72 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Sept. 



to do on the Shanghai roosters), or the other 

 bees would rob them. 



No profits, to any amount, from bees this sea- 

 son in this vicinity, unless we have a better har- 

 vest in September. 



We have had rains and strong cold winds the 

 large part of the summer, though he have had 

 a few intensely hot days. 



We have a little extra honey on hand, but 

 dare not dispose of it, as we may need it to feed 

 the bees on before winter. 



There is two or three other bee journals taken 

 here and I get them to read, but I like the dear 

 old American the best of all. 



W. M. Kellogg. 



Oneida, 111., August 12, 1872. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



The Season at Binghamptcm, N. Y. 



We have had a very good season here. The 

 bees have killed no drones yet. Alsike did well 

 to start on ; then we had a cold, wet week, just 

 when white clover should have done the best, 

 and it yielded none afterward. In fact, we have 



[From the Sulphur Springs (Texa<) Gazette.] 



Editor Gazette : —Thinking that it will be 

 interesting to your readers, I give you the pro- 

 ceedings of a meeting held here last night, for 

 the purpose of organizing an association to en- 

 courage scientific bee-culture, and to promote 

 the interest of those engaged in this branch of 

 industry. 



The meeting was called to order, Hon. W. H. 

 Andrews in the chair; then proceeded to or- 

 ganize, by electing the following officers to 

 serve until a permanent organization can be 

 formed : 



Hon. W. H. Andrews, of McKinney, Presi- 

 dent; John W. Crabtree, of Sulphur Springs, 

 1st Vice-President ; W. G. Suggs, of Mt. Plea- 

 sant, 2d Vice-President ; J. Hervie Sparkman, 

 of Sulphur Springs, Secretary ; J. M. Wester, 

 of Sulphur Springs, Treasurer ; Wm. Sickles, 

 T. P. Garret, and J. M. Wester, Committee to 

 draft Constitution and By-Laws. 



•The following subjects were then selected for 

 discussion at the next meeting : 



1st. The Italian bee, as compared with the 

 black bee— its advantages and disadvantages. 



2d. Moths— their habits, effect on bees, and 

 the prevention of the same. 



3d. The requisites of a good hive. 



4th. The advantages and profits of scientific 

 culture over the old (do-nothing) system of bee- 

 raising. 



5th. Texas as a honey-producing country. 



The association then adjourned to meet at 

 Sulphur Springs, October loth, 1872. 



We hope to see all those engaged in bee-rais- 

 ing, in attendance, as we intend to make the 

 meetings of the association interesting and in- 

 structive, by the discussion of the topics selected. 

 We also hope to have some essays written by 

 scientific apiarists, on subjects of interest to all. 

 J. Hekvie Spakkman, Secretary. 



Sulphur Springs, Texas, June 21, 1872. 



seen one hundred bees in red clover this season, 

 in June and July, to one on white clover ; but 

 we always notice those seen at work on red 

 clover have the full number of stripes ; the dark 

 bees in hybrid stocks don't seem to fancy red 

 clover. We had the best yield of basswood 

 honey that we have ever known. There is but 

 little basswood in this section, and so many bees 

 having died off the past winter, 1 presume ours 

 had the full benefit of all the basswood in the 

 range of their flight. Not having weighed all 

 my surplus, I can't report yet ; but from my 

 best stock (which was in a standard Langstroth 

 hive, as usual), I took in to the extent of eighty- 

 one pounds gross, about the 25th of July, and 

 it is now at work on buckwheat, in a case of 

 twenty-four two pound frames, which are built 

 down to the bottom with comb ; but most of my 

 stocks had the swarming fever very bad, the 

 last part of June ; honey yielded very slowly, 

 just enough to keep them breeding rapidly, but 

 not enough for them to build much comb in 

 boxes, and the weather was excessively hot. 

 My apiary is located in a ve*ry warm place, and 

 in some cases, I have taken out nearly one-half 

 of the brood combs and given them empty 

 frames, cutting out all queen cells ; but they 

 would swarm in a day or two, and if put back 

 would come out again and go into some other 

 hive or nuclei, and if prevented by blocks, would 

 scatter perhaps into five or six other hives, leav- 

 ing a lot of boxes on the old stand, partly 

 filled. The side box hive is the best swarming 

 hive, by all odds. It looks now as if I should 

 not get a pound of surplus from them. I got 

 none from clover, and if they do not pick up 

 soon, I shall get none from buckwheat. Wish- 

 ing all succes to the Journal, I remain as ever, 

 Yours, 



J. P. Moore. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



An Early Swarm. 



This has been so far a poor season for bees. 

 Little surplus honey will be stored. Swarming 

 commenced late ; hybrids give the best satisfac- 

 tion as honey gatherers. A swarm that was 

 kept in the cellar all winter and fed, filled the 

 hive with bees and swarmed the second day af- 

 ter being taken out, about the middle of April. 

 Of course in this latitude there was no forage at 

 that time, but by giving ready made comb and 

 some feed they sustained themselves. I relate 

 this as an unusual occurrence, showing that early 

 swarms can be produced this way. 



A NEW WAY OF HIVING A SWARM. 



A few weeks since a swarm of a friend lodged 

 in the top of a large sized willow troe some 50 

 or more feet up, no ladder long enough could be 

 had, and the nature of the tree would not ad- 

 mit climbing, so the bees must go. But no, they 

 hung, and hung, and stood a heavy thunder 

 storm which rained and blowed tremendously 

 without dislodging them. A hunter coming 

 along, shot the limb off clear striking the ground 

 with great force, and never did bees go into a 

 hive quicker. J. L. Fisher. 



Tiffin, Ohio, July 15, 1872. 



