244 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



clover were a failure. Hope the sec- 

 ond crop will yield and shall try for fall 

 houey. Yours truly, 



Samuel Cusiiman. 



Gonzales, Cal., Aug. 2. 



Fkiknd Alley: 



lu answer to your question I will 

 say that our honey crop this year is 

 extremely small, such as it is. It is 

 too early to give accurate figures; but 

 soon as I can I will do so. 



Last year the state produced 800,000 

 lbs. comb honey and 6,000,000 extracted 

 This year my correspondence in most 

 southern counties (the real honey 

 region) several more northern parts 

 •where rain seldom falls, all show the 

 same condition : little nectar in the 

 flowers. I repeat, I will give figures 

 when I get them. 



A. Norton. 



Christiansburg, July 24, 1887. 

 Mr. Alley. 

 Dear Sir : 

 I would like to inquire through 

 your paper of tliose who have tried the 

 close-fitting Heddon brood frames, if 

 they have been troubled l)y the moths 

 hiding and burrowing in between the 

 ends of tiie frames and the end of the 

 case. Very truly yours, 



Jas. Erwin. 



[We never used, nor yet ever 

 saw a Heddon hive and can make 

 no reply from experience. Will 

 those who have used that hive an- 

 swer the above question? A few 

 moths will most likely be found 

 hidden away in the out-of-the-way 

 places in any hive ; their presence 

 there can do no damage.] 



Constantia, 0. 

 Mr. Alley : — 



The last trap you sent has arrived 

 in good sliape. 1 lilce its appearance, 

 but liave liail no opportunity to test it. 

 We lost one swarm (on the 4th) that 

 probably would have been saved if 

 that first trap had come. Can you not 

 give, in the An, an article on trapping 

 drones? Is it best? If it is, when to 

 do it? 



Respectfully, 



Mrs. W. O. Caulkins. 



[The time to trap and destro}' 

 drones is when they are not needed. 

 We think it is best to destroy all 

 drones save those in one colonj', 

 and let those be of the best strain 

 in the apiarj'. The best waj^ to 

 improve the apiary is not to use the 

 drones of an}'^ undesirable strain. 

 If you have a colon}' of bees that 

 possess all desirable qualities, pre- 

 serve the drones and cross the 

 queens of the othe'r colonies from 

 that strain.] 



I have some Albino bees and like 

 them very much for their gentle 

 disposition, and energy. They are 

 afflicted, however, with the tremb- 

 ling disease, while the best Ital- 

 ians and hybrids are not. Can you 

 give me any light on this subject. 

 C. H. b. 



[Eeference is made to the above dis- 

 ease in another column. Salt will kill 

 the disease in a few weeks. 



Two years ago we purchased twenty 

 colonies of bees afflicted with the 

 nameless disease. Salt was applied 

 freely, and in the course of a few weeks 

 all signs of the disease had disappeared. 

 Apply the salt as stated elsewhere in 

 this issue of the An.] 



Hamilton, Ohio. 

 Editor An. 



I suppose I shall have to take some 

 of the capped honey from my hives iu 

 order to give the queen room to deposit 

 eggs. The combs are full of pollen. 



Could you advise us in the Sept. issue 

 of the An how to manage our bees to 

 keep up brood-rearing till Oct? 



T. K. 



[Brood-rearing may be kept up 

 by feeding about one pound of 

 syrup each day. Feed at night. 

 Here in New England the bees have 

 more or less brood till Oct. 10. 

 The queen usually stops laying 

 about Sept. 20.] 



