76 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Oct., 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Information Wanted. 



Mr. Editor. — With much pleasure we have 

 read the September number of your journal. It 

 contains much to interest the novice in bee- 

 culture. We are pleased to see some Southern 

 correspondence, and would be pleased to see 

 more in future numbers. 



We have a fine country for bees, yet the sub- 

 ject has been greatly neglected. We are 

 advancing slowly. When we read of such 

 enormous yields of honey taken from a single 

 swarm, and even from an ordinary sized apiary, 

 we are disposed to conclude that we are nowhere 

 in bee-culture ; or, to say the least of it, we are 

 so far behind the times we fear we shall never 

 catch up. It is no unfrequent thing to find 

 doubting Thomases here, and we must confess 

 that our own faith is sometimes shaken when 

 we hear of hundreds of pounds taken from a 

 single hive. Nevertheless, we have to take it 

 for granted that some of it at least must be 

 true. We see reports of large yields from the 

 North as well as from the South. The amount 

 named in some of these reports is so great that 

 we feel a great anxiety to further acquaint our- 

 selves with some of the fticts, thinking perhaps 

 we may be in the dark as to the true system of 

 bee-culture, or it may be in the hives in which 

 the bees are kept. From Louisiana, Mr. Here- 

 ford gives a big report of last year. As Mr. H. 

 is a practical man, and an experienced bee- 

 keeper, no one can doubt his assertion. 



Again, we read in the September and Novem- 

 ber numbers of the North American Bee Journal 

 of a Miss Emma L., of Gainsville, Ala. Her 

 report set us all a fire on the bee question. Only 

 think of it, that a little orphan girl doing all 

 the work herself, with only one year's experi- 

 ence, should take about forty swarms of bees 

 and increase them to one hundred and three, 

 and take nearly seven thousand pounds of comb 

 honey. Wonderful ! But we are assured the 

 figures are correct and there is no exaggeration. 

 Only think of it, a little orphan girl taking in 

 comb honey over six thousand pounds, and no 

 exaggeration in the figures. 



Now, Mr. Editor, we are, as honest men, de- 

 siring to obtain light, knowledge and facts, 

 pertaining to the culture of the honey bee, and 

 we want nothing but fiicts, and do not want to 

 be led astray. We are seeking knowledge in 

 bee- culture, upon the most simple and useful 

 plan. 



The article alluded to was addressed to one 

 of your correspondents, Mr. Will R. King, of 

 Franklin, Ky. It appears Miss Emma L. ob- 

 tained her hives from him, and it is barely 

 possib'e the hive may have had something to do 

 in obtaining this vast amount of honey. If so, 

 we, as bee-keepers, would like to know it ; for 

 if true it will immortalize the young lady, and 

 give a reputation to Mr. King's hives that will 

 insure him a fortune. 



We confess we feel overdosed, but hope the 

 whole statement is correct, and that evidence of 

 such a character, as will relieve our incredulity, 

 will be promptly laid before us. When Mr, 

 Moon was in our city we interrogated him on 

 the subject. He failed to give us any informa- 

 tion about it, further than Mr. King sent the 

 articles to him for publication, and they were 

 in Mr. King's own handwriting. 



It is very evident some person is familiar 

 with the whole thing. From the lights before 

 us we must attribute Miss Emma's success to 

 information as to the management of her bees 

 derived from Mr. King, and to the peculiar 

 adaptability of his hive in procuring immense 

 yields of honey. If we are correct in our con- 

 clusions, and the poor orphan girl did accom- 

 plish what she states she did, the world should 

 know it. On the other hand, if it is a bogus 

 job, gotten up for other purposes, the world 

 should and ivill know it. We have been in- 

 formed by persons living at Gainsville that no 

 such person as Miss Emma L. does now — nor 

 ever did — reside there. But it is possible our 

 informants may be mistaken, and that Miss 

 Emma did at some time reside al that place. 

 We respectfully ask Mr. King to give us the 

 light and information we desire, through the 

 next numlK'r of the American Bee Journal, 

 thereby satisfying a doubting people. 



F. Pence. 



Borne, Ga., Sept. 21, 1873. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Answer to Charles E. Widener, in August Number. 



You must certainly be a -'novice" in bee- 

 culture not to detect the trouble ; your bees 

 destroyed the comb, because some one else had 

 gone before them, doing the same work, namely : 

 the wax-moth, and in cutting its way in the 

 foundation of the comb, and weaving its silken 

 shroud, it imijrisoned the young bees. 



A Request. — Will some of tliose bee-keepers 

 who received rape seed from us be so kind and 

 favor us— as well as bee-keepers in general — 

 with a report of its growth, yield per acre, and 

 its honey-producing qualities. Ours, at this 

 date, is in full bloom, and three times more 

 bees working on it than on buckwheat, which 

 is also in blossom. J. D. Kruschke. 



p. S.— We propose building a straw^ bee-house, 

 viz : build a frame as lor a stable, and then 

 pack straw around it sufficient to keep out the 

 cold, with a ventilator through the top. Has 

 any one tried it, and will they please give the 

 result of their experience in the matter. 



J. D. K. 



I HAVE many hives containing five pecks 

 which swarm yearly, and last (by succession) 

 longer than those that are hived in smaller 



hives. PURCHAS. 



