published. Its contributors are 

 first-class, and show by their articles 

 that they are men of ability. I highly 

 approve of your treatment and con- 

 demnation of fraud in every shape. I 

 am pleased to meet with the familiar 

 face of our old friend Mr. Langstroth 

 in Vol. 2. He lives within 200 yards 

 of me, and is one of the dearest old 

 men I ever knew. A person has only 

 to know him to appreciate his worth. 



D. A. McCoRD. 



Battle Ground, Ind., April 13, 1885. 

 Dkar Sir: 



The "Am. Apiculturist" came safe 

 to hand, and having examined its con- 

 tents, or rather the headings of the 

 major part of the book, I pronounce 

 it 7ie phis xiltra. It should be in the 

 hands of every respectable beekeeper 

 of our broad land, it being complete 

 and full of most useful knowledge 

 "With many thanks lam, sir, very truly 

 yours in fraternal bonds of apiculture. 



P. S. I truly wish you success, in all 

 that is good and honorable, and shall 

 try to furnish an occasional article for 

 the Am. Apiculturist. Please find tliis 

 my second contribution to same. If ac- 

 ceptable you are at liberty to publish. 

 Trusting the "Apiculturist" may live 

 long and prosper, I am as ever, 



J. M. Hicks. 



Brantford, June 4, 1885. 



Friend Locke: 



I see by the last num- 

 ber of the "Apiculturist" much new 

 and valuable information from Eng- 

 land and Germany. Last fall I learned 

 through a Gern)an journal that the 

 poison of the honey bee was utilized in 

 curing honey. 



A thought suggested itself to me 

 which I hoped ere now I should have 

 been in a position to practically test, 

 but circumstances have been unfavor- 

 able and perhaps you know of some 

 one who would take an interest in the 

 matter. 



I intended taking a strong colony 

 and feeding them, say 3 lbs. of syrup 

 per day and allow the bees to seal 

 this and extract with great care. 

 Then feed the same colony 25 lbs. 

 in a day of twenty-four hours (and it 

 can be done) and after it has been 

 sealed extract as before, during hot 

 , weather, and again later in the season, 

 giving four distinct experiments, and 

 then test the various syrups for dif- 

 ference, if any, of quantity of poison 

 contained in stores. If a marked 

 diflerence occurred after repeated ex- 

 perimenting the matter might be wor- 

 thy of consideration and thus one rea- 

 son why stores put in late are not as 

 good as those given earlier. 



I must say a man must be too much 

 of an enthusiast if he considers, as 

 many appear to, that any one condition, 

 if fulfilled, will insure perfect success 

 in wintering. Doubtless much is to 

 be learned in wintering, and theories 

 advanced will often be another step 

 towards success. If we only acted 

 thoroughly up to our present knowl- 

 edge and were more careful, the per- 

 centage of loss would doubtless be 

 wonderfully reduced. 



Your brother beekeeper, 



R. F. Holterman. 



We are pleased with Mr Holter- 

 man's suggestions, and, if possible, 

 will make some tests, as this matter is 

 of more vital importance to beekeepers 

 than they are aware. We shall refer 

 to this again in the near future. 



Mr. Holterman has touched the right 

 key ; we must have more careful ex- 

 perimenting with a view to solving 

 some of the mysteries that now sur- 

 round apiculture, and we trust that 

 others of our readers and beekeeping 

 friends will offer like suggestions and 

 also assist us in making the tests. It 

 will pay you well to do so, and we can 

 by this means help each other vei'y 

 much. — Ed.] 



