476 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



JU.NU 1. 



had pleiitv tlu' first hour, and this is how I 

 learned to avoid spring dwindling. One swarm, 

 according to the scales, lost 10 lbs., so I rely 

 only on cellar wintering here. 

 Canova, S. D.. May 8. L. R. Hillmax. 



.JAPANESE BUCKWHEAT FOR THE MOUNTAINS. 



I sowed two pounds on the 11th day of July, 

 and saved 2}4 bushels of seed. How is that for 

 the mountains'? I am well pleased. 



Ezel, Kv., Mav -2. J. O. Nipkeli.. 



;^EP@^Tg ENC6ai^^6I]V[6. 



Bees are in the best of condition— very strong: 

 white clover promises to be the best crop we 

 have had for a number of years. J. J. McCoy. 



Mt. Erie. 111., May 11. 



HOW THE bi:es avinteked. 

 Bees wintered in tine shape; never saw them 

 in as good condition so early in the season. 

 Calla. O., May 2. R. L. Templin. 



31.5 COLONIES IN excellent CONDITION. 



I have 315 colonies of bees, and they were 

 never in better condition at this time of year: 

 abundance of stores, strong in numbers, and 

 the finest prospect of white-clover bloom. 



Owensville. Ohio. May 3. J. B. Rapp. 



A GKAND SEASON. 



I have had a grand season. From one colony 

 I have received 210 lbs. of honey surplus, and 

 fiom another an increase of nine, with over 4(X) 

 lbs. of honey besides. John S. Ruttek. 



Aimidale." N. S. W., Apr. 3. 



BEES BOOMING IN TENNESSEE. 



Bees are booming hei-e. I had five good col- 

 onies and two weak ones last spring. I got lO.ii) 

 lbs. of good honey, and increased to 14 colonies. 

 I disposed of two colonies. This si)ring I have 

 ali'eady had six new s\\arms. and the bees are 

 strong. I lost none last wintei'. 



James A. Lvox. 



Claiksville. TeiuL, Mav 11. 



FOUTY POUNDS OF HONEY PEK COLONY IN 

 SOUTH CAROLINA. 



My bees are doing well. So far they have 

 gathered about 40 lbs. of surijlus honey each, to 

 date, chiefly from the poplar and blackberry. 

 If the honey-flow continues three weeks longer 

 it will be the heaviest crop we have had since 

 1878. The losses from winter and spring dwin- 

 dling are about20 per cent, so far as I have learn- 

 ed, in this section. Few swarms yet. 



Falfa, S. C, May 4. G. D. Mims. 



BEES IN THE HEST OF SHAPE. AND HONEY 

 IN SECTIONS FKOM THE DANDELION. 



Bees are in the best shape here this spring 

 that I ever saw them at so early a date. We 

 have 31 almost strong enough to swarm. They 

 worked so strong on the dandelion that they 

 began to stoi'e honey in the sections. They 

 were my best Italians. We have hundreds of 

 acres of the dandelion around here, as thick as 

 ever you saw white clover, and the honey is as 

 clear as white clover. David Lucas. 



Jewett, O., May 12. 



[Friend L., we once had dandelion honey 

 stored in sections; but it was not very good 

 honey after all. I thought of it when reading 

 Dr. Tinker's article about his colony that was 

 made to produce such an enormous amount of 



brood. Ours was one of that very kind. They 

 were in one of the '• long-idea" hives. By feed- 

 ing them up with care, we might have got them 

 almost up to the swarming-point before the 

 apple-blossoms came out. If we had colonies 

 strong enough, early enough, I think we might 

 often get houey in sections, not only from ap- 

 ple-blossoms, but even from dandelions.) 



A.I. R. 



.\ustkalia: a good honey s?:ason kepokted; 



FROM 200 to 400 LBS. PER COLONY; 

 FOUL BROOD DISAPPEARING. 



The honey harvest of this colony has been 

 good for the present season, and the average 

 gathering large. Under any thing like good 

 management the extractor has given a return 

 of 200 lbs. per hive, while odd colonies have 

 gathered 400 to 500 lbs. Thousands of tons of 

 magnificent honey have gone to waste. The 

 wi-iter has lately traveled for days through for- 

 ests of trees in bloom, and not a bee to be seen. 

 My own bees have been storing in sections for 

 the past six months, and are still at it. This 

 order of things will probably continue for an- 

 other month until wet weather shuts them in 

 for a few weeks, after which spring approaches 

 and a fresh season begins. We have no win- 

 tering problem to contend with here. Box-hive 

 men use gin and kerosene cases chiefly for hives. 

 These stand out generally in the open air on an 

 old bench, all the year round, with possibly an 

 old rotten bag thrown over the top to keep the 

 weather off. 



Foul brood has given but little trouble this 

 year: and. provided the honey season were al- 

 ways good, it would be of but little consequence. 

 Very many bee-keepers have repoited well of 

 formic acid as a curative agent: hut it needs 

 the confirmation of a longer trial, and luidei' 

 other circumstances than that of a good honey- 

 How. Leonard T. Ch.\mbers. 



jNIelbourne. Australia, Apr. 17. 



^EP0^Tg Digcea^;^6i]S[6. 



BICES NOT WINTERED WELL. 



Bees have not wintered very well in this lo- 

 cality. Several small bee-keepers have lo.stall 

 their bees. We had three swarms a year ago. 

 We fed them in the spring and inci'eased to sev- 

 en, but did not get a very lai'ge surplus. We 

 wintered in the cellar, and have not lost any. 

 We are feeding some this spring to got them to 

 rearing broofi eai'ly. The weather here has been 

 quite cold lately for the season. 



T. A. HoosE. 



Mt. Vision. Otsego Co.. N. Y.. May 10. 



A HARD WINTER ON BEKS. 



1 winteied U3 swarms out of 107 put into the 

 cellar. I lost all of my light swarms. The 93 

 swarms are in good shape except 3 weak ones. 

 I took them out of the cellar the Kith of this 

 month. It has beeii a hard winter for bees 

 around here. One man had about 1.50 stands, 

 and lost over half of them. Another 14, lost !»: 

 another 70. lost 30: another <>, lost all: another 4. 

 lost 3; another <J0, lost 10; another 10. lost 7. 

 That is all I have heard from. Quite a number 

 more keep bees around here. My cellar kept 

 44° from the time I put the bees in until three 

 days before I took them out, when it was 47°. 

 I got 2538 lbs. of honey last year from 47, spring 

 count. I increased to 118. I did better than 

 any of the rest of them around here. The bees 

 have carried in honey for five days, but I do not 

 know what they gather it from. 



Dover, Mich.," Apr. 27. A. N. Wkitlock. 



