230 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



four more. I divided four swarms about 

 the middle of August, I extracted three 

 quarts. In a few days I took 16 quarts, 

 and after that I filled a 13 gallon can. On 

 the 6th of September I extracted more than 

 that. That night the great storm occurred, 

 doing immense damage everywhere. My. 

 first swarm came out August 14th, another 

 on the 17t!i, and another on Sept. 6th. The 

 first two filled their hives. The Septem- 

 ber swarm left for parts unknown. 1 have 

 now 31 swarms in good order. I have 

 taken 125 boxes of good honey, and more 

 than that number are partly full. 



Some seasons white clover does well, 

 but I think alsike would do better. There 

 is none here except five acres I sowed 

 three years ago, and eight acres I put in 

 last spring. Linn did well in 1874, but 

 not this year. Hearts-ease or smartweed 

 does well. It begins to blossom about 

 harvest time and lasts till frost comes. 

 Catnip is a good plant, and blossoms from 

 July 1st till frost. H. M. Noble. 



Henry Co., Iowa, Sept. 15, 1875. 



Mr. Editor: — In answer to your request 

 in the Sept. No., of The American Bee 

 Journal, I will say : 



1. From July 3nd to 81st, I increased 33 

 per cent. 



The bees commenced to store honey in 

 boxes, about the first of August. On Sept. 

 12th, I took 130 pounds of box honey from 

 them. 



2. I think, I have on my hives five or 

 six hundred pounds at this date. My 

 bees are all in good condition for winter, 

 and I presume the season has about 

 closed. 



3. The three best honey plants in my 

 locality are mustard or rape in flax, which 

 blooms about the 12th of June and lasts 

 about three weeks. Corn tassels, about 

 the 25th of July. Wild ladies'-flnger, 

 about the first of August, also buckwheat. 



All bloom at the same time, and fur- 

 nish some honey at this date. Wild 

 artichokes are perhaps the best pasture at 

 present, and will continue until frost. 



T. N. Marquis. 



Iroquois Co., 111., Sept. 17, 1875. 



Answers to questions in the Septem- 

 ber number: 



1. Bought seven colonies of bees last 

 spring (hybrids) from Shearer; paid $100 

 for them. Have now 13 colonies, all in 

 good condition. Have taken 200 lb linn 

 honey and 600 lb buckwheat honey. 

 The early part of this season was very 

 bad. The grasshoppers killed every- 

 thing. The fall is good. 



2. The hone)' season is about over now; 

 with plenty of stores to winter on. 



3. Linn, white clover and buckwheat. 



4. Can not answer, as this is my first 

 experience. P. H. Boh art. 



Piatt Co., Mo., September 16, 1875. 



In the past season we had a large crop 

 of white clover, and just at the time when 

 we felt sure of a large crop of honey, 

 heavy showers of rain came upon us and 

 washed the blossoms ofl'. As basswood 

 did not yield us mucli honey, and but 

 little buckwheat is raised in this section, 

 our hopes were blasted. We got but a 

 little more tlian a half of crop of honey, 

 and only about one half of our stocks 

 swarmed. 



We have many kinds of honey-produc- 

 ing plants, but we depend mostly on white 

 clover and basswood for our honey. 



Our first honey comes from apple and 

 other fruit blossoms, about the last of 

 May. White clover comes on about the 

 middle of June, and lasts until August, 

 basswood in July, buckwheat from the 

 middle of August to the first of Septem- 

 ber, and then comes in yellow weed, gold- 

 en rod and some other weeds; this allows 

 the bees to gather some honey up to about 

 the tenth of September, but not more than 

 they use after August. 



I think bees have plenty of stores for 

 winter, and are generally in good condi- 

 tion in this section. 1 now have 130 

 stocks. R. Bacon. 



Oneida Co., N. Y., Sept. 20, 1875. 



Thomas G. Newman — Dear Sir: In re- 

 ply to your " Special " in the Sept. No., I 

 will report: 



1. Not good, had to feed a part of my 

 stocks during the summer, up to August 

 1st. From August 14th to September^lst, 

 they filled the luveafidl and stored some in 

 boxes, and swarmed during that time, 

 and up to 12th of September, most of 

 them returned. 



2. Do not expect anj"^ more surplus. 

 The nights are too cold. 



3. White clover, basswood, and hearts- 

 ease. 



4. May 25th for clover, which lasts 

 from four to six weeks. Basswood in 

 July, which yields honey for about 12 or 

 15 days. Then nothing special till the 

 middle of August. We then have hearts- 

 ease, which lasts till the first frost. 



E. H. Miller. 

 LaSalle Co., 111., September 18, 1875. 



1. My bees did rather poorly till 

 August 20; since then first rate. Com- 

 menced with two colonies in the spring, 

 have now twenty, five of which I purchased 

 lately. All but a few nuclei are quite 

 strong. Have extracted over 100 lbs and 

 am adding to it daily. 



2. Prospect very good. 



3. Upatorium alba, August 20th, Sep- 

 tember 25th; Spanish-needle, September 

 1st to October 1st; lady-finger, hearts- 

 ease and big smart-weed, from August 

 20th till frost comes. W. Arms, M. D. 



Perry Co., 111., Sept. 14th, 1875. 



