THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



259 



1st. Honey.nothing; increase of swarms, 

 five-sixths. 



2d. Prospect for the bahiucc of the 

 season, nothing. 



3d. Only one good honey-plant, wliich 

 is wiiite clover. The trees are locust, linn 

 and apple. 



4th. Clover, first of June, continues six 

 ■weeks; locust, about the same time, lasts 

 about one week; apple, about the middle 

 of May, lasts about one week; linn, about 

 the first of July, lasts about one week. 

 A. J. Fisher. 



Columbiana Co., O., Aug. 13, 1875. 



Pelham & Cobb, Maysville, Ky., re- 

 port for 1875, as follows: Apiaries, two. 

 Loss in winter, ten colonies; number in 

 yards May 1st, 51; number in yards 

 Sept. 1st, 84. Yield of honej^; extracted 

 810 fi)S. ; comb, 100 lbs. Extracted from 

 July 1st until lOlh, when rainy weather 

 stopped work. 



Best honey-plant, white clover. Second 

 best, linden tree. Third best, black lo- 

 cust. Honey season (for surplus) usually 

 begins the last of May, and ends the first 

 of July. No buckwheat raised in this 

 section. 



September 7, 1875. 



Dear Editor. — 1. The past winter was 

 a hard one on bees. Nearly all died in 

 this section. Poor honey and dysentery 

 were the cause. I. commenced the winter 

 with twelve swarms, Italians and hybrids. 

 Lost nine. The spring was wet and cold, 

 bees began raising brood about June 1st. 

 I had a plenty of empty comb, and have 

 now fourteen strong swarms, besides los- 

 ing four that went to tlie woods. They 

 have euougli honey to winter on, but no 

 surplus. 



2. Poor prospect for balance of the 

 season. 



3. Three best honey-plants are, clover, 

 buckwheat, and a late yellow flower that 

 grows on the marshes. I do not know its 

 name. Wm. Macartney. 



Steuben Co., Ind., Sept. 19, 1875. 



1st. I had twelve colonies to commence 

 the season with, some weak ; have in- 

 creased to twenty-six strong ones, and have 

 taken 1,800 lbs. of honey, mostly of linden 

 and bass-wood. 



2d. Expect to get four or five hundred 

 pounds more before frost. 



3d. The poplar, linden and wuld fall 

 flowers. 



4tli. Poplar in May, linden in July, and 

 fall flowers about the first of Sept. 



W. W. Oliver. 



Marshall Co., Tenn., Sept. 9, 1875. 



I commenced the season with six stands ; 

 added one swarm. Have taken 112011)3. 

 of extracted, and 76 Ifcs. of comb-honey. 



Have 75 or 100 Itis. in surplus combs, not 

 yet extracted. About 500 lbs. was gath- 

 ered from sumac; the balance from a 

 plant that I do not know the name. 



G. M. HOADLEY. 



Pettis Co., Mo , Oct. 6, 1875. 



Dear Editor: — I have 52 swarms; 48 

 gave surplus in supers. Have taken 3620 

 fts. of honey from them — tliis averages 

 751^ lt)S. to the hive. If the weather holds 

 favorable, I shall get 4000 lbs. I don't ex- 

 tract much, as the comb-honey sells so 

 much better. I get 25 cents for it by the 

 quantity. Twenty hives averaged 100 lbs. 

 to the hive. The bees of my neighbors 

 will not average 201t'S. to the "hive. The 

 three best honey-plants are, clover, linn, 

 and buckwheat. John M. Bennett. 



Bremer Co., Iowa, Sept. 10, 1875. 



I have increased five weak stocks to 

 nine good ones, and taken about seventy- 

 five pounds of machine honey. No more 

 honey this season. 



We have five good honey plants: red- 

 raspberry commences the last of May and 

 lasts about three weeks. Two years ago 

 I got all my surplus from it, as a severe 

 drouth destroyed the clover ; never got so 

 much from it before in one season, for 

 nineteen years. White clover commences 

 about the middle of June and lasts three 

 to five weeks, and is our main dependence. 

 Bass-wood comes about the middle of 

 July, and lasts only a week or ten days. 

 Last year and three years ago most of my 

 surplus was gathered from it. None this 

 year. Buckwheat comes in Aus'-, lasting 

 about three weeks ; is very useful to the 

 bees, but does not often give much surplus, 

 as but little is raised. Golden-rod comes 

 in Aug., and in Sept., lasting two or three 

 weeks, and helps stock up hives with 

 bees and honey for winter; seldom fails of 

 helping some. Tiiis season raspberry and 

 bass-wood failed, clov^er was extra good, 

 buckwheat fair, and golden-rod doing 

 nicely thus far. 



A brother of mine, sixteen miles away, 

 has increased one swarm to tliree good 

 ones ( had empty combs ), and taken sev- 

 enty-five pounds of machine honey. 



J. L. Hubbard. 



W. Chesterfield, N. H., Sept. 6, 1875. 



Mr. Editor: — This has been a poor 

 season for bees. Prom 140 stands at the 

 commencement, I have now only in- 

 creased to 190, and have only taken 5,000 

 lbs. of honey; that was gathered from 

 mellilot and blue nervine. I consider 

 mellilot the best honey-plant we have. 

 My lowest average in eight years was 40 

 lbs. each; this year it seems that there 

 was no honey in anything. I think cat- 

 nip is the next best honey-plant to melli- 

 lot; of the latter, I expect to sow 40 to 60 



