634 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.. 



has a fixed price, it savors too much of the 

 atmosphere of second hand clothing shops. 



It may be a matter for regret that ex- 

 tracted honey is not usually sold for more 

 than 10 or 12 cents, at retail ; but its in- 

 trinsic excellence is altogether a different 

 matter from its market price. It is the 

 latter, in common life, which determines 

 what an article is worth. Mr. M. would feel 

 much injured if, when ignorant of a fall in 

 the price of potatoes, a neighbor should sell 

 him a sack for twice their market value. 

 By all means, let us ask the highest inarlrt 

 price, and produce goods worthy of it ; but 

 let it not be supposed that apiarists want 

 the earth ! F. L. Thompson. 



Denver, Colo. 



Wintered in the Best Condition. 



My bees wintered all right, in the best 

 condition I have ever had any. One of my 

 neighbors, in cleaning out his yard the 

 other day, found a colony of bees in an old 

 corn-sheller. When they went in there, 

 no one knows. As soon as I heard of it, I 

 went to buy them for a novelty, but he 

 threw them on a brush pile and burned 

 them up. Was not that too bad? 



A. S. Straw. 



Edwardsburg, Mich., April 9. 



Subscriber for More than 20 Years. 



I cannot do without the good old Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal, having had it for more 

 than 20 years, and I hope it may prosper 

 and grow better, and if my life is spared I 

 hope to read it 20 years longer, and find it 

 still more interesting. Wonderful progress 

 has been made in bee-keeping since the 

 American Bee Journal was first read by 

 me. 



I fear that the adulteration of extracted 

 honey will ruin that part of honey-produc- 

 tion, and we will have to turn to comb 

 honey, and put up all extracted honey in 

 small packages, and brand it with the kind, 

 the time taken, seal and stamp, with name 

 and place. John Craycraft. 



Astor Park, Pla., April 21. 



About the Sweet Clovers. 



In reading the article on sweet clover, on 

 page 308, 1 was very much pleased to see 

 such a good picture of it, but I think R. H. 

 Duggar's description of the yellow variety 

 is wrong. After reading the article I took 

 a street-car and went right out to one of 

 my out-yards, where I have many acres 

 growing, and procured two roots, and will 

 mail them to you, and if not too much 

 wilted before they arrive, you can plant 

 them, and by June 10th we will have 

 ocular demonstration on the subject. With 

 me it has always proved itself a biennial. 



Toronto, Ont. Joun McAkthur. 



[The specimen roots arrived all right, 

 Mr. McArthur, but somehow were mislaid, 



and when found were dead past redemption. 

 Prof. Cook, in his valuable book, " The 

 Bee-Keepers' Guide," says this about sweet 

 clover : 



" Sweet clover, yellow and white — Melilo- 

 ius offirimilis and Melihtus alba — are well 

 named. They bloom from the middle of 

 June to the first of October. Their perfume 

 scents the air for long distances, and the 

 hum of bees that throng their flowers is like 

 music to the apiarist's ear. The honey, too, 

 is just exquisite. These clovers are bien- 

 nial — not blooming the first season, and 

 dying after they bloom the second season. 

 They perpetuate themselves, however, 

 through the seed so as to really become 

 perennial. 



" The Bokhora clover is only a variety of 

 the above, though Mr. D. A. Jones thinks it 

 quite superior to the others." — Editor.] 



Gusty Wants to Tell Some Things. 



I vants do dells you some dings, mine pees 

 vas doing veil dis shpring. I vintered dem 

 out mit der doors, ven de dermometer vent 

 do vorty pelow nodding. Mine pees vas 

 shust like mineself — da vas alvays in der 

 right blace ven der vork gomes long und da 

 gan do peesness like noddings, do. 



Vat a goot, nice baper dose Bee Journal 

 vas, und vat vine gorrespondents it geeps 

 him ! Mine cracious ! I shust visht I good • 

 haf some dalks mit dose Meester Dolots. I 

 likes it eef I good dells Meese Adtchley dot 

 I preeds mine quveens do pe like mine oldt 

 dutch moother, und repbresent her. Und 

 dare vas dot nice Meester Melby und der 

 Dr. Meeler mit hees las bease vor honey 

 sellings. Dot vas goot ! Vy ! Nex year I 

 knows shust how to get dirty cent for mine 

 honey ! Dot Dr. Meeler vas a pooty shmart 

 mans alreadty yet. I dinks yah ! Vot you 

 dinks ? Gusty Shraeder. 



Hansburg, Westgonsian. 



Results of the Past Season. 



My report for 1893 is as follows : I put 

 into winter quarters, on the summer 

 stands, in 1892, 136 colonies, 75 in chaff 

 hives, and of the balance some were in 

 single and some were in double walled 

 hives. The chaff hive colonies came out 

 best, having lost four out of those in chaff 

 hives, and 20 out of the others. I increased 

 four last year, and got 7,000 pounds of 

 honey, one-half extracted, and one-half in 

 one-pound sections. Alfalfa is our main 

 honey-plant, and the second crop hasn't 

 yielded much honey for the last two years. 

 The past winter I lost four colonies out of 

 136, but the balance are in better condition 

 than last year. We had about our usual 

 amount of winter, and rather a backward 

 spring, but not so backward as last year. 

 Alfalfa is about 6 inches high. All early 

 fruit is in full bloom. Our prospects for 

 fruit of all kinds was never better. 



R. D. Willis. 



Montrose, Colo., April 29. 



