46 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[August, 



lar^e quantities of honey have been fed to the bees, 

 and yet the hives are hardly as populous as they were 

 at the end of March. Those bee-keepers fared worst 

 who make queen raising a business, as it is vain to 

 hope for success therein under sucli circumstances. 

 Thousauds of stocks perished iu April ; and June be- 

 ginning so unfavorably will probably still add to the 

 number. We no longer look for natural swarms this 

 Eeason, and dare not think of making artificial colo- 

 nies. Though I have already fed fifteen pounds of 

 honey to each of my colonies, I cannot yet foresee 

 when this feeding may cease. It is singular that the 

 weather reports "in the Bee Journal this spring ex- 

 hibit conditions of temperature so directly opposite, 

 as regards the state and prospects of bee-culture. 

 How does this happen ? This is a question the solu- 

 tion of which must possess a deep interest for all 

 bee-keepers. — C. T. H. Graveniioust. 



Annowan, III., June 16.— Bees commenced swarm- 

 ing the last week in May. They are doing well at 

 this date. I have just one hundred stocks. All but 

 three are in Langstroth hives. My bees are nearly all 

 Italian. — William Troyer. 



Hubbard, Ohio, June 17. — The weather is not so 

 favorable for bees as it was last season. Very little 

 swarming yet. Considerable white clover, but Aveatlier 

 very dry. It was wet and cold while fruit trees were 

 in blossom. — J. Wimfield. 



Mount Gileao, Ohio, June 20. — I am but a begin- 

 ner in bee-culture. Four years ago I began with one 

 very feeble stock in a box. Now I have thirt3'-eif;ht 

 Italians and hybrids, mostly in frame hives. Our bees 

 are now working well on white and alsike clover ; the 

 red clover blossom grows too long here for bees to 

 work on. I intend to try some of the new methods 

 recommended in the Journal to procure (pure) "non- 

 flying fertilization." If it can be made practicable, 

 then may bee-keepers truly say the science of profita- 

 ble bee-culture has advanced another long step. I 

 cannot do without the Bee Journal, and wish it was 

 issued oftener. I read it over and over — so rich, so 

 complete, full of just what ciiej'y bee-keeper ought to 

 know ; the ripe experience of the best bee-keepers iu 

 the land. — J. Gardner. 



BiNGtiAMTON, N. Y., June 21. — Bees have done 

 very well in this section in regard to breeding — that 

 is, where they were given a sufficiency of empty combs, 

 and properly handled. Box hives are not generally 

 prosperous ; few have swarmed yet ; they have so 

 much old honey left over that they have not sufficient 

 brooding space to get up numbers. They will proba- 

 bly, for that reason, do very little in surplus boxes. 

 The weather has been very changeable this month so 

 far. In fact, it rains every second or third day. We 

 find that our Italians, even where they are very strong, 

 build slowly iu boxes ; in fact, no boxes are finished 

 yet, though they commenced in them nearly two 

 weeks ago. 1 would like to make an inquiry through 

 the Journal, especially of Mr. Stratton, in regard to 

 side-box hives ; but having been confined to the house 

 nearly two weeks, do not feel like writing. We are 

 also very much interested in the foulbrood question, 

 as thei'e is a great deal of that disease in tliis section, 

 though it has not visited our apiary yet. We wish to 

 gel as well posted as possible, so as to be able to do 

 Bomething in the way of prevention, if it should 

 come. — J. P. Moore. 



ToLONO, Ills., June 22. — Bees are doing very well 

 here now, but the spring has been too dry until within 

 about four weeks past. They are swarming very well 

 in the country. — Dr. H. Chaffee. 



Lisbon, Iowa, June 32. — Bees are storing honey 

 very rapidly, and doinjj finely, in most of this State ; 

 and I expect the report for Iowa for 1871 will be a 

 good one. — W. S. Goodhue. 



Warsaw, Minn., June 24. — Bees are late in swarm- 

 ing ; from box hives they leave for the woods. Weak 

 stocks are played out ; stocks with plenty of honey are 

 doing well. We are having fine showers, and the 

 prospect for basswood honey is good. — L. B. Aldrich. 



C iNCiNNATi, Ohio, June 24. — We have a poor lioney 

 season near our city this year. Last year I had taken 

 twelve hundred pounds of honey by the 23d of June, 

 against seventy pounds this year. I keep my bees on 

 tlie roof of my house. Only one of my neighbors, 

 about six miles out, reports a first rate crop. He lives 

 where basswood abounds. — C. F. Muth. 



Hamilton, Iowa, June 25.— This is the height of 

 the ewarming season here, and I have never before 

 heard of so many swarms going to the woods. I had 

 a swarm come out on the 22d inst., and on each of 

 the two following days they came out to leave. But 

 on the first day 1 cropped the wing of the queen, and 

 they didn't get away. They seem well contented 

 now, and are working for dear life. — J. M. Tucker. 



Richmond, Va., June 26. — Bees have not done as 

 well as I anticipated. I think the change in April, 

 from warm weather in the early part of the mouth, 

 to cool and dry in the latter part, will account for it, 

 for I had one or two swarms before the 8th of April, 

 then no more till the 24th ; and I had a swarm on the 

 24th of June. Out of thirty stocks I have had only 

 ten swarms. My Italian queens, introduced this 

 spring, are laying briskly ; and black stocks in which 

 I introduced Italian queens, April 21st, have not over 

 a dozen black workers now. — W. R. Folk. 



West Cheshire, Conn., June 26. — I feel much 

 pleased with my success in bee-keeping this year, 

 thanks to the Bee Journal. — W. H. Kirk. 



Tiverton, Canada, June 28. — The longer I have the 

 Bee Journal, the better I like it. It is full of interest, 

 and any one who has any taste for bee-keeping, can- 

 not fail to succeed Avith your valuable monthly pub- 

 lication. — Rev. J. Anderson. 



Brooklin, Canada, June 28. — We are having a 

 good honey season, tliough the spring was very hard 

 on bees generally. The weather becoming warm in 

 the early part of March, bees were taken out of winter 

 quarters ; but it remained too cool for breeding, except 

 where the stock was very strong in numbers. No 

 honey was gathered for two months. The consequence 

 was many stocks became depopulated and finally per- 

 islied. But since the white clover appeared in blos- 

 som it has been one continual harvest, with fine 

 weather. — J. H. Thomas. 



WillowBranch, Ind., June29. — My bees are doing 

 very well this season in gathering honey. They have 

 filled up the brood chamber with honey, so as to nearly 

 stop breeding. I have ordered one of Feabody's honey 

 extractors, and will try to give them room to breed, 

 as soon as I get it home. White clover is very plenty, 

 with rain enough to keep it sweet. — Jona. Smith. 



Marengo, Ills., June 29. — As good a honey season 

 as I have ever known. — C. C. Miller. 



Lexington, Ills., July 1. — We may send report of 

 honey, bees, &c., at close of the season of 1871, for 

 the Journal, if time permits, the season being very 

 favorable so far. — W. Reynolds. 



