1884 



(CLEANINGS IN BEE CULl^UllE. 



35? 



iclerks, and perhaps wc have to stand the loss. Now, 

 why not cut short all this confusion by being- care- 

 ful to mention only the i)lace where you wish your 

 things sent, and no other? If your postoffice and 

 express office are different, of course it can not be 

 helped; but please do be careful to mention it dis- 

 tinctly. Why not have it printed right on your sta- 

 tionery? 



DELAYS ON ORDERS. 



Our business at present is perhaps larg-er than 

 ever known before in the month of May, or. for that 

 matter, in any other month. Orders by mail, how- 

 ever, go off promptly the day they are received, al- 

 most without exception. The same can be said of 

 express; and in regard to freight, we have a great 

 supply of every thing that I now think of, unless it 

 is sections. On these there is necessarily some de- 

 lay. Several have complained pretty severely be- 

 cause we are unable to tell what the delay will be. 

 The trouble is, our packing-room is constantly one 

 great whirl and uproar; and to keep our small army 

 of packers busy, one order is often di-opped and an- 

 other taken up, on account of circumstances and 

 conditions hard to explain here; and the order we 

 at one time thought would have to wait a week, 

 may, by a combination of circumstances, be put on 

 the train within an hour; and sometimes, I am sor- 

 ry to say, vice versa. Come and take a look at us, 

 and you can understand it better. If you object to 

 such a waj- of doing-, you can have your money back 

 by first mail any time you say so. I am very, very 

 sorry indeed, friends, that we are not even yet able 

 to take every order just as soon as it is received, 

 during- these busj' honey months. But as our busi- 

 ness still increases faster than our facilities, at cer- 

 tain seasons of the year, it happens as I have told 

 you. Queens and bees go almost by return mail or 

 express, although we have been hindered on some 

 large orders by too small a supply of untested 

 queens. Our apiary is now pretty close on to 300 

 full strong colonies, from which to draw bees and 

 brootl for filling orders. 



SECTION BOXES. 



As usual at this season of the year, there is a great 

 clamor for honey-boxes, and they all want them right 

 right off. Our basswood is now in pretty nice order, 

 and we are turning out a good many thousand dai- 

 ly, for our machinery is now in operation from four 

 in the morning till seven at night. We would run it 

 all night too were it not for the extra insurance In- 

 curred. Now, while doing our utmost during this 

 fearful rush to accommodate all as fast as possible, 

 a great manj-, I feel sure, are borrowing trouble be- 

 fore there is any need of it. This is indicated by 

 the number of lettei-s we get at this season, asking 

 when to put on the honey-boxes. A few days ago a 

 man drove a good many miles for some sections; 

 said he must have them at once. When asked to 

 explain, he said his hives were so full of bees they 

 were all clustering out, and he wanted to put on the 

 sections so they would have room to stay inside. 

 This was before fruit-trees of any kind were in 

 bloom. Now, friends, there are very few of jou 

 who will have any use for sections before white clo- 

 ver is in bloom, and it will be a damage to your bees 

 to have the boxes on several weeks before they will 

 have any honey to put into them. When the combs 

 are all tilled below, and clover honey is coming in 

 at such a rate that the brood-nest is being crowded, 

 then the sections should go on, but not till tlien. 



KEMINDERY. 



Honey from apple-blossoms is very rarely obtain- 

 ed in such quantities that the brood-nest won't hold 

 it; and rather than put in the sections I would ex- 

 tract a comb or two, or, better still, take out some 

 full combs and replace them with empty ones ; for 

 during the interval between fruit-blossoms and 

 white clover they will almost always need these 

 combs back again. If any thing should happen 

 that your bees do not get abundance of stores dur- 

 ing fruit-bloom, you will have to feed before clover 

 comes. This feeding at this point is of the utmost 

 importance. A good manj' colonies will manage to 

 starve through this interval, even though they do 

 not die outright, but it cripples and hurts them 

 greatly. Oftentimes at this season we see a little 

 honey at night, but not a drop to be found any- 

 where in the morning. This is a bad state of affairs, 

 and I would by all means supply the deficiency by 

 feeding. Sugar syrup, or maple sugar laid on the 

 top of the frames, or a poor grade of honey, will 

 keep them going nicely; and if followed up judi- 

 ciously may cause swarms to come out, even before 

 the white-clovrr honey comes. New swarms especi- 

 ally need to be fed during this interval, for they 

 often come out during fruit-bloom and suffer great- 

 ly, e\'en if thej- do not star%'e outright, unless they 

 are watched and fed just at the proper time. 



CONVENTION NOTICES. 



NOTICE TO BEE-KEEPERS. 



Under a resolution adopted at the last meeting, 

 an extra session of the North-Eastern Kentucky 

 Bee-Keepers' Association is called to meet In the 

 city of Covington, Ky., on Satui-day, May 17, 1884, at 

 o'clock A.M., for the purpose of transacting such 

 business as may come before it. It is hoped there 

 will be a full attendance of the bee-keepei'S of 

 North-Eastern Kentucky. Membership fee, .50 cts. 

 Adie O. Robertson, 

 Chairman Executive Committee. 



The Mahoning Valley Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will meet at Newton Falls, O., on June 6, 1884. Mr. 

 Hammon and Mr. Page will read some very inter- 

 esting essays on the summer management of an 

 apiary. E. W. Turner, Sec. 



Fou ndat ion 



Recent valuable improvements in our machinery 

 enable us to make bottom prices. Our foundation 

 is unexcelled by any made in the United States. O/-- 

 derx nUeil in rotation. General Supplies. 



M. C. VON DORN, 



Tb.tfd. 820 S. Avenue, Onmlia, Neb. 



STANLEY 



AUTOMATIC HONEY-EXTRACTOR 



DOLLAR SMOKER. 



Also other supi)lies. Send for free circular. 

 lOtfdb 0. W. STANLEY & BEO.. Wyoming. N. T. 



RICHMOND, FORT BEND CO., TEXAS, 



dealer in 



PURE ITALIAN BEES AND QUEENS. 



Ttfdb SEND FOR CIRCULAR. 



DADANT'S FOUNDATION FACTOEY, WHOLESALE and EETAIL. 

 See advoi-tisemeiit in another cohimn. 3btfd 



