228 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



raiuy weatber set in, aud it was all that 

 the bees could do to keep up breeding 

 and keep a little honey ahead. In fact, 

 about the 3d of August it was so cold and 

 rainy, and my bees, being kept within for 

 several days, some of them commenced 

 to crawl out of ihe hive in the grass and 

 die. I fed them some syrup, and as the 

 weather moderated and cleared up the 

 next day, they went to work with a will 

 to make up for lost time. 



With regard to the prospect for the 

 balance of the season, I can sav that my 

 bees are doing as well as I could wish. 

 They are still carrying in plenty of pollen 

 and honey, aud sealing a great deal of it 

 over. They have also plenty of brood in 

 all stages for this season of the year. I 

 have given most of my hives young, fertile 

 queens, and they are breeding very rap- 

 idly, thus filling the hives with young 

 bees, preparatory to standing the siege of 

 winter's cold blast. My bees are Italians ; 

 I would have no other. I would not have 

 black bees as a gift, and be obliged to 

 keep them so, without Italianizing them. 



The best three honey producing plants 

 in my location for fall gathering, are: 

 smartweed, boneset and golden rod. We 

 have also another plant, I do not know 

 the name of, that grows some eighteen or 

 twenty inches high and branches out, 

 and has small blue flowers on it. The 

 bees work on it very much. We have 

 here during the spring and summer, 

 peach, apple and cherry, and the dif- 

 ferent fruit blossoms. The next best 

 blooms are the black locust, yellow pop- 

 lar, and the white and red clovers. They 

 gather rapidly from the red clover, but I 

 think they gather faster from the poplar 

 bloom than any we have here. They will 

 fill their frames every few days, when it 

 secretes well. 



The smartweed begins to bloom from 

 the 18th or 20th of August, and blooms 

 for some four or six weeks. Boneset com- 

 mences to bloom about the 24th or 27th 

 of August, and blooms about as long as 

 smartweed. The golden rod commences 

 to bloom here about the 26th and 27th of 

 August, and blooms until frost and freez- 

 ing weather sets in. 



My bees were still carrying a little honey 

 and pollen the 24th of October, last year, 

 from the golden rod and from a little 

 white flower that grows in our swampy 

 lands. It is hardy and takes a hard 

 freeze to injure the bloom. I have seen 

 my bees visiting it after we have had some 

 snow, on warm days. 



William Bence. 



Jeflerson Co., Ky., Sept. 16, 1875. 



Editors American Bee Journal:— In 

 answer to youi questions, I would say: 



1st. My bees have made but little honey 

 this season. They have been more dis- 

 posed to swarm than I ever knew them 



before, but I have prevented increase by 

 clipping and doubling, only to just 

 double my swarms. Quantity of honey 

 light in proportion to number of bees. 



2d. There is nothing in this section (it 

 being generally all upland) to rely upon 

 for honey, when our domestic flowers fail. 



3d. Alsike, rape and buckwheat. Al- 

 sike clover begins to blossom commonly 

 between the 6th and 12th of June, contin- 

 ues four or Ave weeks, if allowed to stand ; 

 depending much on the weather, whether 

 wet or dry. Rape can be sown from early 

 spring till the time when it will barely 

 blossom before frost; it blossoms in good 

 growing weaither, about two weeks after it 

 comes up, and continues to atford honey 

 about four weeks. Buckwheat is too com- 

 mon to need description. A. Stiles 



DeKalb Co., III., Sept. 13, 1875. 



Dear Journal :— My success this sea- 

 son is as follows : 



I commenced with fifty-five swarms, 

 and now have one hundred and six, in 

 good condition. The season has not been 

 a favorable one for honey, but I shall 

 have about 1,500 Ifes. of surplus in frames, 

 from this season's operations. 



The three best honey plants are white 

 clover, basswood and buckwheat; but 

 when buckwheat was in bloom, it was 

 very wet here. M. Snyder. 



Albany Co., K Y., Sept. 17, 1875. 



Editors American Bee Journal : — In 

 response to the interrogatories addressed 

 to your readers in the issue for September, 

 I answer as follows: 



1. My success in raising bees has been 

 good, having increased more than three 

 fold; while I lost more than a dozen 

 swarms, (some of my choice Italian queens 

 among them,) through sheer ignorance, 

 not knowing how to manage them, I flat^ 

 ter myself that I shall be master of the 

 situation another swarming season, from 

 my dear-bought experience in this. The 

 product of honey has not been great, or at 

 least the surplus has not amounted to 

 much, for they raised young to such an 

 extent, and continued at it so long, that it 

 seemed to require most of the liouey to 

 rear brood. My hives are now all strong 

 in bees, and those that swarmed early, have 

 aflEbrded me some twenty or thirty pounds 

 of surplus honey each. Those that 

 swarmed late, have maintained themselves 

 in a healthy condition. 



2. The prospect for the balance of the 

 season is good. The smart^weed, and 

 other fall honey producing plants, have 

 commenced to bloom, and the bees have 

 been quite busy at work for the past few 

 days. In fact, I look forward to my best 

 honey harvest, should the weather continue 

 favorable during this and the ensuing 

 month. 



