®tir %tiUv |5cr*. 



Venice, Pa.. Oct. 28, 1879. 

 My small stock of bees did very poorly 

 this year. I got 1 swarm but no honey, 

 while others around me did finely. What 

 kind of location is best for an apiary— a 

 side hill or a flat ground ? Mine is flat 

 ground. Wm. M. Slater. 



[From the fact that a hill-side is a protec- 

 tion against high winds, such sloping to 

 the southeast would form a very desirable 

 location.— Ed.] _____ 



Rensselaer Falls, N. Y., Oct. 4, 1879. 

 I wish to call attention to the mammoth 

 Russian sunflower, as a bee plant. I have 

 taken special pains this season to test its 

 virtues as a forage plant for bees. 1 planted 

 a plat of it the same time I planted my corn 

 and treated it similar to the corn, as to culti- 

 vation. It has now been in bloom some two 

 months, and the bees have been very busy 

 since then, securing both honey and pollen. 

 It is interesting to see with what vigor they 

 work in securing pollen from it. It is the 

 only recourse they have now, as a week 

 since we had a frost here that destroyed 

 what else they had access to, but the sun- 

 flowers were not harmed, and will probably 

 blossom two weeks yet. I shall plant more 

 next year as they (the seeds) are valuable for 

 horses, cattle, &c, possessing properties 

 siiniler to oil-cake (flax-seed). Chickens are 

 fond of them and they are superior to corn 

 for egg production. The yield is about the 

 same as corn. I have some heads as large 

 as a five-quart pan. The early part of the 

 season was favorable here for bees ; in fact 

 white clover never yielded better but the 

 last three months has tried weak ones. 

 G. A. Walrath. 



Richmond, Texas, Nov. 15, 1879. 

 The November number of American Bee 

 Journal has been read with much interest, 

 especially the report of the Convention. My 

 bees have done well ; they are nearly 

 through with gathering honey now, except 

 from a sugar mill near by, where, unfortu- 

 nately, I am losing many. My colonies 

 are very strong. From 69 in the spring I 

 got 42 swarms, and 4,000 lbs. of honey in 

 one pound sections, and 6,200 lbs. of ex- 

 tracted. From a hybrid colony in a Lang- 

 stroth hive (which I use exclusively) with 

 an extra story on top, I got 402 lbs. of honey. 

 It gathered in 3 days 54% lbs. and had to go 

 from 2 to 3 miles, where basswood and 

 golden rod abounded and yielded well. 

 They are still bringing in pollen from smart 

 weed. We have no frosts yet. The ther- 

 mometer stands at 70° to 75° in the shade. 

 We have no white clover here. 1 shall try 

 it next year. Mustard blooms during all 

 the winter, and bees work on it every fine 

 day. In northern and western Texas bees 

 gathered no honey, on account of drouth. 

 There are but few apiaries in our State yet, 

 but much interest is being manifested by 

 many persons all over the State. 



J. W. Eckman. 



New Amsterdam, Wis., Sept. 27, 1879. 

 Please let me know the name of the en- 

 closed plant, and its value to the bees. I 

 killed, this month, 1,100 drones from one 

 box hive. They did not swarm, but pro- 

 duced 21 lbs. surplus comb honey. 



H. Spengler. 



[This is a species of cudweed (Onapha- 

 Uum). It belongs to the composite, the 

 same great order which contains asters and 

 golden rods. The plant here referred to is 

 not of much value for bees.— W. J. Beal.} 



Lawson, Mo., Nov. 7, 1879. 

 While others are sending in their wail a 

 little groan from me may not be amiss. I 

 reduced my bees last spring to 125 colonies 

 by selling some, and from these I have not 

 had a pound of honey and only 1 swarm. I 

 expect to lose one-half or two-fifths of my 

 bees this winter. They have not honey 

 enough to carry them through, and what 

 they have is mostly unsealed. The queen 

 you sent me is not as yellow as some I got 

 from others, but her bees are far ahead of 

 any Italians 1 ever saw. The honey crop 

 throughout this part of Missouri is a com- 

 plete failure. My best wishes for you and 

 the Journal. J. L. Smith. 



Woodbury, Conn., Nov. 14, 1879. 

 1 see by the American Bee Journal 

 that H. L. Jeffrey, Waterbury, Conn., is the 

 Connecticut Vice President, and if that is 

 intended for your humble servant, please 

 oblige by making note of error, as my ad- 

 dress is Woodbury, Litchfield Co. Conn., 

 and I will do my best to fill the bill in my 

 district. I had not noticed it until I was 

 spoken to about it. II. L. Jeffrey. 



[This was a clerical error made in copying 

 the list of names, and in the hurry we did 

 not discover it. ifou are the man.— Ed.] 



Park man, Maine, Sept. 13, 1879. 

 I see in the April number of Journal 

 that 1 am appointed Vice President of the 

 National Convention, for the State of 

 Maine. I think myself highly honored 

 with the appointment. I think there are 

 others better able to fill the office than I am, 

 yet, I will do all in my power to forward 

 the interest of bee-culture. It would be 

 useless to attempt to form a Society in this 

 State at present, as we have but very few 

 scientific bee-keepers, yet I think we shall 

 have one before many years ; as the people 

 have just begun to wake up to the fact that 

 there is something better for bees than box 

 hives and brimstone. I have made arrange- 

 ments with an agricultural fair to exhibit 

 apiarian wares, bees and honey. 1 think 

 we shall have a good display for the first 

 one. The best way, I think, to get to the top 

 of the ladder is to start from the bottom. I 

 commenced the season with 4 strong and 6 

 weak colonies, increased to 26 and took 1,000 

 lbs. of surplus honey, part box and part 

 extracted. My colonies are now very strong 

 with bees and honey. I have sold 800 lbs. 

 of my honey at 20o. per pound for extracted 

 and 25c. for comb. I have been for about 2 



