948 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 



honey is too plentiful to bring a good price. I sell 

 good strained honey (just as free from bits of comb 

 as extracted) at 7 cts. per lb., while the best white 

 comb is 10 cts. Bees have not done well; the hon- 

 ey-crop failed in July. D. C. Av.\ks. 

 Moawe(]ua, Shelby Co., Til., Nov. 4, 1886. 



]^EP0]RTp ENceoK^eiNG. 



OVER 100 LBS. OF HONEY PER COLONY. 



T BEGAN in the spring with 6 colonies. I took 

 M 634 Ibs.'of honey— about 100 of it in the combs, 

 ^[ the rest extracted. This is besides what was 

 ■^ used in the family, and we used it every day. 

 1 had no increase. 



VLSIKE. 



1 sowed alsike clover with the red for meadow. 

 At cutting time the Italians were working strong 

 on both kinds, while the blacks were working only 

 on the alsike. They also worked on the second 

 crop of both clovers. I think the hay was better 

 by having the alsike with it. I think I shall sow 

 both kinds together in the future. I have had the 

 best success in getting a "good catch " by sowing 

 the seed on a light layer of snow in the later part 

 of March. B. D. Sidwell. 



Flushing, O. 



36 COLONIES, AND 10,000 LBS. OK HONEY. 



My cousin has 36 or 37 swarms, and he has se- 

 cured this season 10,000 lbs. of honey. 

 Lancaster, N. Y. Oliver D. Seitz. 



FROM 70 TO 110, .\ND .50!)0 LBS. OF HONEY. 



1 have over 5000 lbs. of white comb honey, a fair 

 crop for 70 colonics, considering drought. I in- 

 creased to 110. John A. Williamson. 



Lodge, Piatt Co., 111. 



60 B.VRRELS OF HONEY YET TO SELL. 



It has been a busy time this season, taking care 

 of the bees and then marketing honey. We have 

 60 barrels of honey yet to sell. I have had no time 

 to write, but I think I can get time to have a little 

 talk with the boys after awhile. E. France. 



Platteville, Wis., Nov. 19, 1886. 



TUKKEY-HILL APIARY. 



I started in with 10 colonies of bees; increased 

 them to 20, and took half a barrel of honey this last 

 June. I now have about 500 or 60O lbs. to extract, 

 which I will do as soon as I get tinie. We have had 

 an excellent honey year. S. Braeutigam. 



Rentchler's Sta., 111. 



318 LBS. OF HONEY FROM ONE SWARM. 



I commenced the season with 3.5 colonies, in- 

 creased to 80. and got 3000 lbs. of honey— 2785 comb, 

 and 215 of extracted. I have the Holy Lands and 

 Italians. The former are the best hc«ney-gatherers 

 I have. From one young swarm, June 8, I secured 

 218 lbs. in 1-lb. sections. J. B. Craven, 35—80. 



Dixon, O., Nov. 10, 1886. 



FROM 3 TO 21, AND 300 LHS. OF HONEY. 



I commenced with three colonies in the spring. I 

 increased them to 21 good strong hives, with plenty 

 of stores for winter. I obtained 125 lbs. of comb 

 honey, and 175 lbs. of extracted. I use foundation 

 in 3 inch strips for starters in lower story, the same 

 as in the sections. B. R. Ryan, 



Bradshaw, Neb., Nov. 8, 1886. 



A BEE-KEEPER 7o YEARS OLD. 



1 have been keeping bees for about 20 years, and 

 this is the first season they have made any surplus 

 to amount to any thing. They have given me this 

 year about 300 lbs. of extracted honey, and about 

 100 lbs. in sections. This is not much, but I hope it 

 is the beginning of better success. I am nearly 75 

 years old, and 1 am still able to attend to my bees, 

 and hope to be for many years yet. 1 have 30 

 stands, but the surplKs- 1 got was from about a doz- 

 en stands of hybrids. Henry J. Alvis. 



Montrose. Ia'C Co., Iowa, Oct. 13, 1886. 



"SOLD LOTS OF HONEV.'" 



This has been a very poor year for honey, al- 

 though the fall has been favorable. Buckwheat 

 made a very good How, and the alsike we sowed in 

 the spring- gave considerable honey, so that they 

 kept up breeding until late, and gcueially have 

 enough honey to wintei- on. Honey is selling from 

 15 to 20 cts., and we are making quite a home 

 market. We secured quite a large space at our 

 granger fair, and made a nice exhibit, and sold lots 

 of honey, and created quite an interest in bees and 

 honey. Geo. W. Williams. 



Economy, Ind., Oct. 2!», 1886. 



THIS YEAR THE BEST OF ALL. 



Seven years ago I began bee-keeping, and this 

 year has been the best of all. I commenced the 

 season with 12 stands of my own, and 24 stands on 

 shares, all very weak. I did not expect any honey 

 or swarms at all. The fall of 1885 was very dry, and 

 I did not feed any, which init my bees in bad condi- 

 tion. I took over 1000 lbs. and 22 swarms. The net 

 proceeds for this year is $71.00. I have now 23 stands 

 of my own, packed up for winter in Simplicity 

 hives. I ordered one from you some time ago. I 

 made my own hives. I made an extractor, which 

 works all right. The honey crop in this part of the 

 State is good. I have tried the Doolittle plan of 

 forming nuclei, and succeeded very well. 



Lewis Glover. 



Darkesville, W. Va., Oct. 28, 1886. 



the success of AN a B C SCHOLAR. 



The goods I ordered all came in good shape. 1 

 have finished extracting, and now can make my re- 

 port. I am an A B C scholar i years of age. 



Number of colonies last spring 16 



Increased to 83 



Sold 1 



Prepared for winter 81 



Honey sold this season, pounds 1941 



Honey now on hand 1419 



Amount used on our table, estimated at 240 



Total f 3600 



Wax, pounds 30 



Our bees are all in good shape, with plenty of 

 good honey to winter on. 



Of the honey, about 1630 lbs. is comb, and the rest 

 extracted. The bees are as near pure Italian as I 

 can keep them, and they gather honey nearly 

 every day when it is warm enough. We have lost 

 quite a number of swarms (I clip queens now), be- 

 cause we have not given our bees the attention 

 they should have had this season. Our honey will 

 average us about 10c. per pound. I have made all 

 my hives, frames, sections, etc., so far, with hand- 

 saws, planes, slitting-gauges, and miter-box; but! 

 hope to buy sections and a Barnes saw for next 

 year. Joel C, Merri.man. 



Wheatland. Mich., Nov. 15, 1886. 



