I have been Italianizing and increas- 

 ing, and have taken no honey from 40 

 colonies. A few of the strongest colo- 

 nies have filled their hives 2 or 3 times. 

 The country is parched for want of rain. 



S. S. H. 



Big River Mills, Mo., Aug. 20, 1880. 



I have 2-50 colonies, but have not had 

 5 lbs. of surplus to the hive. The bees 

 are breeding finely and the hives are 

 full of bees. Fair prospect for a good 

 harvest from Spanish needle. 



A. T. Williams. 



St. Charles, Mo., Aug. 10, 1880. 



From 75 colonies my surplus will not 

 exceed 200 lbs. of comb honey ; this is 

 the poorest honey year since 1872 ; white 

 clover being a failure, the basswood was 

 the only source for honey. 



A. M. Sawdey. 



Poolville, X. Y., Aug. 23, 1880. 



Bees wintered well here, but in the 

 spring they dwindled badly ; when rasp- 

 berries and locusts were in bloom the 

 combs were full of brood, so that there 

 was no room for honey ; clover yielded 

 no honey this year, and basswood only 

 lasted 5 or 6 days ; buckwheat is now in 

 bloom, but it does not seem to contain 

 much nectar. Upon inquiring regard- 

 ing the honey crop in this locality I find 

 as follows : 



Mr. A., 5 miles distant, has 49 colonies 

 and 3 swarms. 



Mr. B., 2}4 miles east, has 45 colonies 

 and only 1 swarm. 



Mr. C, 4 miles southwest, has 52 col- 

 onies and 3 swarms. 



Mr. S., 5 miles south, has about 500 

 colonies, and 5 or 6 swarms. 



Mr. H., 7 miles west, has about 40 col- 

 onies, and has had very little surplus. 



Mr. G. has 15 colonies, but no increase. 



Mrs. C. has 6 colonies and 1 swarm, 

 which went to the woods. 



Mr. M. has 14 colonies, butno increase 

 nor honey. 



I would like to call attention to the 

 valuable hints given on page 361 of the 

 Journal for August. If bee-keepers 

 do not own a foot of land, there is plenty 

 of waste land along the highways, va- 

 cant lots and fence corners, and I believe 

 that bees get half of their living from 

 mustard, catnip and motherwort. Suc- 

 cess to the Bee Journal. 



D. L. Whitney. 



Eockton, 111., Aug. 16, 1880. 



My 50 colonies barely made a living, 

 even though fed a little every week ; I 

 shall double up and feed in September. 

 H. T. Collins. 



Jacksonville, 111., Aug. 23, 1880. 



I commenced in spring with SO colo- 

 nies ; increased to 125, which are strong 

 in numbers, but some are light in stores. 

 Comb honey, 1.600 lbs.; extracted, 400 

 lbs. This has been a very poor season 

 in this vicinity for honey, even with a 

 lot of combs for surplus and brood 

 chamber ; many of us have left no stone 

 unturned to prevent increase, so as to 

 run for surplus. I think I can safely 

 speak for 1,000 colonies, many of which 

 will not give more than x / 2 the increase 

 or surplus of mine. We ought to get 

 20@22c. for clover honey that is not al- 

 ready on the market. 



A. A. HARRISON. 



McLane, Pa., Aug. 14, 1880. 



I have kept bees for 20 years, but this 

 is the first season that I have been with- 

 out a pound of surplus. The white clo- 

 ver was killed last winter, and the new 

 crop did not come on this summer in 

 time to do the bees any good, and it is 

 now so dry that buckwheat and fall 

 flowers are doing nothing. I fed my 

 bees last fall to carry them through the 

 winter, and will have it to do again, un- 

 less we have a very favorable change. 

 I have always held that the black bees, 

 if treated the same as the Italians, would 

 do equally as well. This lias been a 

 good year to test their qualities, and I 

 find the Italians far ahead in every way. 

 I now have all my bees Italianized, and 

 want no more blacks. 



E. Armstrong. 



Jerseyville, 111., Aug. 16, 1880. 



My crop of honey is : Extracted, 500 

 lbs. light, 500 lbs. dark ; comb, 90 lbs. 

 light. I shall get about 200 lbs. dark 

 comb honey, and 400 or 500 of extracted 

 from buckwheat and asters. 



J. N". McColm. 



Plymouth. AYis., Aug. 24, 1880. 



I had 62 colonies in the spring; in- 

 creased to 93, and obtained 3,000 lbs. of 

 comb and 500 lbs. of extracted ; all clo- 

 ver honey ; none to be expected from 

 fall flowers. F. A. Salisbury. 



Geddes, N. Y., Aug. 21, 1880. 



I had 7 colonies of black bees in the 

 spring ; increased to 9, and obtained 80 

 lbs. of dark and 182}i lbs. of light 

 honey, most of it is still on the hives ; 

 the fall harvest will continue several 

 weeks yet. J. R. Kilburn. 



Fisher Station, Mich., Aug. 21, 1880. 



There is but little honey and no in- 

 crease ; I expect enough honey from; 

 buckwheat for my bees to winter on. 



H. W. CONKLIN. 



Rockton, 111., Aug. 23, 1880. 



