1892 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



611 



schpiiio should ctMiainly itH-i-ivo hearty encour- 

 agenuMit. AVhcnhcril wnuUi ho host to organ- 

 ize a now union luivinii nt>\v functions wo can 

 not sav. It ooonrs to us that it minht \w more 

 feasible to modify the eonstitution of the exist- 

 ing Hee-l<(>epers' Union so as to cover the ob- 

 jects above set fortli. We iuive no doubt that 

 every memlier of tliut organization would vote 

 to have this cliange made. i)roviding that (Jen- 

 eral-manager Newman should sanction it. It 

 may not be b(>st, however, to interfere with or 

 enlarge the scope of an organization that has 

 already done great good by the precedents in 

 law wliich it has established in the interest of 

 the bee-keeper. While we do not believe that 

 adulteration of our product has been carried on 

 extensively, we can not d(Miy, in the face of 

 some facts which have been brought to light, 

 that it has been done to some extent, and we 

 therefore need— yes. must have— an organiza- 

 tion whose business it shall be to ferret out the 

 adulterators and bring them to justice. Honey 

 will probably be a little scarce this year, and 

 the temptation to mix in glucose will be great. 

 A union such as Mr. Mclntyre outlines, with 

 competent, conscientious oflicers, it seems to us 

 ought to secure easilv a membership of not less 

 than 10()0. With annual fees of iSl.OO from each 

 member, some telling and effective work could 

 be done. Let's hear from you, brother bee- 

 keepers.] 



STRAWS FROM OHIO. 



THIS 'ere season, ETC. 



Ah me I it m.akes a sinner wondrous blue 

 To see the bees with nothing else to do 

 Than wonder how they came to be a bee, 

 And if they'll ever live to see 

 Another such a season tlirough 

 As this 'ere present, 1892. 



I began taking off boxes to-day, but they 

 were empty. 



It's just fun to mind the bees this year— no 

 swarms nor honey to bother. 



I think Rambler had better come home. We 

 had better luck wheii he didn't ramble so much. 



You can't winter bees on the 40th parallel 

 without honey or sugar, or something like that; 

 don't try it. 



I will experiment with "sealed covers" next 

 winter, if I can hnd a sealer. Anyone having 

 one. let me know. 



Dr. Miller says. "Look out for those empty 

 combs." But, Dr. M., how did you know I had 

 any '? 



Now, just as I had started into the beeswax 

 business, cliey've gone and put the price down 

 —loo bad. 



Who said. " Let's quit" ? Don't say it again, 

 or I'll do it: for about all I'll have left by fall 

 will t)e the hives and wire fence. 

 " Manum's getting int<j the fruit business, and 

 Root into the patent-process garden business 

 until he can't sleep late in the morning; won- 

 der if that has any thing to do with these poor 

 seasons. 



The McKinley billlowered the price of sugar, 

 and honey too. and he's the man I "holler fer." 

 Well. I don't care. I have no honey to sell, any- 

 how: but my tariff-reform friends rub it in so 

 hard I don't like it pretty good. 



Manum says bees haven't paid him, and I 

 know they haven't paid me; but it always did 

 take me so long to find out any thing. No 

 charge for this: it's free, like Root's dovetailed 

 fixin's; no patent. 



I took off some upper stories yesterday, and 

 the bees hadn't built a sign of any brace-combs, 

 nor any other, either. This kind of season is 



the best preventive I know of, and I haven't 

 Hoffman iraniivs cithn-. 



I try to bi> nu-rry, but 'tis no use; 



My cjisi- is woiuhous liard; 

 For I fi'el just :is silly iis a farmyard goose 

 When I go out into the l)ee-yard. 



Springfield, O., July 8. Fkank McGlade. 



E. FRANCE'S REPORT FOR 1892. 



NEARLY .500 COLONIES. AND LITTLE OR NO 

 HONEY. 



We went into the winter of 1891 with about 

 (300 colonies. I say (ihout, for I don't know ex- 

 actly. We always count our bees in the spring, 

 after the season is far enough advanced so we 

 are sure that tliere will not be any more losses. 

 We pay rent for our locations, 25 cts. for each 

 colony, spring count, so we know and keep rec- 

 ord of each yard, spring count. We seldom 

 count up in fall. In the spring of 1891 we had 

 580 colonies. We made but very little increase 

 last year. We lost none during the winter ex- 

 cept a few queenless stocks. In fact, that is the 

 cause of most of our losses. Some queens get 

 old and die at times when they can not be 

 raised: then, of course, the colony is gone up. 

 Our bees came through the last winter in good 

 order. Up to the first of May we never had 

 them look better. They were strong and 

 healthy; plenty of drones hatched and flying 

 the last days of April. Then it began to rain, 

 and it rained about all the time, or nearly every 

 day, until the second day of July; since then 

 we have not had any too much rain. I heard 

 one man say that it rained 40 days in May and 

 .50 in June. Of course, he was a little off; but 

 if he had said that it rained that many times 

 during those two months, I don't think he 

 would have been far out of the way. It not 

 only rained, but it was cold, so if a bee did go 

 out between showers its chances were that it 

 never got home again: at any rate, the bees 

 were stronger the middle of May than they 

 were the first of July. Thev had to live and 

 breed up on what they had left of their winter's 

 stores. Thanks to France's motto (that a great 

 deal too much honey for winter stores is just 

 enough). That was all that saved the bees 

 this time— not the motto, but the honey that 

 was in the hive last fall. It lasted them until 

 July. But many of them were in a starving 

 condition at that time. 



July came in with very little clover in blos- 

 som; but a few days of ifair weather improved 

 the clover. Now there is an abundance of clo- 

 ver, but there is not much honey in it. Bass- 

 wood is now in full blossom, but there is not 

 more than a fourth of the trees that bloom this 

 year, and the bees don't work much on them. 

 They are getting a little honey, but it comes in 

 slowly, and is very thin. We have .560 colonies, 

 almost all very strong now; but at this date, 

 July 24, only one swarm, and not a pound of 

 surplus honey. From the present outlook, if 

 the bees gel their winter supply it is all they 

 will do. We are very anxious to save the bees 

 until next year, as 1 V)elieve next year will be 

 the best honey year that we ever had. for next 

 year will be tlie regular basswood year, and 

 there are millions of young white clover that 

 came up this wet season. We will try to save 

 the bees, and live in hopes. This year we got 

 every thing ready for a big crop— did every 

 thing we could in advance. The first of May I 

 saw no reason for a failure But such is life. 

 I used to think there was nothing in luck— that 

 a man made his own luck, and to a great extent 

 I think so yet; but in such years as this the 

 best must "fall behind, or, in other words, will 



