173 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mak 



prospect good lor the season of 1888. There has also 

 been some cold weather for this locality— mercury 

 down to 2(i several mornings, and some of the 

 oranges frozen. But it is warm again now, and the 

 grass is growing nicely, covering the hills with 

 green, and the farmers are setting out fruit-trees, 

 strawberry-plants, etc.— quite a contrast from the 

 frozen Eist. R. ]. Barber. 



Pomona, Cal., Jan. 28, 1888. 



A GOOD SCORE FOR 1887. 



The season of 1887 was the best one for honey 

 that I have experienced since I commenced bee- 

 keeping three years ago. In 1886 I bought four 

 swarms, and they wintered over well. The next 

 season I increased to eleven, and wintered over and 

 came out in the spring strong, and increased by 

 natural swarming to 37. These wintered like the 

 rest, without losing one. Last year I sold three 

 colonies and one swarm. My bees gave me, be- 

 eides, one ton of honey, extracted, and about 30 

 lbs. of comb honey, and increased to 61 colonies. 

 They gathered enough to winter on without feed- 

 ing sugar. 1 expect to bring out, in the spring, 61 

 colonies, if I am spared. So you see I have not lost 

 a swarm since I commenced bee-keeping; but I 

 dread next season, for at the present rate of in- 

 crease they will get far too numerous for me to 

 handle and run a hundred-acre farm too; but I will 

 try to make more honey and less bees. 



Elora, Ont., Can. Geo. Strangways. 



ENCOURAGING FOR FLORIDA. 



I have 7.') colonies and one of the best localities, I 

 suppose, in the U. S. for bee-keeping, as bees work 

 here all winter every day, bringing in honey from a 

 species of pennyroyal from November until April; 

 then comes the saw-palmetto bloom, continuing 

 until June; our rainy season then begins, and bees 

 make but little surplus honey during that time. I 

 have been extracting for several days, and could 

 have been extracting a month ago; but I am clear- 

 ing land for farming and oranges, and have but lit^ 

 tie time lor bees. I came here from Kansas two 

 j'cars ago, and settled in the extreme south part of 

 Florida, near the Seminole Indians, and find the cli- 

 mate as near ])erfect as we may expect to find any- 

 where. We labor under many inconveniences, such 

 as lack of transportation, etc.; but we look for a 

 boom to strike this, the most deserving part of the 

 peninsula. David Hadley. 



Alva, Florida, Feb. 19, 1888. 



honey sold KOR 3.") CTS. PER LB., AND $39.00 

 FROM ONE COLONY IN 1887. 



I never kept bees until last year, when I bought 

 five colonies. I worked them for comb honey; and 

 although all my neighbors complained of a poor 

 honey-crop J got 330 lbs. of honey, which I sold 

 for 25 cts. per pound. 



the little HfiACKS AHEAD, AND THE ITALIANS 

 THE POOREST. 



I had one colony which gave me 116 finished 1-lb. 

 sections, and several unfinished ones. This was a 

 valuable colony, as it brought me, S39. 00 worth of 

 honey, but did not swarm, and yet they were the 

 '■ little blacks;" the other four were hybrids, ex- 

 cei)t one which was, I think, pure Italian. It did 

 the poorest of all. I got only two swarms from ray 

 bees, and they were both late ones, and came in 

 September. I gave them empty combs, and they 

 made considerable honey, and I fed them more, so 



I think they will winter all right. I am trying to 

 winter my bees outdoors. I have a chaff cushion 

 on top, and chaff division-boards on the sides. I 

 owe all ray success to your ABC book and Glean- 

 ings. We have had some pretty cold weather, 20° 

 below zero. S. H. Beaver. 



Tamora, Neb., Dec. 15, 1887. 



1000 LBS. OF HONEY FROM 20 COLONIES, SPRING 

 COUNT. 



I commenced the season with 30 colonies; used 

 some in dividing, and raising queens. It left 13 

 good colonies to gather honey. We took from 

 them nearly 1000 lbs. of comb and extracted honey, 

 and it was of No. 1 quality, clover and buckwheat. 

 In fact, we were the only ones who had any surplus 

 to speak of. The largest bee-keeper in this section 

 has about 100 colonies, and his bees did not make 

 enough to winter on; and there are others who are 

 in the same fix. Now, we don't want to brag, but 

 it must be that our bees must have been in better 

 condition, and every thing in readiness for the 

 honey-flow when it came; and another very impor- 

 tant thing is, ours are all Italians, and all the other 

 bee-keepers keep the black bees. We think this Is 

 proof enough that the Italians are the best. We go 

 into winter quarters with 33 colonies. Honey sells 

 at 12!4 cts. for extracted, and 16 to 18 cts. for comb. 

 We bought 1 lb. of Japanese buckwheat of Peter 

 Henderson, and it gr^w finely. It made an enor- 

 mous growth. We counted the kernels on one 

 plant, and found it had over 500. The whole yield- 

 ed lYi bushels. We think very favorably of it, and 

 intend to test it more thoroughly the coming yeai'. 

 Cornelius Bros. 



Lafayetteville, N. Y., Dec. 13, 1887. 



;^EP01^3Fg DIPC0U^^6I]V[6. 



WANTS TO "SELL OUT." 



Y 110 colonies of bees were put in the cellar 

 the first day of Deceniiber, and seem to be 

 wintering nicely, the temperature being 

 from 40 to 45°. They make very little noise. 

 They gave me 200 lbs. of extracted and 100 

 lbs. comb honey last fall, and had 20 to 30 lbs. each for 

 winter stores. I fed them .500 lbs. nice comb honey 

 in the frames the past season. I had 4 natural and- 

 4 artificial swarms, so you see 1 belong to the large 

 army of "Blasted Hopers." I want to sell out. 

 Cedar Bapids, Iowa, Jan. 16, 18S8. S. J. Church. 



NOT ONE POITND OF SURPLUS, AND NO SWARMS- 



My i-eport for the past season is very soon made 

 out. I had not one pound of surplus, no swarms, 

 and a scant supply of honey for winter. This re- 

 port will answer for about every bee-keeper within 

 forty miles of me. I think we in this section are 

 good subjects for Blasted Hopes, but 1 think most 

 of us will try again. Robert Quinn. 



Shellsburg, Iowa. 



FROM 13 TO 20, AND 100 LBS. OF HONEY. 



My 10 swiirms of bees are wintering very well- 

 one in cellar, and nine outdoors, packed with chaff. 

 I had 12 stands last spring. I increased to 20, but 

 did not get over 100 lbs. of honey. All the bee- 

 keeiiers in this vicinity claim to be in the same 

 boat. Jacob Krou. 



LukeviUe, Ind., Feb. 10, 1888. 



