226 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



prevails, yields scarcely any honey. 

 Strong colonies, devoted to ex- 

 tracted honey, are gaining very 

 slowly. Colonies run for comb 

 honey are doing nothing, except that 

 some of them are putting a little 

 into the brood-chamber. Ordinary 

 colonies are not gaining at all ; and 

 many, I think, have less honey in 

 their hives than they had in the 

 spring. I have heard of several 

 cases where bees were found starv- 

 ing duiing what is usually our best 

 honey-flow. 



As a matter of course, there has 

 been little or no svi^arming. Only 

 one colony in my apiary tried it : 

 and that, on being returned, thought 

 better of it and did not repeat the 

 attempt. All colonies are unusually 

 weak. Unless we have heavy rains 

 soon, heart' s-ease will fail, and with 

 it our only hope of any income 

 from bees this year. 



What is the lesson to be learned 

 from this? Dark as the prospect 

 is, it is not without some points of 

 brightness. In the first place, the 

 markets will probably be cleared of 

 all of last year's honey. This of 

 itself is by no means a small thing 

 in the establishment of better prices 

 for this year's crop. Only those 

 who have had a large experience in 

 selling direct to retailers can have 

 an adequate idea of the depressing 

 effect on the market exerted by 

 even a small quantity of unsalable 

 honey. I can recollect instances 

 where it would liave paid me to 

 have bought out a retailer's stock 

 of honey at his own price, rather 

 than let it remain on his hands, 

 spoiling his trade, preventing the 

 sale of other honey, and lowering 

 its price. Now, if those who have 

 any honey for sale this year would 

 only hold it back until the market 

 is bare of all old honey, and the 

 demand for new begins to be urgent, 

 they might realize almost, if not 

 quite, as much for their short crop 

 as they would have for a full one : 



at the same time preparing the way 

 for better prices next year. Honey 

 will probably be in greater demand 

 this year than last, for the same 

 drought that made a failure of the 

 honey crop produced a great short- 

 age in the yield of small fruits, so 

 that there should be an unusual de- 

 mand for honey as a table-sauce. 



Many bees will probably starve 

 the coming winter, which, I think, 

 will be a good thing for beekeeping 

 as a whole. In fact, I know of only 

 one thing that would do more to 

 put beekeeping on a sound and re- 

 munerative basis than a wholesale 

 reduction of the number of bees 

 kept and that is a corresponding 

 reduction in the number of careless 

 and incompetent beekeepers. I 

 know this idea is not popular with 

 some, but it is my honest opinion. 



Although many of those who 

 meet with losses will become dis- 

 couraged and give up the business, 

 there will be enough who will go at 

 it again to make the irade in bees 

 and queens good. 



Look at it which way we will, 

 I think there is much of encourage- 

 ment to the careful and energetic 

 apiarist. The present loss may be 

 hard to bear ; but when all things 

 are considered, it may give greater 

 results tlian a more apparent suc- 

 cess. 



So failure wins : the consequence 

 Of loss becomes its recompense. 



At any rate, good management 

 will go far to retrieve our losses and 

 prevent them from becoming de- 

 feats. Stick to the bees, then, and 

 give them the best of care. If there 

 is any chance for a fall crop be sure 

 that the bees can make the most of 

 it. Above all, be sure that your 

 bees go into winter quarters in as 

 good condition as you know how 

 to put them. To insure that, begin 

 now. 



J, A. Green. 



Dayton, III, July 14, 1887. 



