210 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.. 



there;" hut experience teaches that the 

 short-cut of putting the bees from a 

 foul-broody hive and combs into a clean 

 hive with full sheets of foundation is 

 better than losing six days' time on 

 starters, and then change them for full 

 sheets. 



I have not had a case of the disease in 

 my apiary during the past three years, 

 and I gave full sheets to all cases 

 treated, after I found that it w^as safe 

 and sure to thus treat them. 



Independence, Mo., July 29, 1893. 



Bee-STotes from Iowa — ^Vinter- 

 in;s^, the Season, Ete. 



Written for the Amerir^.n Bee Journal 

 BY L. W. KICH. 



I noticed an article by Rev. W. P. 

 Faylor in the Bee Journal for June 

 22nd, saying that nearly all the bees in 

 northeastern Iowa died last winter. It 

 might have been so in his immediate 

 neighborhood (Colesburg), but I live in 

 northeastern Iowa, only about 25 miles 

 west of Colesburg, and scarcely any bees 

 died here. Out of 160 colonies right 

 near me, there was a loss of only nine, 

 and the average is not more than 10 

 per cent., where the loss was the worst. 



This has been a good season so far, 

 although it was a little backward in the 

 spring, but the bees were in fine condi- 

 tion, and as soon as the honey com- 

 menced to flow, they were ready for it. 

 I had 15 colonies, and worked 9 of the 

 best for extracted, and the rest for comb 

 honey. I have taken from the 9 worked 

 for extracted, 875 pounds, and they are 

 about ready to extract again, but the 

 honey-flow is about shut down, and I 

 will not get much after this extracting, 

 unless we get some buckwheat honey 

 this fall. 



I have only 7 new swarms. Those 

 \^ that I worked for comb honey swarmed, 

 ^ and did not do so well. I use the 8- 

 frame Simplicity hive. 



INTEODUCING QUEENS. 



I bought three 5-banded red clover 

 queens, and have just got them nicely 

 introduced. They have all been accepted 

 by the bees, and are laying. The way I 

 introduced thetn was a little different 

 from the general directions. I first 

 caught the old queen, and then I took 

 the new queen out of the cage, went 

 out-doors, and let the bees that came 

 with her go; then I went to the hive I 

 intended to put her into, and caught ten 



or twelve young bees and put them into 

 the cage. I put the queen in with them, 

 and hung the cage in the hive between 

 the combs, and in 24 hours I pulled off 

 the tin cover and let them eat in to her. 

 It worked like a charm in every case. 



There is no basswood less than 4 miles 

 from my apiary, and I got 210 pounds 

 of nice basswood honey. Most of our 

 honey is white clover. 



I would like to ask Jennie Atchley 

 what the bees gather honey from in 

 Texas, in that part of the State where 

 the country is new. There certainly is 

 no white clover. I don't believe she can 

 bring Texas up to the " Garden spot of 

 America," that is, Iowa. 



Lamont, Iowa, July 29, 1893. 



California Honey Crop for 1§93 

 Again. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY W. A. PRYAL. 



This is not going to be a big year for 

 California apiarists, as was at first sup- 

 posed. The crop is not a big one by any 

 means, as has been heretofore an- 

 nounced in the Bee Journal, yet the 

 yield is sufficient to make the majority 

 of honey-producers of this State rejoice. 

 For some years past they had not been 

 doing as well as they wished for. The 

 crop has been below the average for 

 years back ; this year it is said to be 

 about a half crop ; some bee-keepers 

 may get nearly a full crop, while others 

 will fall below that amount. 



The average yield per colony in our 

 apiary, which is located in a rather poor 

 location, and out of the great honey re- 

 gion of the State, is not as great as we 

 obtained last year. This is accounted 

 for from the fact that we did not have 

 any rains in May and June, when the 

 honey season was at its height. 



Mr. J. H. Martin, the well known 

 " Rambler," who has been keeping bees 

 in this State for two seasons, and who 

 has become well " Californianized " by 

 this time, writes me as follows as to the 

 crop in his portion of the State : 



"The season here has not been in any 

 way remarkable, still there will be a good 

 many carloads of honey sent out of this 

 county. Prices are starting in quite 

 low; our dealers are offering and ship- 

 ping carload lots for 4}4 cents per 

 pound. Mr. Wilder and myself sent a 

 carload to Boston, and we hope to rea- 

 lize SV-i cents, if not 6 cents for it. 

 Some bee-keepers are holding their 



