392 



you can see hat the decision puts us in 

 a very close box. Please give us the 

 information through the Bee Jour- 

 nal,, and try to show our postmaster 

 whether the decision is in force or not, 

 and at what time the decision took effect. 

 Also are wooden cages to be accepted, 

 or must they be of tin ? I make my 

 cages by boring into a block of wood 

 (sugar pine), and covering with wire 

 cloth. What is the best, or a good kind 

 of food, and how made, to feed the 

 queen and bees in transit ? I have made 

 candy from loaf sugar and put in hot 

 with success, and they were confined at 

 least 5 days ; one I know was consider- 

 ably handled. 



I got a few queens fertilized as early 

 as April, but had no success until May, 

 owing to cold and rain. Many were 

 caught in the showers and never re- 

 turned. Our spring was very backward 

 and cold ; fruit bloom was scarce, and 

 natural flowers late and not plenty. I 

 fed about 75 lbs of candied honey, and 

 reduced in April to 50 colonies. I saved 

 about 200 Langstroth frames of solidly 

 sealed fall honey, which I gave them in 

 January ; this brought them through 

 in good condition, and I lost none, 

 though some of my neighbors lost many. 



I was forced to resort to natual swarm- 

 ing in May for good queen cells. All 

 my swarms left full hives, and, thanks 

 to comb foundation, the combs are all 

 built out. I had no sagging this sea- 

 son. The hives were not shaded; I 

 have shade trees growing though, as I 

 think it necessary to secure best results. 

 Our season is over here ; bees are in- 

 clined to rob, and are driving their 

 drones off the combs. I found it diffi- 

 cult to get much comb honey ; probably 

 had my hives been better shaded I 

 might have done more. I was forced 

 to extract, though I have not taken off 

 my comb honey yet. I shall have to do so 

 this week to save it. We only had about 

 6 weeks of fair honey-gathering ; while 

 it lasted it appeared to come in fast and 

 of good quality, gathered from blue 

 sage, wild buckwheat, yerba santa, 

 buckeye mint, pennyroyal and blackber- 

 ries. I would like anyone that does not 

 believe bees work on blackberries to 

 have seen mine in May last. They 

 might think differently. There are 

 about 15 acres of the Lawton on my 

 Vt\ no lies 



My bees were traced 8 miles up the 

 mountain this spring, when honey was 

 scarce, by an old hunter. 



Bees are working on yerba santa, 

 buckeye and Spanish alfalfa, and the 

 bee balm is just coming in bloom. I 

 have a little melilot clover just in 

 bloom ; it is growing on a side hill, very 



dry and thin soil, with no irrigation. 

 I think it will grow anywhere in this 

 climate. We will have the hawberry 

 in bloom soon, when our drought comes 

 and lasts about 6 weeks, or while corn 

 blooms. 

 jSTapa, Cal., June 28, 1880. 



[Your postmaster is referred to the 

 " Postal Guide " for February, page 45, 

 section 235, which was then in force, 

 and reads thus : 



"The Postmaster General has con- 

 sented to a temporary suspension of the 

 ruling excluding "queen bees" from 

 being sent in the mails ; but when of- 

 fered for mailing they must be put up 

 in accordance with section 223, and so 

 soon as they are found to injure the 

 person of any one handling the mails, 

 or soil the contents of the mail pouches, 

 this order will be rescinded." 



The mails are now freely used for 

 queens, and are never interfered with 

 except by some postmaster who is not 

 familiar with his duties. 



Mr. Enos is referred to the back num- 

 bers of the Bee Journal for this year, 

 where all his questions about cages, 

 feed, etc., are fully answered. — Ed.] 



©ouueixticms* 



Tuscarawas and Muskingum, 0. 



Bee-keepers in this locality met at 

 Coshocton, O., in May last, and organ- 

 ized an association. After adopting a 

 constitution and by-laws, the " Tusca- 

 rawas and Muskingum Valley Bee- 

 Keepers' Association " was fully or- 

 ganized by electing the following offi- 

 cers for the coming year : 



Capt. L.B. Wolfe, President; Messrs. 

 A. B. Thompson, A. A. Fradenburg, 

 Rev. W. Balentine,and Jos. Love, Vice 

 Presidents ; Mr. J. A. Bucklew, Secre- 

 tary, and Mr. Calvin Boyd, Treasurer. 

 The roll for membership was presented 

 and a good number of members ob- 

 tained. 



The following questions were pro- 

 posed for discussion : 



1. What is your method of introduc- 

 ing queens ? 



2. What is the best season of the year 

 for rearing queens, and how do you pro- 

 ceed in Italianizing ? 



3. Do you prefer artificial to natural 

 swarming— if artificial, what is your 

 method V 



