On the north is an immense old lumber 

 region covered with wild cherries, 

 plums, basswood, willows, elm, maples, 

 wild berries, in immense quantities, 

 white clover from spring until fall, and 

 thousands of other wild honey produc- 

 ing plants, so that the bees find business 

 from the time the snow leaves in the 

 spring, until it covers the ground in the 

 fall. L. Martin. 



Hesperia, Mich., Nov. 10, 1880. 



Good Honey Crop.— The past has been 

 a good season for bees and honey in 

 Southwestern Iowa. I have had swarms 

 issue, and gather from 75 to 85 lbs. of 

 surplus honey in the combs. Through 

 August and September the colonies 

 were in splendid condition and strong 

 in numbers. I use the Kretchmer hive. 

 I wish the Bee Journal success. 



S. C. Smith. 



Whitley's Grove, Iowa, Oct. 24, 1880. 



Late Breeding 1 .— My Italians have a 

 little honey to spare, but the blacks, as 

 a rule, are not half supplied for winter. 

 The Italians gave some surplus in the 

 early part of the season. The queens 

 stopped laying about 10 days ago, and I 

 think they will do as they did in 1877 ; 

 then they stored enough in October to 

 winter on, and reared two lots of brood 

 in October and November, and went 

 through the winter and spring in good 

 order. II. L. Jeffrey. 



Woodbury, Conn., Oct. 4, 1880. 



Bees in New York, etc. — Another bee 

 season has passed, with its pleasures 

 and disappointments. I commenced the 

 season with 22 colonies in fair condition. 

 My honey harvest was 168 lbs, of ex- 

 tracted, and 338 lbs. of comb or box 

 honey, making in all 50G lbs.; this is 22 

 lbs. to the colony. I increased 15 colo- 

 nies, making 37 in all. These are all 

 packed now in chaff and dry leaves, on 

 their summer stands. Bees' are in good 

 condition for winter. The price for 

 honey has been from 8 to 123^c. per lb. 

 for extracted, and 12^ to 15c. per lb. for 

 box honey. I am very t hankful that the 

 Bee Journal is to issue every week, 

 and give us double the amount of read- 

 ing matter during the year, and, with- 

 out doubt, double the amount of knowl- 

 edge ; and those who keep but few 

 colonies, and do not feel able to sub- 

 scribe for the weekly, can enrich their 

 minds with bee knowledge for only 50c. 

 a year. As far as I am concerned, I 

 must have the full documents on the 

 bee, for to the American Bee Jour- 

 nal I have to credit all my success. 

 Please find enclosed $2 for the weekly 



I'M- 1881. In the November number I 

 find a, pen-picture drawn by the Cincin- 

 nati Gazette of the editor of the Amer- 

 ican Bee Journal; how would it be, 

 if you would give your readers in the 

 first issue in January, 1881, a photo- 

 graphic picture of yourself V 



Wm. Polling. 

 Dunkirk, N. Y., Nov. 13, 1880. 



Spider Plant, etc.— I started my seeds 

 in the hot-bed, and had no trouble what- 

 ever in making them grow. Mine com- 

 menced to blossom about the 4tii of July, 

 and continued until frost killed them. 

 All the reports about the large yield of 

 honey from them are true, so far as my 

 experience goes ; but I doubt very much 

 the %>ay part of raising any crop for 

 honey alone, that has to beset outevery 

 year, and hoed 'and cultivated as thor- 

 oughly as the spider plant seems to re- 

 quire. If it would seed itself year after 

 year, as the sweet clover does, I would 

 not hesitate to pronounce it one of the 

 best honey plants I know of. I see by 

 the bee papers that in a great many sec- 

 tions buckwheat is not at all reliable as 

 a honey-yielder; but in this locality it 

 has only failed once in the last 10 years. 

 and I shall depend mostly on that for 

 honey from cultivated crops, until some- 

 thing better is found. I expect to ex- 

 periment more or less this coming year 

 with sweet clover, spider and Simpson 

 plants, but shall certainly discard any 

 or all of them that are not re-seeders. 



O. O. POPPLETON. 



Williamstowm, Iowa, Nov. 15, 1880. 



[We heartily commend sweet clover 

 to every bee-keeper. Its easy cultiva- 

 tion, ability to withstand drouth and 

 wet, long-blooming season, self-seeding 

 nature, and its beautiful, rich honey, 

 will certainly make it a profitable favor- 

 ite with all who give it a fair trial. — Ed.] 



Honey Crop.— Since leaving home Aug. 

 23d, I 'have traveled through Illinois. 

 Michigan and Indiana, and find that the 

 honey crop is very short. Our train be- 

 ing side-tracked near Mr. Heddon's 

 branch apiary. I looked over it and never 

 saw bees doing better. Goldenrod was 

 in bloom, and the bees were enjoying it 

 exceedingly. The valley of the Missis- 

 sippi river generally. this year, has failed 

 to yield honey. and many bees will starve. 

 Some are selling their bees at nominal 

 figures. In Central Iowa bees have 

 done nicely ; ours have not done much, 

 though I have fed a little all the time to 

 keep them in good order. A. D. Dilly. 



Des Moines, Iowa, Sept. 20, 1880. 



