GOfi 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



fioinf!' to test ( his important prolilcm for myself and 

 my siirrotinrlings, in hoi)C8 to become an ally or an 

 e.vpericnced opposcr of friend Hutchinson's. It is 

 ii sreat jirobleni, directly affecting- the economy of 

 our iiiirsuit. 



OUIl 1886 MARKET. 



Hold on, friend Koot! "sohtoii a lecdlc;" some- 

 M'lierc in last issue 3011 spoke of the low price we 

 were going- to set for our 1886 croj) of honey. Not- 

 xvilhstanding- my wide correspondence with bee- 

 keepers, and careful watching- of this point In the 

 journals, I am unable to see any cause for said 

 " low prices," unless it be statements like your own 

 referred to. In very many localities in the U.S., 

 this year's crop is almost or quite a total failure. 

 In many others the white-clover crop is g-ood; but 

 so far as I can learn, the basswood, the greatest 

 .\ icider of them all, is not even a fair crop, except 

 in rare instances; and, taking the whole country 

 together, may bo i)ronounced almost a failure. 

 Now, Avhy should we look for prices lower than 

 those of last year? Let no man so consider it until 

 evidence compels him to. Let me tell you why. 

 Honey is essentially a luxury; a large portion of 

 honey-consumers would buy nearly or quite as 

 much at a high price as they could be induced to 

 consume at any price. Last year's prices were as 

 low as bee-keepers can thrive at,and I ttrmly believe 

 that if all who have honey to sell will take courage 

 and advantage of the pitiful fact that many of our 

 brothers have none at all, there will be no trouble 

 to find a demand for the 1886 crop at prices equal or 

 better than those realized last year. 



FORMING NUCLEI. 



Ernest's last report of his experience with the Doo- 

 little method is just what what we should expect 

 here. Had he met the same success reported by 

 Mr. Doolitlle, we can not then see any reason for 

 adopting that method. We have this season formed 

 some 300 nuclei, and in our next will tell you how 

 we succeed, to our entire satisfaction with (we 

 think) less than one-fourth the labor and trouble 

 necessary to the carrying-out of the Doolittle plan. 



Dowagiae, Mich., July, 1886. James Hedjdon. 



I am very glad if honey will not have to 

 go at a low price, friend II.; but I judged so 

 because so many are wanting to sell us hon- 

 ey while we are so well supplied that we can 

 not make even a decent offer for it. Now, 

 the best remedy I can tliink of in the line of 

 your suggestions is to keep our Honey Col- 

 umn full. Will our brethren who have hon- 

 ey to sell tell how much, what quality, and 

 what price they want, so that we may put it 

 in the Honey ColumnV 1 think lliose who 

 advertise in that way usually make sales 

 sooner or later. We presume you all know 

 that such notices are printed free of charge. 

 —In regard to metal corners, I think that 

 tliose wlio raise queens as we do will gener- 

 ally prefer thein. With the constant ma- 

 nipulation in our apiary, we could not think 

 of having combs that must be pried loose be- 

 fore they can be handled ; and as our combs 

 seldom get very heavy with honey, they give 

 little or no trouble in the way of cutting 

 lingers. 



1 tried the looking-glass, but not with so 

 good results. The plain sheet of glass, by 

 reason of its transparency, does not alter 

 the appearance of the entrance; and the rob- 

 bers, being deceived, will worry luid weaken 



themselves in much the same way that they 

 do in trying to get tlirough our windows. 

 On furllicr trials, however, although the 

 glass in many cases will answer a very ex- 

 cellent purpose, I think I sliould ])refer to 

 cojitract the entrance as is ordinarily prac- 

 ticed to prevent robbing. I have found that 

 the glass will worry the occupants of the 

 hive as well as the robbers, and also, as it is 

 a little inconvenient to carry the glass about, 

 the l)oys do not use it. It "did not occur to 

 me t liat the bees could be shaken off more 

 easily, and the queen l)e much easier found, 

 when the frames have been i-eversed. I see 

 no reason whv it should not be so. 



MBLILOT, OR SA?V^EET CLOVER, AS A 

 HONEY-PBODUCEK. 



FUIENO MUTII raVES us SOME DEFINITE FACTS IN 

 REGARD TO THE QUALITY OF THE HONEY. 



fRIEND HOOT:— For the first time since 1 kept 

 bees, our honey harvest has kept up, appar- 

 ently, through the month of July. We never 

 had so abundant a supi)ly of melilot, or sweet- 

 scented clover, as we have this year. Every 

 hilltop and vacant lot in and about our city seems 

 to be covered with it, and it is swarming with bees. 

 They do their work quietly and steadily. Passing 

 along- a road a few days ago, which was lined with 

 melilot, I stopped my wagon and went in. It was 

 alive with l)ees, steadily at work. I was surprised, 

 as I did not notice any bees while driving- along. So 

 far, melilot has furnished only enough honey to 

 keep bees breeding until late in the fall, while now 

 wo get a surplus, which may last until frost comes. 

 The month of June, in this part of the country, is 

 or has been our honey month, as with it white clo- 

 ver begins and ends, which used to be our whole re- 

 source. Cold nights during the first half of last 

 June prevented the secretion of nectar; and wet 

 weather during the latter half damaged our crop. I 

 don't think that 25 lbs. of white-clover honey per 

 colony is produced in the States of (Jhio, Kentucky, 

 or Indiana. 



To-day's mail brings you a sample of melilot hon- 

 ey, which is produced on one of our hilltops on the 

 west side of our city— Price's Hill. It is a fair sam- 

 ple of my own honey, and of that of a friend who 

 lives at Clifton Heights, which is a hilltop on tho 

 north of our city. These three samples being- alike, 

 I have reason to believe that the sample mailed jou 

 is true melilot honey. The honey is very sweet, 

 flavor fair, though not as good as that of white 

 clover. It has a good body, but a color as if it were 

 mixed with soot. Such honey will never answer to 

 be put in the market for table use. The color of the 

 honey is much stronger shown in a larger bottle 

 than the one mailed you. This small bottle, how- 

 ever, -will answer the purpose, if you hold a small 

 bottle of while-clover honey alongside of it. If I 

 am correct as to the source of this honey, melilot 

 will be a great disappointment to us. I hope friends 

 from other jiarts will report on the subject. 

 Cincinnati, O., July 17, 1886. Chas. F. Muth. 



Many thanks, my good friend, for your 

 kind letter, and the sample of honey. I 

 should not be in haste to feel disappointed, 

 for it occurs to me that the sooty appearance 

 of the honey may be caused by the smoke of 

 your great city, even if the cjovej,' does grow 



