1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



583 



PERTAINING TO BEE CULTURE. 



T SOLD to George W. Howard, of Springfield, O., 

 M 338 lbs. of honey at 10 cts. per lb., to be paid for 

 ^t the first of November, 1887, for which he has 

 ■*■ neither paid me nor acknowledged the receipt 

 of it. Please give him a place in Humbugs 

 and Swindles. R. Robinson. 



Laclede, Fayette Co., 111., Jan. 13, 1888. 



As soon as the above letter reached us, we 

 wrote immediately to Geo. W. Boward,and 

 have since tlien written repeatedly, but can 

 get no reply from him whatever. We did 

 not very much expect a reply, however, as 

 the commercial reports give him a bad name 

 to start with. J3ee-keepers should l)e very 

 careful about sending honey to parties who 

 are unknown or unfavorably quoted. In- 

 quiries at your nearest bank will tell us 

 whether a man is honest or not. It does not 

 make any difference what promises such men 

 make, for a promise amounts to nothing 

 from anybody without a character to back it. 

 We are very sorry indeed to tell you, friend 

 R., that your 388 pounds of honey are, in all 

 probability, an entire loss. 



3500 LBS. OF HONEY FROM 30 COLONIES. 



Y bees are fixed tor their summer rest. I 

 send in my report. Spring count, 28 good 

 and 2 weak. I have taken 1800 lbs. of ex- 

 tracted, and 700 lbs. of comb honey. I could 

 take enough more to msike up the average 

 to 100 lbs. per hive. I think it would be hard to find 

 better honey than the most of this. 

 Sarasota, Fla., July 2, 1888. W. J. Dkumright. 



Our bees never did better on white clover than 

 this year. E. R. A. & B. Brainard. 



Postville, Iowa, July .5, 1888. 



My bees are doing nobly. We have about forty 

 colonies of them. ']'. H. WnEELER. 



West Bedford, O., June 20, 1888. 



Bees are swarming at a gieat rale, and booming 

 on white clover. H. H. Brown. 



Light Street, Pa., June 16, 1888. 



BEES BOOMING. 



Out of foundation. Mercury 92 to-day. Bees 

 have been booming since the 26th of A pril. I have 

 never had an idle day. J. H. Vanosdol. 



Dawson, Pa., June 18, 1888. 



Bees doing well now. White clover is very light, 

 but coming on since the rain. Altogether, the out- 

 look is favorable now. H. R. Brown. 



East Townsend, O., June 16, 1888. 



BUCKWHEAT CAKES AND HONEY AGAIN ON THE 

 BILL OF FAKE. 



Thanks for promptness. The honey from mint 

 promises fair. The e.xiraetors will start fiiiigingowt 

 the delicious nectar this week, and buckwheat 

 cakes and honey will again come in the "bill of 

 fare." B. F. Carroll. 



Blooming Grove, Tex., June 4, 1888. 



CHANCES FAVORABLE. 



The bees are hauling in the nectar from poplar 

 and white clover, which are both in full bloom, and 

 the chances for a good crop of honey are quite fa- 

 vorable, with well-managed apiaries. 



La Paz, Ind., June 15, 1888. C. A. Bunch. 



EIGHT BARRELS OP HONEY DP TO DATE. 



1 have shipped, up to date, 8 barrels of honey, 

 for which 1 received 5(4 cts. per lb. 1 have increas- 

 ed my apiary from 100 to 150 colonies, and I expect 

 to get 12 or 15 barrels more. W. G. McLendon. 



Landing, Ark., June 23, 1888. 



GOOD increase. 



I was stocked with ten swarms last spring, on 

 shares, by a bee-sharp from California; have now 

 48 good strong colonies. How is that for an A B C ? 

 When this reaches you there will be at least 50. I 

 started out for 100 from 10, and now it is nearly 4 

 from 1, and it will be very easy to double what I 

 have. I make all my hives of rough pine lumber, 

 10 to 14 frames, no paint nor putty. Bees make 

 honey sweet without either. P. Plummer. 



Tuscon, Ariz. Ter., June 7, 1888. 



l^EP0^n^g DipC0n^^6IN6. 



DISCOURAGING, BUT THE REPORTER NOT DISCOUR- 

 AGED. 



EDITOR GLEANINGS:— If you want reports 

 that are discouraging, I can furnish one. I 

 commenced the season with 15 strong colonies. 

 I never saw bees in better condition, but I 

 have not been able to get any surplus honey. 

 The white clover was all killed by last summer's 

 drouth, or by the winter, I know not which. There 

 is a fine crop of young clover, but it is blooming 

 very sparingly as yet, and bees don't seem to notice 

 it. Will young clover produce any honey the first 

 season? Basswood bloomed profusely, and lasted 7 

 days ; but my best colonies gained only 1 lb. per day. 

 This is certainly discouraging, but I will try again, 

 if the Lord will. J. P. Adam. 



Paris. 111., July 7, 1888. 



BEES IN A STARVING CONDITION. 



This is a very peculiar season here. White clover 

 furnishes no honey, and the bees are in a starving 

 condition. The hives are full of bees; in fact, they 

 arc very strong. About a week ago they went to 

 work and killed all the drones. Bees wintered well 

 in this section, many not losing even a colony. 



Scranton, Iowa, July 8, 1888. E. F. Bell. 



KKPORT DISCOURAGING FROM E. FRANCE. 



White clover is very scarce. Bees are making 

 but little more than is used u]) in brood-rearing, 

 and what honey has been gathered so far is too 

 thin to extract. June 21st we extracted 24 lbs., just 

 to sample the honey. It is too thin— too much 

 rain. We have 431 colonies of bees, and so far no 

 honey. In 1886, at this date we had taken 30,000 

 pounds. We have had two days now without rain. 

 If this dry spell continues, we may get a little yet. 

 The prospect is fair for some basswood honey. 



Phittvilie, Wis., June 2.5, 1888. E. France. 



THE PROSPECTS. 



As nearly as I can learn up to date, the yield of 

 honey isn't over 25 per cent of what it is a good 

 year. I haven't taken any honey from my bees yet, 



