THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



247 



BEE KEEPlNii IN 1876. 



UNIVERSAL REl'OHTS CONTINUED. 



Dear Bee Journal.— According to 

 request in your last issue, we answer: 



1. Bees usually connuence storing honey 

 in this locality from the 15th of April to 

 the 1st of June, but an unprecedenlly late 

 frost last spring destroyed all tlie fruit and 

 other early bloom and no honey was gath- 

 ered until the first of June, at which time 

 they commenced operations quite vigor- 

 ously, and continued for about thirty days 

 filling the hives and storing up consider- 

 able surplus in caps. Many swarms is- 

 sued during the month of June, but it 

 commenced raining here about the first of 

 July, and continued for about forty days, 

 during which time no honey whatever 

 was stored, consequently many of the 

 young swarms starved out and died, and 

 those that survived were almost destitute. 

 The wet weather pr(jduced a good crop of 

 smart-weed, and bees have, within the 

 last two or three days, commenced gather- 

 ing honey almost as rapidly as at any time 

 during the season; and the young swarms 

 being quite flush with bees and comb may 

 yet store a sutficiency for winter use. If, 

 however, they should secure only a partial 

 supply, a few pounds of honey or sugar 

 fed them will enable them to winter suc- 

 cessfully. If, after tiie honey season 

 closes, they are found to be short, some of 

 the weaker hives might be destroyed, and 

 the proceeds turned over to the stronger 

 ones; this process, though a little barbar- 

 ous, we think a better plan than to let all 

 perish. 



2. The prospect for honey the balance of 

 the season is very good, early frost ex- 

 cepted. 



8. The tjiree best honey-producers, with 

 us, are: white clover, poplar and linn, 

 though we have quite a variety of other 

 weeds and plants that produce more or 

 less honey. ISmart-weed taking tlie lead. 



4. Poplar, from 1st to 15th of April, 

 generally, — this year from 1st to 15th of 

 June; white clover, from 15th of April to 

 1st of June; linn, from 25th of June to 



10th of July. J. W. FiNNELL. 



Madison Co., Ky., Sept. 6, 1875. 



Dear Journal: — I commenced the 

 winter of 1874, with sixty-four swarms, 

 and lost in winter fifteen swarms leaving 

 forty-nine. Five of these were very weak. 

 I did nothing but build up during the 

 season, leaving f(jrty-foar, in good healthy 

 condition, though not strong, in bees. I 

 have twenty-two new swarms, making 

 sixty-six in all. I have taken 2,400 fts of 

 cup honey, and my hives are now well 

 stored with both bees and honey. I do 

 not consider the season a good one; it has 

 been too cold or dry. 



We consider the honey harvest for this 

 season now over. 



Our fall flowers produce but little honey, 

 and bees seldom gather any after this sea- 

 son of the year more than they use. 



Our principal sources for honey are 

 fruit blossoms, white clover and linden. 

 White clover comes into bloom about the 

 middle of May, and continues about six 

 weeks. From bass-wood or linden we get 

 our greatest amount of surplus. It 

 blooms from the middle of July until the 

 first of August, or from fifteen to twenty 

 days. Large amounts of honey are gath- 

 ered from it. I have known ten pounds 

 of honey to be gathered in one day from 

 it. H. Root. 



Onondaga Co., N. Y., Sept. (i, 1875. 



My success this season in honey and 

 swarms, is as follows: 



I commenced the season with forty 

 stocks in the Langstroth hives. I have 

 taken 1600 lbs, up to date, of box honey. 

 I have had but one swarm. Tlie honey 

 season is about over here. We have but 

 few fall flowers, as there is but little buck- 

 wheat sown here In the spring we have 

 abundance of fruit blossoms. Then comes 

 white clover and bass-wood. But clover 

 is our main pasturage. Bees have 

 swarmed but little in this section this sea- 

 son, and there is a good deal of complaint 

 of a short honey crop. Nelson Tenny. 



Monroe Co., N. Y., Sept. 15, 1875. 



Dear Bee Journal:— In answer to 

 your questions I would report as follows: 



1. good for swarms, but too wet for 

 honey ; about medium for surplus. 



2. Balance of season till Oct. 10th, bees 

 will gather about as much as they consume 

 from golden-rod (Solidago UlrmfoUa) and 

 aster. 



3. Difficult to answer, as seasons vary. 

 The best is always white clover; then, as a 

 general thing, dandelion, in spring, and 

 buckwheat for late summer. 



4. Dandelion commences in May, 1 to 

 10, and continues about three weeks. 

 White clover the latter part of May ( this 

 year June 10), and continues from tour to 

 nine weeks, according to weather. Buck- 

 wheat, Aug. 1, about four weeks. 



H. H. Flick. 

 Somerset Co., Pa., Sept. 9, 1875. 



Dear Sir: — I commenced this spring 

 with eighteen hives, very weak ; I lost four 

 or five queens by death or desertion. The 

 April spell of winter we had, killed all 

 blossoms in this part of the State, yet my 

 bees never did so well. I raised my own 

 queens, pure Italian. I extracted over 400 

 lbs of honey; will take oft' twenty boxes 

 of honey, which will average 30 lbs to the 

 box; and a hive about 600 lbs, iu all about 

 1,000 lbs. My bees increased to 54. I 



