1871.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



205 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Bees in North Carolina. 



Dear Jcmrnal : — I must confess negligence 

 in not writing to you before, but we are all 

 working uj) here now, in AVake county, about 

 bee culture, and are going to give more atten- 

 tion to the jnirsuit, sow Alsike clover, and pro- 

 duce honey, like our northern and western 

 brethren. 



It appears from census statistics, of 18G0, that 

 North Carolina was the second State in the 

 Union in the quantity of honey yielded, and we 

 hope to keep, yea, to increase our reputation. 



The last season was not favorable for bees. 

 The early part was wet, and the middle very 

 dry — somewhat better late in the fall, so that 

 swarms that survived the dry weather stored 

 nearly enough for winter. 



There were not as many swarms cast last sea- 

 son as usual. Many of the late ones died, or run 

 so low during tlie drought, that they became 

 prey for the bee moth ; and some of the old 

 stocks, too, that had swarmed themselves weak. 



Our crop of surplus honey was very light. 



I had an experience last season that was new 

 to me, and I can come to only one conclusion 

 about the matter. I will state the circumstan- 

 ces, and your readers may think what they 

 please of it. In August or the early part of Sep- 

 tember, I introduced an Italian (jueen into a 

 swarm of black bees, for Josiah Turner, Esq., 

 at Raleigh, and as we wished to raise queens 

 from her, gave especial attention to the swarm, 

 feeding, putting in drone comb (as there was 

 none in the hiv^), &c. For a time all pi-ogressed 

 finely ; the progeny was beautifully marked, till 

 one-half or two thirds of the population were 

 pure Italians. Then some hybrids ajipeared, 

 and finally the swarm returned to hybrids and 

 bees that you could not distiiigui-sh from such as 

 are produced by a black queen. The queen 

 which I introduced was claimed to be over one 

 year old, and had always given pure stock. She 

 was raised and sent to me by Mr. Shultz, of 

 Salem, N. C. I took the precaution to clip her 

 wings, before putting her in the swarm, and do 

 not think it possible that she died and the 

 swarm raised another, as I could not find the 

 least trace of a queen cell ; and do not think the 

 swarm was queenless, or had time to change 

 queens between my examinations. Had the 

 queen been changed, or a new one raised and sub- 

 stituted, ten years' exi^erience in breeding Ital- 

 ian queens ought to enable me to detect the fiict. 

 The wings seemed to have partially grown out 

 again. About one-third was cut oli' the end. — 

 I notice several writers recommend clipping 

 queens' wings. I would inquire how much may 

 or should be cut oft"? I have had queens of 

 some months old change stock. 



J. Curtis. 



Baleigli, N. C, Feb. 3, 1871. 



In a honeycomb the base of each cell is com- 

 posed of three rhomboidal pieces, placed so as to 

 form a concave pyramid. 



[For the American Bee Journa!.] 



A Good Honey District. 



Mr. Editor:— In the December number of 

 your Journal, I saw the inquiry from Mr. A. L. 

 Brown, London, Ohio, — " Where are good honey 

 districts?" He says that he has to depend 

 mostly on white clover for surplus honey. I think 

 that northern Iowa is far ahead of his section of 

 country tV)r bee pasturage. Nearly all the best» 

 honey-secreting blossoms are to be found here, 

 excejit the tulip tree. On the prairies and in the 

 timber are to be found flowers springing up 

 everywhere, as soon as the frost is out of the 

 ground six inches deep. Then our native groves 

 present one grand bed of flowers, so numerous 

 are the wild plum, the crab apple, and the cherry 

 trees. Then come all kinds of berries, blossom- 

 ing in tlieir rotation, with any amount of cul- 

 tiv ted flowers. 



This country is comparativel}^ new, so that 

 evei-y plant grows luxuriantly, especially white 

 clover, borage, golden rod, &c., with basswood 

 all through the timber, and plenty of fall pastur- 

 age. I have been a bee-keeper here for three 

 years, and have not fed any yet, although some 

 had to feed in the spring of 1869, but they filled 

 the hives in the fall, and were in good condition 

 for winter. We have little or no cholera or foul- 

 brood, and no drouth since this cf)nntry was 

 settled that did not leave us half a crop of grain. 

 Our winters are long, with steady cold ; so that 

 bees must be put into good winter quarters, to 

 insure good succe.ss. A dry cellar is the best 

 repository. I am wintering twenty-three sti^ids 

 this winter, and have never lost a stand yet. 

 Our swarming seasons are from the first of June 

 until the fifteenth of July. I think that the 

 bee moth needs a little extra watching in this 

 country. J. W. Lindley. 



Mitchell, loica. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Bees in Colorado. 



I see in the Journal for January, an inquiry 

 from Mr. James Heddon, asking if Colorado 

 would be a good ^ilace in which to keep bees. 

 As I have travelled some in Colorado territory, 

 perhaps I may be able to give him the desired 

 information. I have seen many localities 

 which I would call poor for bees, but never 

 saw one where they could not be kept at all, 

 until I visited the plains. Bee culture cannot be 

 made a remunerative pursuit in Colorado. As 

 far as the eye could reach it was in most places 

 only a barren, desolate, and dreary plain. The 

 whole Cache a la Poudre valley, said to be one of 

 the finest in the territory, would not yield enough 

 honey to support a single colony of bees. 



There is no natural pasturage except a limited 

 amount at the base of the mountains ; while the 

 cultivated plants which produce honey cannot be 

 gft)wn except by irrigation. As regards the cli- 

 mate, I will say that at Greely, Colorado, the 

 thermometer rose to 90° above zero nearly every 



