i6y', 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



453 



on; then all the hives were wrapt on the outside with sacks 

 well tied on, after which the entire lot was bankt in (all but 

 the fronts) with about four feet of fresh, clean hay. This 

 packing had not been removed on May 3, tho it was shortly 

 afterward, as we were about to divide them. 



Those colonies having three chambers had a little mold 

 in tho bottom, those with straw cushions none; so, all things 

 considered, we think we are in favor of two chambers and 

 straw cushions. We shall have the hives further from the 

 ground, too. Our bees were bringing in both honey and pollen 

 early in April. 



SWEET CLOVER STANDING THE WET. 



Before closing I wish to speak of sweet clover; the general 

 verdict seems to be, " It can't stand wet feet." Not only has 

 its/eet been wet all winter, standing in ice water, and frozen 

 into the ice. but the past spring's overflow of the Missouri 

 river covered it head and ears, and yet, while it is true some 

 was killed, we have a fine stand, which bloomed about June 1. 

 And as to the seed which we scattered in grass land last fall, 

 why, as Col. Sellers used to say, "There's millions in it" for 

 the bee-keeper. Sweet clover could not be subjected to a 

 severer test than it received here the last winter and sp ring. 

 We expected it was mined, and were happily disappointed. 



Knox Co., Nebr. 



Illinois Bee-Association Members' Reports. 



The following reports were sent in, in reply to these ques- 

 tions ; 



1. How many colonies have you ? 



2. What are the prospects for a honey crop ? 



3. How much honey gathered to date? 

 5. Is the honey gathered No. 1 or not? 



C. Becker, Sangamon Co., June 26 — 1. 40 in the spring, 

 and 80 now. 2. Pair after the rain ; too cold in the forepart 

 of the season, and then too dry. 3. 1500 lbs. of extracted, 

 and 500 lbs. of comb honey, i. No. 1 white clover. 



L. Sylvester, Kane Co., June 28—1. 17 from 40 last fall. 



2. Good, if we couldhave warm nights. 3. Not any, but have 

 third supers on 4. 4. Honey all No. 1 white clover. 



M. M. Baldridge, Kane Co., June 28—1. 20. 2. Good. 



3. Don't know. 4. Yes. 



J. A. Green, Lasalle Co., June 28—1. 125. 2. Good. 

 White clover is yielding well ; good prospect for basswood and 

 sweet clover. 3. About 4000 lbs. 4. No. 1. Mostly white 

 clover. 



E. F. Schaper, Porter Co., Ind., June 28 — 1. About 50 or 

 60, and some 10 or 12 nuclei. 2. Not good so far; too wet 

 and cold. 3. None. 



James Poindexter, McLean Co., June 28 — 1. About 160. 



2. Excellent. 3. From 2000 to 5000 lbs. ; some supers full, 

 but none taken off yet. 4. All No. 1 clover. 



C. E. Mead, Cook Co., June 28—1. 6. 2. Big. White 

 and sweet clover, thistle and basswood. 3. 60 lbs. since the 

 26th. Northeast winds to 26th; no white clover before. 



4. No. 1 white clover. Lake winds stop the honey-flow here. 



J. C. Wheeler, Kendall Co., June 28—1. 540. 2. Fair; 

 linden not out. 3. 3 tons of extracted. 4. One-half clover 

 and one-half amber raspberry. 



W. B. Blume, Cook Co., June 28 — 1. 44 spring count ; 64 

 now. 2. Very good. If the weather is favorable. 3. About 

 250 lbs. 4. Mixt grades. 



A. P. Raught, Lake Co., June 28—1. 10. Middling. 



3. None. 4. No. 1. 



G. W. Williams, Brown Co., June 29—1. 26. 2. Very 

 good if the weather continues favorable. 3. 600 lbs. nfl, 

 200 or 300 lbs. ready to take off. 4. First was badly mixt 

 with honey-dew; bees are storing honey well now. 



A. Y. Baldwin, Dekalb Co., June 29-1. 83. 2. Fair 

 thas far. 3. 25 lbs. average. 4. No. 1 to date ; white clover. 



Stoughton Cooley, Cook Co., July 1—1. 7 now ; 5 spring 

 count. 2. Good so far as I can judge. 3. None. 



W. S. Chaney, Jefferson Co., June 28—1. 65 in Illinois 

 and 70 in Missouri. 2. The white clover yield has been fair ; 



prospect good for fall honey. 3. About 500 lbs. of comb 

 honey. 4. All white clover to date. No honev-dew. 



L. Kreutzinger, Cook Co., July 30—1. 100. 2. Fair. 

 3. None taken off. 4. No. 1 comb honey. 



W. J. Finch, Macoupin Co., June 29—1. 15. 2. Very 

 good. 3. 200 lbs. 4.1 Honey is very fine. 



Geo. F. Robbins, Sangamon Co., June 30 — 1. About 45. 



2. Good. 3. Extracted 400 lbs. of comb ; perhaps 300 lbs. 

 flnisht. 4. Yes. 



W. C. Lyman, Dupage Co., June 30—1. 72. 2. Good. 



3. But little. 4. No. 1 white clover. 



G. R. McCartney, Winnebago Co.. July 2—1. 12. 2. The 

 prospect is good. 3. Hives are full ; none taken off yet. 4. It 

 ought to be No. 1. 



B. Kennedy, Winnebago Co., July 1—1. 40. 2. Good. 

 3. 1000 lbs. 4. No. 1. 



S. N. Black, Adams Co., July 1—1. 20. 2. Good for fall 

 crop, if there is any. 3. No surplus. 



C. Schrier, Will Co., July 5—1. 18. 2. Good. 3. 600 

 lbs. 4. Yes, No. 1. 



E. West, Will Co., May 29—1. Bees badly diseased. 2. 

 No honey, but the season is good. 



H. O. Miller, Kankakee Co., July 5—1. 3. 2. Extra good. 

 3. 20 lbs. 4. No. 1. 



Roderick McKenzie, Lake Co., Ind., July 5 — 1. 70. 2. 

 It is a fall crop we get ; the prospect is favorable. 3. None 

 in supers, but some in brood-nest. 4. Probably not No. 1, as 

 we have little fruit-bloom and clover Is scarce. 



S. H. Herrick, Winnebago Co., July 12 — 1. 16, spring 

 count; 29 now. 2. Never were better. 3. 200 lbs., and a 

 lot more ready to be taken off. 4. Yes ; No. 1 pure white 

 clover. From present outlook I will get 1,600 lbs. 



Dr. C. C. Miller. McHenry Co., July 13— About 260. 2. 

 Good. 3. 2712, 4J-4 sections. 4. It is very fine. 



James A. Stone, Sangamon Co., June 24 — 1. 35, spring 

 count. 2. Extra good. White clover is very abundant. 3. 

 About 1.000 lbs. 4. No. 1 white clover. 



Don't Smash Honey Prices— Good Advice. 



There is more or less a prevailing opinion that bees work 

 for no'thing and board themselves, and there's some basis 

 for it, but it does not follow from that that honey should not 

 bring a fair price in the market. A farmer has two or three 

 colonies of bees, and the season having been good, he gets 

 more surplus then he thinks he needs in his own family, altho 

 his family would eat every ounce of it in the course of 

 the year if they had the chance, and be the healthier for it. 

 He takes it to the grocer and asks for a bid on it. The grocer 

 says : 



"Well, this has been a good bee-year, and honey is pretty 

 low, but that's a nice article of yours, and for such as that I 

 guess I can afford to allow you iO cents in trade." 



The grocer knows very well it is worth from two to four 

 cents a pound more than ten cents, but he also knows from 

 past experience that the farmer will take just about what is 

 offered. The farmer goes home congratulating himself, and 

 says to his wife: 



" Not a bad thing to have a few bees ; there's §2.50 just 

 as good as if I'd pickt up that much on the road, for the little 

 time spent on the bees don't count for anything." 



The poor woman says nothing, but sighs to herself as 

 she thinks how much help that 25 pounds of honey would 

 have been to her in furnishing her table; how nice it would 

 have been for company, and how the children would have en- 

 joyed it, and somehow she can't clearly see why they could 

 not afford it all the more because it was low in price. 



That farmer is foolish to care so little for the pleasure of 

 his wife and the health of his children, and additionally fool- 

 ish to sell the honey for less than a fair price. If he had found 

 a bag of oats on the road, he would hardly sell it for less than 

 he would a bag of his own raising ; the fact of its costing him 

 nothing not counting or figuring on its value. 



Not only has he done a foolish thing ; he has done a wrong 

 thing as well, for a short time afterward a man comes in who 

 makes the production of honey a principal part of his busi- 

 ness, and when he asks a fair price for his honey he is met 

 with the reply ; 



"Oh, I can't afford any such price. I can get all I want 

 for 10 cents a pound. Got a nice lot last week at that price." 



The bee-keeper then goes to the grocer across the way, 

 who says : 



