166 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



W. C. PoKTEK, Albany, Missouri, writes : 

 " Tliere are a good many bees in this locali- 

 ty. This year promises to be a good one for 

 honey, where the grasshop))ers have not 

 destroyed vegetation." 



CiiAS. F. MuTii, Cincinnati, O., writes : 

 "We have a peculiar lioney season in this 

 part of the country. Fruit and locust blos- 

 soms were frost-killed, and white clover has 

 now (June Uth), commenced to make its ap- 

 pearance very sparingly. My bees have 

 eaten up their stores, but as a little lioney is 

 shining yet in some of the cells and as my 

 time was occupied rather too much by other 

 business, I have kci)t from feeding so far. 

 Friend Hill, Mt. Healthy, who has, undoubt- 

 edly, the best arranged apiary in the State 

 of Ohio, told me the same of his bees yester- 

 day. He thinks that we are all 'candidates 

 for blasted hope' in this part of the country, 

 as far as lioney is concerned." 



J. B. Rapp, Owensville, O., writes:— 

 "The past winter and spring have been the 

 most unfavorable seasons for bees that has 

 ever come under my observation. About 

 three-fourths of all tie bees in Clermont 

 county have died, the balance are in verv 

 poor condition. We had a disastrous frost 

 that destroyed all the blooms of the fruit 

 trees, and nearly all of the small fruits, and 

 the black locust did not bloom either; and 

 to-day I opened two liives and was troubled 

 very much with robber bees. I went into 

 winter quarters with 39 colonies. Some of 

 them very weak, yet I did not lose one of 

 them. I bouglit, in December. 9 colonies 

 for .5i!oO, in box hives, and could not tell 

 much about their condition. I lost 3 of 

 them, the other six I transferred in March, 

 and they are now in splendid condition. I 

 have now, by increase and ])urchase, 42 col- 

 onies. We have had good rains lately and 

 the white clover is looking very promising." 



W. B. Fkkeman. Dundee, 111., writes:— 

 "I commenced about 25 years ago, with two 

 swarms and held my own for about 12 

 years, when I came across '"Quinby's Mys- 

 teries of Bee-Keeping," when I thought I 

 could keep bees as well as others. I kept 

 bees from that time to 1872, with very good 

 success, ranging from 40 to 90, and got what 

 honey we could without the extractor. I 

 have always wintered in the cellar under 

 the sitting room. Piled them up sometimes 

 four high and never lost any to speak of. 

 In the fall of 1872, 1 put 81 swarms in the 

 cellar and took out 79; increased to 95, and 

 put them in the same cellar in 1872, and took 

 7 light swarms, increased by purchase and 

 otherwise to 30, and put tliein in the cellar 

 in 1873. I took out three very light swarms, 

 increased to 20, by purchase, and dividing, 

 I put those in the same place, and have now 

 only about one-half pint of bees left." 



M. C. Hester, Charlestown, Ind., writes: 

 "I have just had the hrst lot of queens 

 hatched from the (pieen I received from 

 Mrs. Tupper last fall. They are all, with- 

 out exception, beauties. I never saw a lot 

 of queens, from the same mother, of bright- 

 er and more uniform color. She is very 

 prolific, and her drones are also as fine as I 

 could desire. I consider her a jewel. If all 

 imported (lueens were as perfect as she, 

 there would be discount on them. 1 only 

 regret that the season is such that I cannot 

 increase my stocks largely and supply them 

 all with queens from her. We liave the 



worst season for bees I have ever known. 

 It seems there is nothing out of which they 

 can make honey. My stocks are nearly all 

 at work. Some of them I still have to find. 

 It appears that even the white clover, of 

 which there is a very scant crop, secretes 

 very little honey. I have not seen a dozen 

 bees on this bloom this season. The April 

 freeze killed all the first bloom, and witn it 

 the poplar buds, the bloom of which is our 

 main dependence for honey. The locust 

 also failed to bloom, a thing very unusual. 

 My bees are barely making a living. I 

 don't expect any surplus this season." 



Bees. — Sir John Lubbock, M. P., who 

 devotes himself a good deal to entomolo- 

 gy, dissents from the general idea in re- 

 gard to the doings of bees. He claims 

 that they are a selfish lot of insects, and 

 holds that degree of devotion aw^arded 

 the queen bee is altogether too great. 

 There is great difference in the degree of 

 their intelligence, and great peculiarities 

 with reference to their time of work. 

 He believed bees did hear, though he was 

 never able to make any sound which they 

 were able to recognize. He believed they 

 had a keen sense of smell, and that would 

 account in many cases for the antipathy 

 or otherwise which they are said to have 

 for persons. He found that the warmth 

 or coldness of his body had much to do 

 with their friendliness towards him. 



Our New Club Rates. 



We will send the American Bee Jour- 

 nal and the following periodicals for one 

 year, for the prices named below : 



The American Bee Journal and 



Novice's Gleanings for ^2.2.5 



King's P>ce-K(H'i)crs' Magazine 3.2.5 



Moon's Bee World 3.25 



All four Bee iiublications 5.00 



Swine and Poultry Journal 2..50 



The Chicago Weekly Tribune 3.20 



The " Weekly Inter-Ocean 3.20 



The " Weekly Journal 3.20 



The " Weekly Post and Mail. ... 3.20 



The Western Ilural 3.T0 



The Young Folks' Monthly 3.00 



The I'rairie Farmer 3.70 



Purdy's Fruit Recorder 3.35 



Errata.— In Mr. J. P. Moore's article on 

 page 142, June number, the word not was 

 erroneously inserted, completely altering 

 the sense. ' It should have read thus: "1 

 preferreil to handle bees out of doors, in 

 bright sunshine, instead of handling in the 

 bee house, as Mr. Coe says he prefers to do, 

 in the May number." 



Let every one writing this office make all 

 Postal Orders, Drafts or Checks, payable to 

 Thomas O. Newman. Address everything 

 of whatever nature to 



THOMAS Ct. NEWMAN, 



190 ct 198 South Clark St., 



CHICAGO, ILL. 



