24 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



may be advantageously added to bee- 

 keeping, and prove an additional means 

 of interesting the young and filling their 

 minds with that which will not only 

 pi'ove useful to them but also lead them 

 to appreciate their Creator's power 

 and wisdom as exhibited in His handi- 

 Avork and give them less time to 

 read the pernicious literature of 

 the day. AVe certainly wish our 

 friend every success in her under- 

 taking. The valuable work on "Silk 

 and the Silk worm" which we have 

 received is certainly very interesting 

 and instructive and we can fully 

 I'ecommeud it. 



Dear Sir : — We send you our re- 

 port for 1883 as follows : after tilling 

 our orders for bees we had to com- 

 mence the season with 260 colonies all 

 told (strong and weak ones). By draw- 

 ing frames of hatching brood from 

 the stronger and giving to the lighter 

 colonies, we had them all in about an 

 an equal condition by June first. We 

 had an abundance of white clover 

 bloom ; but owing to the cold and 

 rainy weather during the entire month 

 of June, but little honey was gath- 

 ered and none at all stored in the sec- 

 tions ; in fact most of the colonies were 

 in an almost starving condition when 

 basswood bloom appeared. At this 

 time we had a change of weather for 

 the better and we were then confident 

 that we should yet have a good yield 

 of surplus honey stored in sections. 



Now for the result. At one apiary 

 of 80 colonies, spring count, we made 

 105 new swarms and obtained 9000 lbs. 

 comb honey. At another apiary of 120 

 colonies in the spring we had 118 new 

 swarms and 10500 lbs. of comb honey. 

 At the home apiary of 60 colonies May 

 first, forty-six new swarms and 3500 

 lbs. comb honey. A grand total of 269 

 new swarms and 23000 lbs. of honey all 

 stored in the two-pound sections. We 

 had no dark honey ; the season being 

 entirely cut off for storing surplus 

 early in August. To secure that 

 amount of honey in that space of time 

 means long days of hard labor while 

 the honey flow continues. Our success 

 is largely attributed to the convenient 

 advantages employed and used in all 

 our manipulations, viz. : manner of 

 making new colonies, and simpli^city 

 of surplus arrangement which admits 

 of quick and easy handling of sections. 



(I claim to have the simplest and best 

 honey rack in use.) After another 

 season's work I am convinced that 

 reversible frames will come into gen- 

 eral use as soon as their simplicity and 

 easy manipulation are understood, aud 

 the advantages derived from their use 

 by those working their apiaries for 

 comb-honey. For extracted honey 

 they are no better than others. 



After another season's experience, 

 my new method of rearing queens has 

 proved a perfect success. It is by far 

 the simplest and easiest way of rearing 

 first-class queens that I have ever seen 

 or heard of. I may give you this 

 method for some future number of the 

 "Apiculturist. " The bees are in fine 

 shape for wintering, the most of them 

 are packed on their summer stands. 

 Have a part in the cellar. The ther- 

 mometer thus far marks 52°; shall put 

 the temperature up to 60 or more de- 

 grees later in the winter. I will report 

 success. I believe the tempei-ature in 

 cellars should be much high»rthan has 

 been advocated. 



jko. W, House. 

 Fai/ctteviUe, N. Y. 



NOTICE. 



Over one hundred years ago, J. L. 

 Christ, th(> author of the German work 

 which we are having translated for the 

 AncuLTURiST, says, " one ought to pay 

 more attention to this branch of agri- 

 culture" and yet we in this enlightened 

 age of the world are just recognizing 

 the fact that apiculture is properly a 

 branch of agriculture, and one upon 

 which agriculture is dependent for its 

 success and which should be taught as 

 one of the necessary branches of study 

 in a thoroughly agricultural education. 

 Where are our apiarists? We hope 

 and trust that our prominent active 

 apiarists will become members of our 

 agricultural clubs, and urge the neces- 

 sity of recognizing apiculture as a 

 sister industry. There is a great deal 

 of good work to be done and who will 

 do it. 



