240 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



[We have noticed some of this red 

 honey in the cells this season, but in 

 very small quantities, and we are un- 

 able to answer the question; but 

 would say that we always prefer win- 

 tering our bees on early honey (bass- 

 wood or clover) or sugar syrup well 

 capped, in preference to any other 

 food. Will some friend please answer 

 Mr. Rasin's question?— Ed.] 



iVei« Smyrna, Fla. 

 Dear Sir: 

 Our honey season for surplus closed 

 26th of July, the average surplus spring 

 count being 115 lbs. per colony. As I 

 intimated in a note to you in May last, 

 my neighbor apiculturists were exer- 

 cising with swarms during the man- 

 grove flow of honey, to their 

 discomfiture. A. J. Goodwin, M. D. 



Foxboro, Mass., Aug. 20, 1884. 



Dear Locke : 

 My bees have done fairly well this 

 season; had eight colonies last fall, 

 brought them all through the winter in 

 good shape ; sold six have eleven left, 

 and one on 2h stories, to divide which 

 will give me twelve strong colonies 

 from two, and about 500 lbs. of honey. 

 These all came from two colonies, as 

 the six were sold before I could use 

 them to stock up with. 



J. E. Pond, Jr. 



Omaha, Neb., Axig. 13, 1884. 



Dear Sir : 



Nebraska has no basswood honey 

 this year and no other of consequence 

 (except of dark and poor flavor) to date. 

 Have had some honey dew. Our main 

 crop, however, comes from heartsease 

 (P. persicaria) which is just coming 

 into bloom. No stocks on hand, and 

 we shall have none to export notwith- 

 standing our production has risen from 

 about 12 tons surplus, in 1878 to 300 

 tons in 1883. We are trying hard to 

 catch up to the demand for honest 

 honey at fair prices. Yours truly, 



T. L. von Dorn. 



AUiston, Aug. 9, 1884. 



Friend Locke : 



The season in Canada, I believe, at 

 the start promised well, but basswood 

 was almost a total failure ; and unless 

 fall pasture turns out above the average, 

 the yield, I believe will not average 

 over fifty pounds to the colony and an 



increase in colonies of double the 

 spring count, counting such as will 

 be in good condition to winter. 



R. F. HOLTERMAN. 



Marshallville, Wayne Co., 0. 



Dear Sir : 



Though yet a boy on the farm, my 

 noonday and leisure resort is to the 

 apiary, which I have by degrees 

 from almost nothing built up to 34 

 colonies ; having constantly by the 

 aid of added experience made it more 

 remunerative and pleasant. I remem- 

 ber full well in my juvenile days when 

 my playmate was presented with a 

 musical instrument, and I wanted one 

 also that I was soon consoled with a 

 better present,' a colony of bees in a 

 red box hive. So much was I pleased 

 with the present that a general quarrel 

 ensued as to who had the best one. 

 Though I sold them again for a dollar 

 (and they died) still I loved them 

 dearly and watched thoughtfully their 

 wonderful ingenuity and industry until 

 my father gave them to my care. 

 Soon I had them all on movable frames 

 and handled them as the dearest pets, 

 and many an hour have I spent with 

 them when the other boys were loung- 

 ing around the village stores and gro- 

 ceries, among whom was my playmate 

 who has, to my deepest regret, fallen 

 into bad habits and is now a drunkard 

 and spendthrift. True, I have had loss- 

 es and might have given up in despair, 

 but I have stuck to it, thus trying to 

 learn the secrets of success and over- 

 come the difficulties that present 

 themselves. I believe that a man who is 

 not willing to devote study and ob- 

 servation to them will never succeed. 



This reminds me of a certain inci- 

 dent. A neighbor when I asked him 

 as the yield from clover was draw- 

 ing to a close, have you taken honey 

 yet? replied. No. Are they at work 

 in the sections? No, I think they will 

 start soon though. By a little ob- 

 servation he might have seen that 

 clover was closing and basswood a 

 failure and have made preparations ac- 

 cordingly ; just as Doolittle has been 

 telling us about having a force of hands 

 engaged to hoe corn'when it was too 

 early or late. C. Wkckesser. 



SPECIAL NOTICE. 



Do not fail to read our club and pre- 

 mium list cai'efuUy this month, as it 

 contains our new and valuable prize 

 and club oflers for new subscribers. 



