168 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Voices from among the Hives. 



O. L. Bam-akd, of Maloiie. N. Y., writes : 

 — " Most of tlu; hee-keepers in tliis vicinity 

 have lost a large proportion of tlieir colonies 

 since setting tlieni ont this spring ; but bj' 

 feeding mine a little they have increased in 

 numbers, altiiough they luwe not swarmetl 

 out as yet." 



Wm. Pekry, (Sh., Lynnville, Tenn.. writes: 

 — " Our honey harvest has been very tight the 

 present season. There has not been much 

 increase in stocks. The very wet spring, 

 followed by a drought of some five weeks, 

 has proved quite unfavorable for honey 

 gathering."' 



E. Gallup, Orchard, Iowa, writes :— "The 

 bees are swar))iing and doing finely. The 

 spring" was cold and backward, which makes 

 them late in swarming, but the flowers all 

 produce honey this season. They are now to 

 work on Alsike and white clover. The bass- 

 wood or linn is going to blossom v(uy pro- 

 fusely ; so look out for honey." 



.J. H. Ckistie, Dyersburg, Tenn., writes : 

 — " My bees are doing well. The winter was 

 mild, and the spring opened early, but cold 

 and wet. Bees could gather nothing to make 

 honey of, and many starved to death. All 

 were put back at least a month. The poplar 

 is our best honey food, and it is in bloom 

 now. We have besides this, holly, maple, 

 elm, and black gum. My bees are all of the 

 black kind. I inteuil to Italianize them 

 soon." 



John Barfoot, Wellsville, Mo, writes : — 

 '• So far this has been a good bee season. 

 Honey dew connnenced here May 22nd and it 

 has continued up to this time, with the excep- 

 tion of two days while it rained. We have 

 also had our usual supply of bee pasture from 

 flowers. We are in the midst of swarming. 

 The Messrs. Baldwins, since their advent 

 here, have infused new life into bee-keeping. 

 Hives have increased 5 pounds in a single 

 day here lately. 



L. BuRDiCK, Galesburg, Mich., writes : — 

 "Ovu' bees wintered very well last winter. 

 But a great many were lost during the month 

 of April, who tiew out anil died ap])arently 

 without disease, the (pieens living till about 

 the last. They laid some eggs but did not 

 hatch, for the want of bees to take care of 

 them. The bees might have died with old 

 age. Any information on this subject would 

 be thaid<fuily received. The season here has 

 been good for bees, up to this date. 



Samuel Luetht, (inadenhutten, Ohio, 

 wiites :— *■ Bees wintered well in this locali- 

 ty. One of our Italian colonies treatetl to 

 liorse manure as recouuiiended l>v •" Novice." 



did not seem to derive much benefit from the 

 process. The manure was put aroniul the 

 hive up to the honey board on three sides, 

 and the front was protected by straw and a 

 board placed in front of it. The prospect for 

 surplus honey is poor, owing to the long con- 

 tinued dry weather. 



Frank Searles, Hadley, Hi., writes : — 

 ■' I wintered I2ii swarms and lost but one. I 

 have only lost 8 swarms in the last three 

 years. The weather for the past ten days 

 has been very unfavorable— clouds, rain, and 

 wind. The fields are white with clover, and 

 my hives are full of bees. All they want now 

 is fine weather. Swarms that I did not think 

 gootl eiu)ugh to sell 1.5 days ago are now in 

 first-class condition. They have done finely 

 on the locust trees, for the past few days." 



C. II. English, Sullivan, Mo., writes:— 

 " We have a good bee range here. The 

 natural timber is very good. Sugar trees, 

 soft maple, walnut, gum, and linn are among 

 the l)est. They also make honey from a vine 

 called •• poison vine," wild grapes, etc. 1 

 intend hedging my farm with a kind of liaw - 

 thorn, resend)ling sugar haws. It l)looms in 

 .June. Bees are very fond of it ; and it makes 

 a good hedge, and the berries are good for 

 hogs. Red raspberry is the best honey plant. 

 Its leaves are dripping with hont^y dew. My 

 hives are full of honey, some in boxes. I 

 have had several swarms. I use black bees. 

 Some day I will give you my experience." 



M. QxjiNBV, St. .Johnsville, N. Y., wi'ites : 

 — " When I first read on page 106, tiie heading 

 ' A new smoker " I thought • a contrivance 

 for smoking bees " had reference to the way 

 smoke was applied. Instead of a new way 

 of applying smoke, it seems that only the 

 material that he recommends to make it of is 

 new. He concludes by saying ; ' You can 

 blow th(» smoke where you want it, it leaves 

 no bad effect on the bees." Are we to infer 

 from this that some kinds of smoke do leave 

 a 'bad effect ?' If so, I would like to enquire 

 what kiiul does it, and in what way it does 

 it. All bee-keepers ought to be interested, as 

 our success in bee managenuMit depends on 

 the judicious use of smoke. If any kind is 

 detrimental, it is important that I know it, as 

 I am just now reconnnending an indiscrimi- 

 nate use of what is most convenient, and am 

 unabh^ to detect any difference. When ' corn 

 silk rolled in paper' is most convenient. I 

 would advise using it. How to apply smoke 

 conveniently, and effectually, without blow- 

 ing the breath away, has been a long study 

 with me. Any one that has a convenient 

 method would confer a favor on the bee- 

 keejiing comnmnity. by making it public." 



\V. M. Kkllocuj, Oneida. HI, writes: — 

 "Bees arc doing finely al iircscut. tilling their 



