AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



215 



^If" Do not write anything- for publication 

 on the same sheet of paper with business 

 matters, unless it can be torn apart without 

 interfering with either part of the letter. 



Enormous Honey-Flow. 



The honey-flow, which has been simply 

 enormous here, is still going on. 



H. DUPRET. 



Montreal, Canada, Aug. 6, 1893. 



Bees Doing Finely. 



Bees are doing finely in this locality now. 

 I just took off 24 pounds of honey from 

 each of my colonies, and will expect to get 

 24 pounds again this fall. 



Fred M. Hogan. 



Elk Falls, Kan.. Aug. S, 1893. 



White Clover a Failure. 



We have had three very poor bee-seasons 

 in succession. Last year was an entire 

 failure, and from the present outlook this 

 won't be much better. I have 43 colonies 

 of as nice bees as there are in Kentucky, 

 and most of them are in good condition, 

 and I have only taken 45 pounds of honey 

 so far. The white clover failed to furnish 

 any nectar this year. There seemed to be 

 plenty of it, too, but what my bees stored 

 was mostly from red clover. When I read 

 in the Bee Journal about persons in other 

 localities taking honey by the ton. I feel 

 like emigrating ; but I guess it will come 

 our way, bye-and-bye. 



W. S. Feeback. 



Carlisle, Ky., Aug. 5. 1893. 



Managing After-Swarms, Etc. 



I have been managing my apiary a little 

 out of my usual way this year. 1 have 

 always made it a practice to cut out all the 

 queen-cells excepting one, about seven days 

 after the first swarm has come off, and so 

 avoid a lot of annoying after-swarms. The 

 past winter I lost about 40 colonies, and had 

 that many left, so I had plenty of empty 

 combs. 



I have an 80-acre farm which I am run- 

 ing with the help of my son, 15 years of 

 age. 1 have cut 14 acres of hay, tended 17 

 acres of corn, and managed the bees by 

 piling on top. I run the bees exclusively 

 for extracted honey, and they have been 

 allowed to swarm at their sweet will. With 



but few exceptions, and this I have found 

 out, the after-swarms are more apt to run 

 away, and they are harder to hive. On one 

 occasion one came out in the forenoon, and 

 my son tried to hive it, but it finally re- 

 turned to the parent hive. About 3 o'clock 

 the same day they came out again, and 

 settled. I use Root's hiving-box for con- 

 venience in handling. This swarm was so 

 flighty that 1 could not get them into the 

 hive, but finally got them settled on the 

 front of the hive, and thought they were 

 going in. Having hay to draw, we went 

 for another load, and then went to see if 

 the bees were in the hive, and still finding 

 them on the outside, I gently, with a little 

 stick, pushed them down, and they started 

 running in, but before they were all in they 

 took wing and flew over the barn and three 

 acres of timber, alighting on the other side 

 of it, so I let them stay out that night, and 

 they had to take a shower and a heavy 

 wind-storm. The next morning I was on 

 hand early, and found the bees pretty 

 weak. 



I have come to the conclusion that after- 

 swarms are harder to handle, and more apt 

 to abscond. They should be treated to a 

 cold-water bath. I don't think my bees 

 have quite doubled this season. I have had 

 more to abscond (3 swarms) this year than 

 I ever had since I have kept bees, and that 

 is 16 years. I have extracted 800 pounds of 

 honey, and think that as much more is 

 ready. I think the crop will not be above 

 the average in this locality. The basswood 

 trees were badly eaten by worms, so the 

 blossoms were scarce. The basswood honey 

 is the main crop here. Since I have kept 

 bees. I think 1 can safely say that I have 

 obtained 10 pounds of basswood to one 

 pound of any other. A. C. Sanford. 



Ono, Wis., July 34, 1893. 



Introducing Q,ueens. 



Who has tried letting a laying queen run 

 in at the entrance of a hive on the day they 

 cast their first swarm, with just giving the 

 swarm a few whiffs from the smoker, after 

 the queen has gone in ? 



I have done so several times, and the 

 queens have always been accepted, and no 

 second swarms have been cast. This saves 

 cutting out queen-cells, and, so far, it seems 

 to be a safe way. Geo. S. Wheeler. 



New Ipswich, N. H. 



How Fast Bees Go for Honey. 



My bees were bringing in basswood 

 honey from trees two miles away. As I 

 sat watching them, I wondered how long it 

 took a bee to go that distance, load and re- 

 turn. So, to decide the question as nearly 

 as I might be able to do, at night I closed 

 the entrance to one hive with wire-screen. 

 The next morning, after the other colonies 

 were fairly at work, I removed the screen, 

 and, watch in hand, awaited results. 



The first bee returned in just 15 minutes ; 

 others a little later, the time of absence 



