1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



91 



ferent is the climate over which our 

 vast brotherhood reaches ! Our honey 

 plants reach nearly through the entire 



year, yielding as good nectar as ever 

 tickled the palate of man. In fact the 

 harvest for bees is almost endless, 'let- 

 ter, of course, some months. The mar- 

 ket for hone; has never been developed: 

 a few old "sums" to "rob " for "big 

 meeting " or for some extraordinary 

 visitor is about all ever obtained. "Bees 

 do no good here these days, the moth 

 destroy them," say the " old settlers." 

 The moth skulks away in the light ot 

 scientific bee-keeping and its depreda- 

 tions are nil. 



To be successful all should study the 

 science, read good books on the subject, 

 learn by close practical observation, 

 read the periodicals of our wide awake 

 bee-men, among which there is none 

 better than the American Bee Jotjb- 

 nal. Energy and perseverance alone 

 will succeed even in the " sunlit clime" 

 of Texas. Without these, all will just 

 as surely retrograde. 



Hallettsville, Texas. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Alsike Clover as a Honey Plant. 



L. JAMES. 



Much has been written for the Jour- 

 nal about the value of this variety of 

 clover for its yield of honey and hay. 

 Such has not been my experience with 

 it, sown on 19 acres of land, and extend- 

 ing over 11 years. In 1809 I bought 

 some 38 pounds of the seed of Mr. 

 Thomas, of Canada. The cost to me. 

 of the seed, duty and express charges, 

 was $18. Having 9 acres of ground 

 planted with apple trees that had been 

 bearing for some time, and wishing to 

 seed it down to grass I had the ground 

 well prepared for the reception of the 

 seed, and a good rain fell just after it 

 was brushed in; it came up niceiy, and 

 as there was favorable rains all through 

 the summer it grew finelv. The follow- 

 ing season it grew in length of stem and 

 quantity of bloom far beyond my ex- 

 pectation, and when in its full bloom it 

 was a beautiful sight, resembling an 

 ocean of blossoms, and as I looked upon 

 it, you may relv upon it my calculations 

 of boxes of nice alsike clover honey 

 loomed up in large proportions, but like 

 many another calculation based upon 

 what our bees are going to do, it was 

 all in fancy and I was doomed to disap- 

 pointment. 



Day after day their flight was just m 

 the opposite direction, with only here 

 and there a bee to be seen on it. There 

 was a body of timber % of a mile distant 

 in the direction they were flying with 

 pastures well set in white clover be- 

 tween this timber and the apiary, and I 

 supposed the white clover pastures 

 was the source of honey supply. This 

 state of things continued for some time, 

 and seeing a bee-man pass by that lived 

 in the timber I inquired how his bees 

 were getting along. He replied they 

 were doing finely as they ought to, for 

 he had never seen heavier honey dews. 

 That was the secret, and soon my boxes 

 began to show evidence of the dark stuff 

 being put into them, instead of alsike 

 honey. Fortunately for me, before 

 much of it was stored in the boxes, 

 some heavy dashing rains washed it 

 from the leaves and there was no more 

 of the dew for them to gather. The al- 

 sike and white clover were in bloom for 

 some time after this, but for some cause 

 the bees paid but little attention to it, 

 and I was vexed to see the promise of a 

 rich return for mv expenditure frus- 

 trated. I took it for granted that the 

 season was not congenial for its pro- 

 duction of honey, as I knew the same 

 to be the case with white clover, as it 

 was last summer. After this at differ- 

 ent times I sowed 2 other orchards of 5 

 acres each with alsike, neither of which 

 did as well as the first piece sown, want 

 of timely rains, &c, being the cause, 

 but by continuous sowing I succeeded 

 in having them tolerably well set with it. 

 Receiving no perceptible benefit from 

 it, commensurate with its trouble and 

 expense, I have for some time been 

 satisfied that in central Illinois where 

 our white clover is so abundantly fur- 

 nished in our pastures and road sides, 

 without any expense, and hardy at that, 



it is time and money put to a poor use. 



As a hay producing plant it amounts 

 to but little after the tnst season, as it 

 becomes dwarfed in habit, and, I be- 

 lieve, will eventually be but little lar- 

 ger in growth under like circumstances 

 than the white variety. The white 

 clover is the honey plant for our lati- 

 tude, and I presume the alsike for 

 Sweden, from whence it came, and 

 corresponding latitudes. After having 

 had 11 years' experience with it I think 

 it unworthy of attention from bee-men, 

 either for honey or hay; at least where 

 the hardy white clover comes sponta- 

 neously to our hands. 



There is one thing I ought not to 

 omit, in sowing this Canadian seed I 

 introduced a kind of cockle (different 

 from anv I have seen in Penn. or Ohio) 

 that holds its own much better than 

 the clover, and I begin to think it will 

 be a standing pest difficult to get rid of.. 



Atlanta, 111. 



Head before the N. E. Convention. 



The Supply and Queen Trade. 



A. B. WEED. 



This is a subject, I believe, of inter- 

 est to all who are engaged in apiculture, 

 either as bee-keepers, supply dealers or 

 queen breeders, and is growing as the 

 business extends. 



The supply business seems as yet to 

 he in a crude state, and prices lack uni- 

 formity. In manv cases we find need- 

 less " cutting " of prices. It may be 

 said that this is a good thing for buyers; 

 but I believe that the opposite is the 

 case, for the inevitable result of un- 

 reasonably low prices is inferior goods. 

 When prices are so lowered that there 

 is no margin left for profit, the trade 

 will not be supported with the enter- 

 prise which is necessary to stimulate 

 improvements or inventions, or even to 

 nut the business on a good footing. 

 The character of the business can best 

 be maintained if the energy of manu- 

 facturers is directed to the perfecting 

 of goods rather than the cheapening of 

 them. Good tools are necessary in any 

 pursuit, and seem to be associated with 

 a thrifty business: in fact, the prosper- 

 ity of a business is largely dependent 

 upon the means at hand of carrying it 

 on. If one tool is better than anohter 

 —even if the difference is slight— it is 

 worth very much more, for the benefit 

 of the difference is felt every time that 

 it is used. A good thing may be a 

 source of profit, and a poor one of loss. 

 The best is always the cheapest. 



There is one respect in which the 

 business is in a better condition than 

 many others, and that is, that there is 

 but very little credit given. This is an 

 advantage to both parties, for the 

 seller loses nothing through bad debts, 

 and the prompt buyer does not have to 

 pay for the losses caused by the care- 

 less or dishonest ones. 



It is quite common among supply 

 dealers to guarantee safe arrival of 

 goods. This condition of sale is un- 

 necessary, as the express receipt is suf- 

 ficient, and in case of injury or loss the 

 fact is more readily proven and dam- 

 ages more easily collected than could be 

 from some dealers. It is unreasonable 

 to expect the dealer to be responsible 

 for goods after they have left his hands, 

 especially when the consignee can ad- 

 just any difficulty more easily at his end 

 of the line; this is the customary rule 

 in business. When articles are sent by 

 mail the buyer can protect himself 

 against loss by having the article reg- 

 istered; but the precaution is almost 

 unnecessary, as it is very rarely that 

 anything is lost in the rnaifs. Of course 

 the sender is required to use necessary 

 care in packing; with most shippers this 

 is a point of pride. 



The. traffic in queens seems to be 

 closely allied to the supply business— at 

 least so I have found it— for as the bee- 

 keeper begins to feel the need of good 

 tools he sees the advantage of good 

 stock as well; and he naturally looks 

 in the same direction for both. I be- 

 lieve that I express the opinion of the 

 best queen breeders when I say that it 

 is much more satisfactory to sell a good 

 queen at a correspondingly good price 

 —even if the profit is no greater in pro- 

 portion — than a cheap and poor one, for 

 the reason that a queen, wherever she 



goes, will represent the stock from 

 which she came. And I believe, too, 

 that I speak the opinion of all observ- 

 ing apiarists when I say that it pays in- 

 finitely better to keep good queens than 

 poor ones. Thus it is that good queens 

 at good prices are more profitable to 

 both parties. Some of the best apiarists 

 have discontinued selling any queens 

 that are not possessed of a high degree 

 of merit, and send nut only those which 

 are thoroughly tested and found to be 

 good. In return they receive a suitable 

 price from appreciative customers. This 

 is notably the case in localities where 

 honey raising is an established business, 

 and the value of good stock is therefore 

 understood. It is now almost univer- 

 sally held by apiarists that if good 

 queens are to be obtained they must be 

 raised under favorable conditions. It 

 is freely admitted that to bring about 

 these conditions requires a large outlay 

 of time and thought, as well as money. 

 This especially is the case when queens 

 are to be reared out of season. 



The cost of rearing queens will de- 

 cide their price, for of course they will 

 not be sold at prices which do not pay 

 for rearing and a reasonable profit be- 

 sides. If buyers insist on having cheap 

 queens, they will get them, but their 

 value will be found to correspond with 

 their price. The one-price rule, which 

 is applied to queens throughout the 

 country, has the effect of causing many 

 poor ones to be sold at fair prices, which 

 really should be killed. It has the ten- 

 dency to discourage the rearing of very 

 superior ones, for as a rule, a thing is 

 no better than its price. When they 

 are all sold at a uniform price it is to be 

 expected they will be nearly alike in 

 merit, as there is no special inducement 

 for the breeder to improve his stock. 

 The uniformity of price probably origi- 

 nated in the supposition that all queens 

 are equally good, whereas experience 

 proves the opposite to be true. A queen 

 that lays even a few more eggs daily 

 than another is much more valuable, 

 for the extra number of eggs will be 

 multiplied by the number of days that 

 she is kept. This difference alone, so 

 often repeated, will in time amount to 

 more than the price of the queen. A 

 poor queen is kept at a corresponding 

 loss, although both may have sold at the 

 same price. There are such things as 

 plus and minus outside of algebra. The 

 buying of queens at present has some 

 resemblance to a lottery. They should 

 be graded— at least so far as this is pos- 

 sible—and priced accordingly. 



Combinations for the maintenance 

 of artificial prices are impracticable 

 and undesirable. I would only submit 

 that prices be based upon cost of pro- 

 duction and a reasonable profit. 



Detroit, Mich. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Who is to Blame for the Losses? 



C. H. DIBBERN. 



Already the reports of fearful losses 

 are coming in thick and fast. Every 

 severe winter the story is the same. 

 Kow the question arises, are these losses 

 of bees inevitable every cold winter ? 

 If so then our business as bee-keepers 

 is still a mere matter of luck. 



During the last few years of mild 

 winters the out-door wintering men 

 have had things about their own way 

 in our bee-papers. Now, are these pa- 

 pers not a little to blame for admitting 

 articles to their columns giving bad ad- 

 vice to the inexperienced ? Many have 

 advocated the wintering on summer 

 stands without protection or care, and 

 persistently claim to be masters in bee- 

 keeping. I am perfectly willing to ad- 

 mit that bees can be wintered very 

 nicely on summer stands in a mild win- 

 ter, also that they are wintered success- 

 fully if well packed in chaff in a cold 

 winter; but I claim that the labor of 

 preparing them is more than double 

 that of cellar wintering. 



I contend that the only certain way is 

 to prepare a suitable place especially 

 for the bees. If a cellar, have the floor 

 cemented and see that it is dry, dark, 

 and well ventilated. In such a place 

 they will not consume more than half 

 the amount of honey they would if left 

 out " packed " in the most approved 



style. This being a fact they have no 

 particular occasion for a (light. I know 

 that the out-door men claim that cellar- 

 wintered bees do not breed early and 



are liable to " spring dwindle." I 

 hardly know what spring dwindling is. 

 By giioil spring management 1 have 

 never failed to have my hives crowded 

 as soon as there is anything for the bees 

 to do. Then what is to be gained by 

 having the queen expend her energies 

 and raising vast broods of bees in Feb- 

 ruary to be ready to die when the blos- 

 soms come V But sometimes failure 

 comes even in the best of cellars; but 

 would they have fared any better out of 

 doors V Nine times in 10 the cause can 

 be traced to bees tilling their hives from 

 the refuse of cider mills. How to keep 

 them from storing such stuff is one of 

 the great problems to be solved. 



It is not to be supposed that any kind 

 of a hole under a house will do to win- 

 ter bees. I have known bees to be 

 packed away among onions, cabbage, 

 and sour kraut. In the spring they 

 wonder what made their bees die. Per- 

 haps they were fastened by wire cloth 

 so that the light could be let in and the 

 bees could not " get out you know." 

 That such must fail is apparent. 



I do not find fault with those who pre- 

 fer to pack in chaff and winter out of 

 doors ; I cannot see, however, that it is 

 the best way. 



It will be the " survival of the fittest" 

 this winter, sure. The box hive men 

 and careless bee-keepers will go out of 

 the business. It is the golden opportu- 

 nity for the bee-keeper of the future. 

 Soon the fields will be white with the 

 harvest, but the laborers will be few. 

 The bees will have less competition in 

 the fields and the honey in the market. 



Milan, 111. 



[Are the papers reprehensible for giv- 

 ing place to candid and respectful argu- 

 ments, whether based upon tenable or 

 doubtful theories, intended to advance 

 and simplify a science of such magni- 

 tude as the bee-keeping interest ? Dif- 

 ferences of opinion (and honest ones, 

 too,) exist in almost all leading pursuits, 

 and frequently, although seemingly 

 contradicting each other, lead to suc- 

 cessful results ; again, as has been fre- 

 quently demonstrated during the past 

 winter, practices embracing all the most 

 approved theories, have alike proved 

 disastrous. There are so many favora- 

 ble contingencies to be provided, that 

 theories are powerless to insure success. 

 It is interesting, as well as mystifying, 

 to glance through our correspondence 

 from week to week, and note the differ- 

 ent methods of preparing bees for win- 

 ter, and the disasters attending all the 

 different styles. Nor are the cellars ex- 

 empt from heavy losses, even where 

 success has been proverbial heretofore: 

 The truth is, the winter has been an ex- 

 ceptional one, and loss orsuccesswitha 

 single or a few individuals, will neither 

 establish nor disprove theoretical asser- 

 tions ; nor will it justify the " I told you 

 so" class, because successful, in arro- 

 gating to themselves all of human wis- 

 dom.— Ed.] 



(gf The North Western Wisconsin 

 Bee-keepers Association will meet at 

 Germauia Hall, LaCrosse, Wis., on 

 Tuesday. May 10, at 10 a. m. All inter- 

 ested in bee-keeping are requested to be 

 present. L. H. Pammel, Jr., Sec. 



ipf The next meeting of the N. W. 

 Illinois and S. W. Wisconsin Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association, will be held at H. W. 

 Lee's, 2 miles n.w. of Pecatonica. Win- 

 nebago county, Ills., on the 17th of May, 

 1881. J. Stewart, Sec. 



(g^On account of unfavorable weath- 

 er the convention at Monroe Centre, 

 111., met on Feb. 8, and there being but 

 few present, adjourned to the same 

 place on March 29, 1881. 



A. Rice, Pres. 



