228 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



^r 



There are fields literally covered with 

 yellow flowers near me (Englewood, Cook 

 county, 111., 6i miles south of the court- 

 house, Chicago). These flowers look like 

 sunflowers in shape and color, but are from 

 a half to three inches in diameter. My bees 

 have been working on them since they be- 

 gan to blossom, about September 1st. 



With a sincere wish for the prosperity of 

 the united Journals, I subscribe myself. 



With respect, P. J. Colburn. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Bees in New Zealand. 



Whoever has read Cotton's "Bee Book," 

 published in London, A. D. 1842, will re- 

 member the interesting account which he 

 gives at the end of the book of the manner 

 in which he packed two hives to take with 

 him to the Pacific Island of New Zealand. 

 His success was remarkable, when the 

 great distance is considered — a voyage of 

 five months. The Rev. Mr. Cotton accom- 

 panied the first Bishop of New Zealand in 

 his missionary work, but he found time to 

 introduce his pet bees among the islands of 

 the Pacific, as the following account will 

 show: 



"The Rev. Richard",Taylor, of New Zea- 

 land, while on a visit to England, reports 

 that ' bees were introduced into New Zea- 

 land before Rev. Mr. Cotton's arrival, hut 

 the chief supply is derived from his stock. 

 ■ They are now very abundant and widely 

 spread; in fact, the swarms which have es- 

 caped have completely stocked the woods. 

 Bees in New Zealand work all the year, 

 and make two kinds of honey. The spring 

 or summer honey is liquid, the autumnal 

 or winter honey is solid and completely 

 crystalized. The honey is very fine, but 

 varies in character according to the pre- 

 vailing plants of tlie district. That of the 

 south is in general better than that of the 

 north, from the great abundance of plants 

 and flowers. 



"New Zealand will be a great honey 

 country. It now sells at nine pence per 

 pound, and soon will be less. Australia 

 also produces some. We have a native bee 

 which is solitary, and makes but one cell, 

 which is in a hollow stick. Half the cell is 

 filled with wax,* and the otlier half with 

 honey." D. C. Mii.lett. 



Holmesburg, Pa. 



*Probably the writer means farina. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Voice from Ontario. 



Bees have done remarkably well here 

 this summer so far, although I thought in 

 the spring that we would get nothing, as 

 the weather was so very unfavorable. 



I had three slocks in the spring, and in- 

 creased them to eight, and took nearly 

 three hundred pounds of honey, principally 

 extracted. 



I am afraid some one will say, that fel- 

 low is going ahead too fast. Well, perhaps 

 so, but my stocks are all very strong, and 

 have plenty of honey. I had about empty 

 combs enough for the whole of my increase. 

 Some of your correspondents have been 

 making considerable ado about an increase 

 of four pounds of honey per day. I do not 

 think that a very big thing, for I had a natural 

 swarm on Monday afternoon, and on the 

 Saturday following I extracted thirty-five 

 pounds of honey from the same swarm, be- 

 ing at the rate of five pounds per day. Of 

 course they had empty combs given them, 

 and nothing to do but clean up house and 

 go to work. 



I see that Prof. A. J. Cook gives it as 

 one of the special necessities that a new 

 swarm should have a comb of worker brood 

 in the hive to induce them to stay. 



Now I do not wish to set myself up as 

 an authority, but will give my experience. 

 I have hived a great many swarms during 

 the last seven years, and never had a swarm 

 leave yet. I had no charm for them except 

 nice, clean hives. I never had any trouble 

 to get straight combs built. All the crook- 

 ed combs I have seen, were attributable to 

 the hanging of the frames in the hives. 

 The principal trouble I find here is the 

 wintering. Mine wintered as well as I 

 could wish last winter, but I am already 

 beginning to look forward with dread to 

 the cold weather next spring. I will prob- 

 ably tell you Hiow my bees have done this 

 year, as I count the year from the first of 

 May until May again. 



Lucknow, Out. Geo. T. Btjrgess. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



A Voice Prom the South. 



The honey season in this section for this 

 year has been an exceptionally good one — 

 better than it has been for the past eight 

 years. My apiary is now not a large one. 

 I am compelled to keep it reduced to a lim- 

 ited number of about 12 hives, as I have 

 but little time to devote to them on account 

 of my occupation. I had one hive to give 

 me four sets — (four boxes each) — 16 lbs. 

 in all, averaging 5 lbs. each, beautiful honey, 

 during the season. The boxes being re- 

 moved as fast as filled, and this, after hav- 

 ing thrown oil" a fine swarm in April, the 

 usual time of swarming; and having no un- 

 usual attention, and will go into their win- 

 ter quarters with abundance of honey, as I 

 never deprive them of honey from the main 

 hive. 1 use the regular Langstroth frame 

 hive. Jno. R. Bledsoe. 



Natches, Miss. 



