318 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOUR 



NAL. 



Oct. 5. 





WuRLETTi 



$B~Q7$ amr 



More Honey than Ever.— I should in- 

 deed feel lost without the weekly vis- 

 its of the Bee Journal. I suffered 

 severely last spring, with the majority 

 of bee-keepers, but have done well 

 this year, therefore produced more 

 honey per hive than during any one 

 year since I began the business. The 

 dry weather has shortened the pro- 

 duct te some extent here, but nothing 

 compared to many other places in our 

 state. The local demand for honey is 

 all that I could ask for. Success to 

 the Bee Journal. 



Samuel Stevenson, M. D. 



Morenci, Mich., Sept. 24, 1881. 



No Surplus.— My bees are not doing 

 well this season ; no increase and no 

 surplus honey. I have been feeding 

 some time. Bees on the bottom lands 

 are doing well. I lost all the bees I 

 had in chaff hives, last winter. I shall 

 not try them again very soon. I pre- 

 fer a nail-keg for wintering purposes 

 to a chaff hive. H. W. Hitt. 



Merritt, 111., Sept, 26, 1881. 



Sample Copy for Next Year.— I was 



very much pleased to note the change 

 in size and general appearance of our 

 Bee Journal. I did not like the 

 Weekly Bee Journal in its original 

 form, but I belong to those who are 

 not willing to complain, unless it 

 should be a very essential error. Some 

 single articles which have recently ap- 

 peared in the Bee Journal, are worth 

 to me more than the price of the 

 Journal for the whole year. 



Wm. S. Barclay. 

 Beaver, Penn., Sept. 23, 1881. 



California Honey Crop.— Permit me 

 to correct an extract that you copied 

 from the San Francisco Examiner, in 

 regard to the honey crop of Southern 

 California. While we are always 

 ready and willing to present our pro- 

 ductions to the consideration of the 

 public, we are unwilling to be mis- 

 represented, lie says " Last year the 

 honey crop of San Diego county 

 amounted to 1,291,800 lbs., and this 

 year it will be larger." It is now a 

 well established fact that we will not 

 produce H of a crop. I cannot say 

 how much the other counties referred 

 to will make, but I do know that a 

 great many apiarists will not ship a 

 pound this" season. In a few favored 

 localities as much as x ', of a crop will 

 be made. A great many others, none. 

 The spring was too cold. Our bees are 

 in good condition and with a fair sea- 

 son we can produce more honey and 

 a better article, than any other county 

 in Uncle Sam's domain. I think I 

 have found a new bee food, especially 

 for this section, it is the black-eyed 

 pea. called by western people black- 

 eyed bean. It is the old fashioned 

 Southern black-eyed pea, most excel- 

 lent for man and beast, and has proved 

 a splendid bee forage with me ; the 

 bees are on it early and late. Here 

 the vines produce two crops, so that it 

 gives early and late feed for bees. 

 There is no better bean or pea grown 

 for the table than this, either green or 

 dried. At this time the vines or in 

 full bloom, second crop. 



M. C. Alvordson. 



Santa Maria, Cal., Sept. 18, 1881. 



About 330 lbs. of Honey from one 

 Colony. — I wish to show what I have 

 done alone with 10s colonies in spring. 

 I now have 208 colonies, and 15,100 

 lbs. of extracted and 4,500 lbs. of comb 

 honey. My best yield from one colony 

 is 330 lbs. of comb honey and its in- 

 crease, which was 4 artificial swarms, 

 with plenty of honey. I have kept 

 bees 16 years, I think 1 know how to 

 get honey, if I cannot winter so well 

 as some. My comb honey is all sold 

 at 16c. for white and 12c. for dark. 



W. L. COSGSITALL. 



West Groton, N. Y., Sept. 19, 1881. 



Bingham's Bee Report,— I had in 



the spring 55 colonies, have now 119; 

 extracted, light, 3,000 lbs; bees in line 

 condition for winter. The scarcity of 

 fruit has made a prompt demand and 

 all our honey is sold but 800 lbs. Sold 

 at 10c. in 30 lb. tin cans, and all re- 

 turned or paid for by .the purchaser. 

 T. F. Bingham. 

 Abronia, Mich., Sept. 22, 1881. 



My Honey Yield.— I wintered with a 

 loss of only 10 per cent. I started 

 with 70 colonies in March. Many of 

 the queens were inefficient and not 

 having time to replace them (except 

 four or five) the whole surplus was 

 taken from 50 colonies. Mv total pro- 

 duct is 3,500 lbs ; of which 2,800 was 

 comb honey. Too much cannot be 

 said in favor of comb foundation. Its 

 use was the key to whatever success I 

 have had. Had I used full sized 

 starters for the sections I am sure I 

 would have saved many times the cost. 

 Very little, if any, surplus has been 

 made by bees managed under the old 

 system. J. W. Porter. 



Charlottesville, Va., Sept. 27, 1881. 



Nearly 140 lbs. to the Colony in 

 Spring. — I had 10S colonies in the 

 spring, have now 131 colonies. Have 

 extracted 9,000 lbs. of light honey and 

 5,400 lbs. of dark honey ; comb honey 

 325 lbs.; total, 14,725 lbs. Bees are 

 now in good condition. I have not 

 got quite through extracting yet, so 

 nave had to estimate a little, but it is 

 very close to what I will actually have. 

 O. O. Poppleton. 



Williamstown, Iowa. Sept. 26, 1881. 



Chaff Hives.— I had 8 good colonies 

 in spring and 2 queenless. I have ex- 

 tracted no honey, but I have taken 

 700 lbs. comb honey, mostly in one 

 pound sections. Bees are now in 

 good condition. My bees wintered 

 without loss in double-walled chaff 

 hives out of doors. I had plenty of 

 loose chaff on top of frames as an ab- 

 sorbent. Most of the bees around me 

 died. E. F. Smith. 



Smyrna, N. Y., Sept. 19, 1881. 



The Fall Honey Crop.— The honey 

 crop here has been a failure, on ac- 

 count of the drouth. I have had the 

 blues for some time, thinking I would 

 have to feed again this fall, but we 

 had a good rain 2 weeks ago, and the 

 golden rod has been giving us plenty 

 of honey, and I think they will have 

 plenty for winter. Let me urge all 

 bee-keepers to see that their bees have 

 plenty of honey, and pack them in 

 chaff before the weather gets too cold. 

 Success to the Bee Journal. I know 

 I have made many times its cost by 

 taking the advice of experienced bee- 

 keepers. B. M. Lingle. 



Paoli, Ind., Sept. 26, 1881. 



Drones from an Unfertile (Jneen. — In 



Dr. Tinker's article on " Reproduc- 

 tion in the Honey Bee," on page 299, 

 vol. 17, of the Bee Journal, he says: 

 " It has not yet been shown that the 

 drone of virgin queens possess full 

 virile powers. Many have endeavored 

 to get queens fertilized early in the 

 spring by such drones.but have failed." 

 I have had but little experience of this 

 kind, and have given it very little 

 thought. I have always believed that 

 drones from a virgin queen did have 

 full virile powers, and will give a case 

 of my own that contirms me in that 

 belief : In the winter of 1878-9, 1 had 

 a strong colony of bees that lost its 

 queen during the winter, and reared 

 another from the eggs left when the 

 old queen was lost, When 1 examined, 

 in March, I found 3 combs partly 

 tilled with drones. On the 12th, I re- 

 moved the queen and gave them a 

 frame from another hive with eggs 

 and young brood. On the 20th, I no- 

 ticed drones flying, and on the 28th, I 

 found my young queen hatched, on 

 the 11th of April she commenced to 

 lay worker eggs, and proved to be a 

 good queen, and was purely mated. 

 I know of no other Italian bees within 

 4 miles, and did not have any other 

 drones Hying until May. I may be 



mistaken about my queen mating 

 with one of the drones from the virgin 

 queen, but think it hardly probable 

 that any others were flying that early, 

 as it was a very wet and backward 

 spring. L. R. Jackson. 



Fairland, Ind., Sept. 23, 1881. 



Hardly an Indorsement.— On page 

 302 of the Bee Journal, you say your 

 correspondent, Jas. E. Cady, "does se- 

 rious injustice to Mr. Heddon." If 

 you will examine page 15 of Mr. Iled- 

 don's circular and price-list, and see 

 what lie says under the head of " Dol- 

 lar Queens," you will see that your 

 correspondent does Mr. Heddon no 

 injustice. If this is not a voluntary 

 puff for H. A. Burch & Co., please tell 

 us through the Bee Journal what it 

 does mean, for I confess I cannot un- 

 derstand it otherwise. 



L. K. Dickey. 



High Point, Ga., Sept. 24, 1881. 



[The following, which had escaped 

 our notice, is the passage above re- 

 ferred to : 



" I am not prepared to furnish my 

 customers with dollar or warranted 

 queens during 1881, but will say that 

 having visited the apiary of H. A. 

 Burch" & Co., of South Haven, Mich., 

 and closely inspected their bees, have 

 found them more uniformly pure than 

 any I have seen ; hence, purchases of 

 dollar and warranted queens from their 

 stock will likely prove satisfactory." 



True, it does look like a voluntary 

 " puff " for Mr. Burch's bees ; and 

 almost any of us might have said per- 

 haps nearly the same of anybody whose 

 specialty we considered really superior, 

 and we do not think Mr. Heddon an- 

 ticipated any other construction would 

 be placed upon it. 



We have received many complaints 

 against Mr. II. A. Burch, in fact, 

 quite enough to fill an issue of our pa- 

 per, but as we have published enough 

 to satisfy our readers we had good 

 reasons for discontinuing his adver- 

 tisement, we shall print no more of 

 them.— Ed.] 



A Lady's Experience.— I had 37 colo- 

 nies in the spring — have now 54. .1 

 have extracted 10 lbs. of light honey 

 and 50 lbs. of dark ; comb honey 3,700 

 lbs. Bees are now in good condition. 

 Hattie A. Heaton. 



Charlton, N. Y., Sept. 26, 1881. 



The Weekly One Good Meal.— I like 

 the Bee Journal very much, as a 

 weekly. It does not contain so much 

 but it can be read at a single sitting. 

 Bees have been nearly a failure with 

 me this year. M. C. Stevens. 



La Fayette, Ind., Sept. 28, 1881. 



No Exhibits at Toledo, 0., Fair.— 



Since all items of information on the 

 honey question may be of use to some, 

 I will say that I attended the " State 

 Fair" at Toledo, O., and exhibited a 

 case of honey. There was no other 

 exhibit of any thing in the apiarian 

 line from the States of Indiana, Ohio 

 and Michigan. This shows how many 

 bees were destroyed last winter in this 

 part of the country. L. Eastwood. 

 Waterville, O., Sept. 26, 1881. 



[Does it not rather show a lack of 

 interest and enterprise in the bee- 

 keepers of that section of the country V 

 Until lately, apathy has been the rule ; 

 now an interest is being awakened, 

 that will, we hope, be lasting. — Ed.] 



Remedy for Ants in the Apiary, Etc. 



— On Oct. 28, I prepared 38 colonies, 

 in good condition, for winter, on their 

 summer stands. I lost but 1 up to the 

 1st of March. On May 1, I had only 

 18, and nearly all of them weak ; 1 was 

 queenless. My present number is 21, 

 mostly Italians, in good condition, but 

 some require feeding, as they have 

 lost, on an average, 11 pounds since the 



honey season closed. I have extracted 

 771 lbs. of honey, and have 29 lbs. of 

 comb honey. As a remedy for ants, I 

 have used fine salt for 20 years, and 

 seldom have to make the second ap- 

 plication. What a weekly intellec- 

 tual feast is to a monthly surfeit, such 

 is the Weekly to a monthly journal. 

 Long may the welcome Weekly 15ee 

 Journal prosper. J. L. Wolcott. 

 Bloomington, 111., Sept 26, 1881. 



Honey Season in Massachusetts.— 



The honey season here has been one of 

 the poorest I have known for years. 

 Raspberries and white clover proved 

 a failure, on account of bad weather, 

 and basswood did but little better. It 

 has been a good season for increase, 

 there being just honey enough to keep 

 the bees breeding rapidly. I am more 

 than pleased with the form in which 

 the Bee Journal is to be published 

 for 1882 — so convenient for binding. 

 I cannot well see how any one (even if 

 they have only 1 colony of bees), can 

 do without it. E. A. Thomas. 



Coleraine, Mass., Sept. 8, 1881. 



But Little Surplus Honey. — I have 3 

 small apiaries. No. 1 had 3 colonies 

 last spring ; 8 now ; 6 of them making 

 surplus ; all strong ; are doing well ; 

 Italians; Langstroth hives. No 2 

 had 10 colonies last spring ; 26 now ; 

 all strong; are doing well; hybrids; 

 Langstroth hives. No. 3 had 16 colo- 

 nies last spring; 28 now ; all strong; 

 are mostly blacks ; Langstroth hives. 

 I have received but little surplus 

 honey, but all three apiaries are now 

 doing well on smartweed. 



S. Goodrich. 



Urbana, 111., Sept. 26, 1881. 



A Correction.— In No. 37, page 292, 

 " Ants in the Apiary," 3rd line from 

 bottom, read 1 ounce, instead of 10. 

 A. B. McLavy. 



Bastrop, Tex., Sept. 20, 1881. 



igy Owing to the fact that the time 

 of the regular meeting of the Union 

 Bee Association, at Shelbyville, Ky., 

 conflicts with the time tixed by the ex- 

 ecutive committee, to hold the Na- 

 tional at Lexington, the meeting of 

 the Union, at Shelbyville, has been 

 postponed till the 20th of October. 

 G. W. Demaree, Sec. 



Christiansburg, Ky., Sept. 3, 1881. 



©"The Rock River Valley Bee- 

 Keepers' Convention, will be held at 

 Monroe Center, on the third Tuesday 

 in October. We hope a good atten- 

 dance will be the outcome, and the bee 

 interest revived. 



D. A. Cipperly, Sec. 



m" The North Eastern Wis. Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, will hold its 

 fall meeting at Peewaukee, Wis., on 

 Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 11 and 

 12. A full attendance is cordially re- 

 quested. Notice of the plauce of 

 meeting will be found at the local 

 Post Office. 



Geo. Church, Pres., Neenah, Wis. 

 Frances Dunham, >S'cc.,Depere,Wis. 



lgS"The Northwestern Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will meet in Chicago, on 

 Tuesday and Wednesday, October 25 

 and 26. All bee-keepers are cordially 

 invited to attend. It is desired to 

 make this one of the most interesting 

 conventions ever held in the United 

 States. C. C. Miller, M. D., Pres. 



C. C. COFFINBERRY, Sec. 



<sy The Western Michigan Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will meet in 

 Berlin, Ottawa, Co., Mich., Thursday, 

 Oct. 27, 1881, in Huntley's Hall, at 

 10:30 a. m. All interested, are cordi- 

 ally invited. 



Wm. M. S. Dodge, Sec. 



Coopersville, Mich., Aug. 29, 1881. 



t^" The Northern Michigan Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will hold its 

 fourth Annual Convention at Maple 

 Rapids, Clinton Co., Mich., Oct. 11 

 and 12, 1881. O. R. Goodno. Sec. 



