THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



235 



— The lioney crop of Vermont for 

 1885 is considerably above the aver- 

 age for that state and of a finer qual- 

 ity than common. One apiarist has 

 raised 22 tons. 



— More honey is raised in Aroos- 

 took Co., Ivlaine, than all the New 

 England States together save the 

 state of Vermont. 



— Not far from 5000 queen bees 

 are reared and shipped from the state 

 of Mass. each year. While Vermont 

 and Maine are noted for their fine 

 honey, Mass. beekeepers have the 

 credit of rearing the finest queens 

 in the world. 



— There is not a township in the 

 United States that does not furnish 

 sufficient flora to support from one 

 to one hundred colonies of bees. 



— Of the animals most detested 

 and most likely to be attacked by 

 bees are the horse and dog. Cows 

 and oxen are seldom injured by bees. 

 Sheep are sometimes attacked, but 

 this is not the case unless they are 

 confined very near an apiary. 



— Now is the time to make all prep- 

 arations for wintering bees. Get them 

 packed so that they need not be dis- 

 turbed when the weather is too cool 

 for bees to fly. We need not give 

 any special directions here for win- 

 tering bees, as they have been given 

 in tlie journals many times and are 

 found in all treatises upon bees. All 

 should understand them by this time 

 and act accordingly. If your colo- 

 nies are supplied with plenty of 

 wholesome food, and properly packed 

 for winter there will be no loss of 

 bees. 



The careless beekeeper will cer- 

 tainly have reason to complain that 

 his bees die in winter, or that they 

 do not do well. Such a person will 

 not prepare his colonies properly nor 

 at the right time for winter. The 

 result is loss of many bees during 

 winter. 



— Mr. J. E. Pond, jr., who has so 

 kindly agreed to take charge of the 

 department entitled "Instructions to 

 Beginners," has been compelled by 

 circumstances beyond his control, to 

 defer his introductory article until 

 November. We are certain that our 

 readers, with us, are anxiously wait- 

 ing to hear from him, and are more 

 than ready to welcome any instruc- 

 tions that may be given. 



— While in Boston a few days 

 since, we had a chat with a prominent 

 dealer in honey. His supply comes 

 mostly from Vermont, and is 

 mainly stored in two pound sec- 

 tions. He says the day for such large 

 packages will soon be "gone by," as 

 the small dealers or grocery m&n 

 demand one pound sections, and 

 the day we saw the dealer, he could 

 have sold one-half ton of honey, had 

 it been in one pound packages. Bee- 

 keepers, he says, must adopt the 

 smaller sections and take a lower 

 price for their honey. [Our readers 

 will understand that this dealer refers 

 to the New England honey market.] 



— We would invite all practical 

 beekeepers to send us short articles 

 relating to bee culture. Remember 

 that short articles are the ones that 

 always receive attention. Short, 

 pithy, and interesting articles are al- 

 ways welcome. Of course there are 

 questions which require many words, 

 and a short article would hardly do 

 them justice ; nevertheless, they are 

 the ones that produce the best effect, 

 and are the most satisfying to the 

 general reader. 



— Honey is said to be a luxury. 

 If so, it is one of the most whole- 

 some and cheapest luxuries offered 

 for sale. When pure honey can be 

 purchased at from 12 to 15 cents per 

 pound, it certainly cannot be consid- 

 ered dear. If more honey and less 

 oleomargarine were eaten, the health 

 of the people would be better. 



