THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



249 



stocks, and built up ray nucleus to the 

 standard of a strong swarm. They all 

 accepted the situation -without a murmur, 

 and went to w'ork to my entire satisfaction. 

 I expected to get a fine yield of surplus 

 honey, but after examining them twice a 

 week", tlirougli June and July, I found at 

 no time, more than one day's provision 

 ahead, but always plenty of brood. Dur- 

 ing the long wet spell, I had to feed them 

 to keep them from starving. About that 

 time my surplus honey bubble " busted," 

 and I agreed with them, that if they would 

 lay up enough to keep them through the 

 winter, I would furnish them with g<tod 

 shelter, and would go in partnership with 

 them on the surplus honey question next 

 spring. They agreed to tlie proposition, 

 at least they worked on cheerfully, and I 

 left them to their own devices, until the 

 29th of August. When I came home from 

 camp-meeting, the boys told me I had 

 another swarm of bees. The same queen 

 that successfully led ott'a swarm on the 12th 

 of August, 1874, concluded to try it again 

 this year ; and uow after 13 ihiya they have 

 made over six square feel of comb, and 

 that well tilled with brood and liouey, and 

 I have no fears but they will make all the 

 necessary provisions for winter. When 

 that sw^arm came out, I concluded I had 

 enough bees, and started through my hives 

 to break up the swarming business, and 

 to my surprise I found them well filled 

 with liouey. I got out my extractor, and 

 took away over 150 lbs, leaving perhaps 

 as much more in the hives, and if the 

 weather continues favorable throughout 

 this month and half of next, I shall get at 

 least 300 lbs of frame and box honey; 

 about half that amount is already stored 

 in the second stories of my hives, — the 

 Quiuby two story hives, with movable 

 sides, which are ver}- convenient in taking 

 out the frames. Th(jy are of my own 

 make, and being a carpenter I can say the 

 hives will pass. 



The three best honey-producing plants 

 in this vicinity are white clover, catnip 

 and buckwheat. White clover and catnip 

 last nearly all summer; buckwheat about 

 two weeks. We have numerous other 

 honey-producing plants, but no iiudeu. 

 J. Balsley. 



Wayne Co., Sept. 10, 1875. 



Mr. Editors. — I commenced the spring 

 of 1875 with one colony in good condition, 

 \ and two nuclei. I have increased by artifi- 

 cial swarming to 12 strong colonies. I use 

 a two story "simplicity hive" witli "stand- 

 ard L. frame." I have 10 colonies full 

 above and below. I raised all my queens, 

 and the bees have built all their comb. 



I have extracted about 130 lbs. From 

 the present prospects I think I will 

 average 40 or 50 lbs this fall. Bees began 

 to gather honey rapidly by April 20, which 

 continued till about July 1st. Italians 



continued to breed well and increase their 

 stores a little during July and August. 

 Blacks gathered enough to live on, but 

 weakened considerably during those two 

 months. 



I kept 'wo colonies of blacks to test the 

 merits of the two breeds, but I found they 

 cost too much, and have just Italianized 

 them. I let my neighbors have several full 

 frames of brood to raise queens from, and I 

 have killed four queens that I did not like 

 after testing them, thus involving loss of 

 time. 



I have been living here five years, and 

 there has not been a year during the time, 

 but large yields of iioney could have been 

 obtained with proper management. 



T. W. Johnson. 



Lee Co., Miss., Sept. 9, 1875. 



Bees in this section came out of winter 

 quarters in good condition, but most of 

 tiiem were set out too early for such a cold 

 spring as our last. I began to set mine 

 out May 4th and finished on the 8th, all 

 but one in fine condition, and that was 

 destroyed by mice. The whole number 

 placed in my cellar, Nov. 15th, was 82. 

 On June 1st, they were not in as good 

 condition as when set out, while those set 

 out a month earlier dwindled down to the 

 young that were unable to fly, and not 

 many of them. 



I got a little over 2,500 lbs of box honey, 

 in five lb boxes. 



Bees commence storing about June 15th, 

 and cease about July 25th. I had but 23 

 new swarms this year. The greatest 

 amount from one swarm was 31 boxes, or 

 164^ lbs. Same swarm last year made 

 172 lbs. 



Our honey season is confined to briar, 

 clover and bass-wood. This season the 

 forest worm destro3'ed nearly all the buds 

 of bass-wood, so that but few ot them ever 

 came into bloom ; this shortened our crop 

 of honey nearly one-half. My bees are 

 Italians and hybrids. Ira Barber. 



St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., Sept. 12, 1875. 



I have a cellar that keeps a temperature 

 varying from 35 to 45 degrees. I put 

 thirty-six skips in the cellar on Dec. 1st. 

 In March, all but one were in fine condi- 

 tion, that one I let fall down the steps. I 

 set them on their stands about April 1st, 

 in good order ; bought seven skips more ; 

 lost eight out of the whole, leaving thirty- 

 four, many of them quite weak. 



On the twenty-eiglith of June, they be- 

 gan to swarm ; have sixty skips in all from 

 swarming and dividing. I put all second 

 swarms back ; twelve swarms had no in- 

 crease. One hive I adjusted to admit of 

 forty surplus frames; it has given me tw9 

 hundred pounds of honey in surplus frames ; 

 I do not extract any honey ; I have about 

 one ton of honey in surplus frames ; the 

 honey season has not been an average one. 



