Correspondence* 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Northern Michigan for Bee-Keeping. 



JAMES HEDDJN. 



After spending nearly four weeks in 

 the northern portion of this peninsula, 

 hunting, fishing, and looking at land 

 and flowers, I am almost as much as 

 ever at a loss to determine whether it is 

 a good location for bee-keepers. I am 

 rather of the opinion that I prefer the 

 southern portion of the State for bee- 

 keeping as a specialty. I think there is 

 no doubt of the existence of a surplus 

 honey crop in this high latitude. There, 

 perhaps, it would better pay the farm- 

 ers to '• keep a few bees " than almost 

 anywhere else, because his time is of 

 less value than the cultivator of hun- 

 dreds of acres of more costly and 

 tillable land. 



In selecting a location for bee-keep- 

 ing as well as for farming, in the north- 

 ern country, great care should be 

 taken, as many sections would have but 

 one or two surplus-honey yielding 

 plants. I find that the " bee disease," 

 is there too. The advantages of the 

 locality seem to be the great amount of 

 wild red raspberries, and the cool nights 

 which the basswood bloom always en- 

 joy. What seems to be missing at pres- 

 ent are white clover, fruit trees and 

 white wood, and, so far as I can learn, a 

 fall harvest generally. I found the 

 boneset and solidagos there in small 

 quantities, but I presume these plants 

 are not adapted to either the soil or 

 climate of the northern region. I also 

 found several kinds of autumn flowers 

 that are indigenous to the locality, 

 ^rowing in sufficient quantities to pro- 

 duce a surplus honey crop, but as to 

 their honey-yielding quantities I cannot 

 decide, as there are no bees m the 

 country where I inspected them. One 

 of these plants, much resembles the 

 Sweet- William in shape of flowers, and 

 is probably the great willow-herb 

 (epilobium), is very abundant, and if a 

 honey-yielding blossom, would be of 

 much value to the northern apiarist. 

 From its " style " I have some fears of 

 its being a honey producer. 



I entertain some doubt about the 

 climate being suitable for a fall crop, so 

 high up as the locality named, which 

 embraces the counties of Charlevoix 

 and Emmet. The weather I learn is 

 usually cool and subject to rains, which 

 is much like the fall we are having here 

 (Dowagiac), and our fall honey yield is 



a total failure, the first time in eleven 

 years. How the long confinement of 

 winter would affect the health of the 

 bees in the northern latitude I cannot 

 tell ; but if the honey was all right, I 

 guess they would winter well. 



In regard to the health fulness of that 

 far-famed region of " Petoskey," so far 

 as I can learn from experience and in- 

 quiry, it is quite a sanitarium for hay- 

 fever, some cases of asthma, and 

 malarial troubles. It also stimulates 

 the digestive organs for a time, the 

 same as our locality does for those who 

 come from the east, which is no doubt 

 caused by the change of climate. 



Our bees are gathering just enough 

 honey to keep up breeding and keep 

 the hives heavy. This they get from 

 golden rods and the asters, of which we 

 have an abundance, and were the 

 weather not so cold, we would get a 

 nice surplus. Nearly all around us 

 frosts have damaged the crops and 

 flowers, but here it has done no 

 harm, as we are protected by Lake 

 Michigan, whose 900 feet depth of 

 water heaves up its warmth when the 

 sun has bid us good-evening. 



Before closing I wish to diverge and 

 say a few words about Niagara's little 

 rival, 



" PETOSKEY." 



This is a new town of about 1,200 

 souls whose main object in life seems to 

 be to extort exorbitant prices from all 

 who chance to be so unfortunate as to 

 come within their grasp — with some 

 noble exceptions, of course. This 

 spirit seems to be both contagious and 

 epidemic here, and attacks persons of 

 both sexes and all ages, from the boy 

 who sells pebbles from the beach at 25c. 

 each, to the land agent who wants 

 $25.00 before he can commence to talk 

 trade to you. All this naturally drives 

 away the lover of honesty and justice, 

 though he be a millionaire. While there 

 I enjoyed the great privilege, "without 

 money and without price," of standing 

 in the trail where for hundreds of years 

 the noble red man lightly capered from 

 Mackinac to Grand Traverse, and 200 

 years ago Father Marquette accompa- 

 nied them along this trail. Across the 

 bay I admired the old Indian Catholic 

 church, of seventy-five years' existence. 

 It was the base, not a model, of archi- 

 tecture. Nor have I much reverence 

 for the old fables repeated over in 

 Latin to the ears of red nobles for the 

 last three-quarters of a century. But, 

 then, it was old ; had been there a long 

 time, you know. 



Then I visited the old chief, or coun- 

 cilor, Petoskey, after whom the town 

 was named. This old Indian cannot 



