AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



247 



good, strong smoker and give a few 

 light puffs of smoke under the box to 

 start the bees up. As soon as I see them 

 start out into the screened box, I just 

 roll in the smoke, and in a few minutes 

 every bee will be in the screened box, as 

 the smoke passes through the screen 

 and does not bother them, as the case 

 would be in a tight box. 



The Bee Journal is a great help to 

 me, as each week it has something new 

 and interesting to me. 



Rockport, Ind., July 28, 1893. 



'^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^' 



^f~ Do not write anything for publication 

 on the same sheet of paper witn business 

 matters, unless it can be torn apart without 

 interfering with either part of the letter. 



A Very Good Season. 



The season has been very good so far. I 

 have taken 900 pounds of honey from 11 

 colonies. Honey sells readily at 15 and 20 

 cents per pound. The most of my bees 

 were run for queen-rearing. 



Mrs. a. a. Simpson. 



Swarts, Pa., Aug. 12, 1893. 



Looks Like White Sage. 



We have a plant in this country that is 

 called " wild sage." I send a sample of it, 

 and would like to know through the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal if it is the same as the 

 white sage in California. W. H. Moses. 



Spanish Camp, Tex. 



[It looks like white sage, but the sample 

 sent was too little to identify it. — Ed.] 



Bees Did Well in June. 



Bees did very well in this locality in 

 June, and part of July, then the clover 

 dried and turned brown, and left the sec- 

 ond set of sections half finished. There 

 will be no flow from hearfs-ease this fall, 

 as there is none in the corn or stubbles, or 

 in the creek bottoms, where it seldom fails ; 

 and if bees gather enough to stimulate 

 breeding for the coming season, it will be 

 all I can expect. Geo. Poindexter. 



Kenney, Ills., Aug. 12, 1893. 



About 200 Lbs. from Two Colonies. 



I have 7 strong colonies of Italian bees in 

 Langstroth hives. I did not keep an ac- 

 count, but I took about 100 pounds of honey 

 from each of the two strongest, but they 

 did not cast a swarm. It is very dry, and 

 they have done nothing for some time. 



It is a shame to treat bees as two of my 

 neighbors do. They each have 8 or 9 colo- 

 nies, but have not given them any attention 

 for three years, consequently they have no 

 honey, but cross bees. 



Margaret S. Swain. 



Pendleton, Ind., July 30, 1893. 



Honey a Short Crop. 



Honey will be a short crop here. The 

 forepart of the season promised well, but 

 the weather cut us short then, and now 

 while buckwheat is in bloom it is so dry 

 that it does not yield honey yet. and I fear 

 I will have the smallest average per colony 

 that I have ever had. N. D. West. 



Middleburgh, N. Y., Aug. 14. 1893. 



Bees Did Just Tolerably Well. 



I have about 30 colonies of bees, and they 

 have done just tolerably well. The honey 

 is very fine. I lost about 10 colonies last 

 winter out of 25. A year ago I lost about 

 40 colonies, and saved 4. I am beginning 

 to gain a little now, and hope that I will be 

 more successful in the fulyre. 



W. L. Mitchell. 



Erie, Ills., Aug. 2, 1893. 



Bees Doing Very Well. 



My bees are doing very well this season. 

 I had 29 colonies, spring count, have in- 

 creased them to 47, and secured 1,000 pounds 

 of nice white honey, mostly in the comb. I 

 like the hybrid bees, and think they are 

 tougher, gather more honey, and can't be 

 robbed so easily. They are as cross as 

 bears, but I can get along with that if I 

 have one of the Bingham smokers. 



Chas. B. Allen. 



Central Square, N. Y., Aug. 4, 1893. 



Young Bees Preferred for Winter. 



I have seen it in print somewhere, that 

 old bees winter as well, if not better, than 

 young bees. I do not now remember who 

 the writer was, but I do know that his idea 

 on this subject is not in accord with my ex- 

 perience. 



In my experience I have invariably found 

 that colonies that reared brood latest, 

 everything else being equal, wintered best. 

 This is in accord with natural laws. Bees, 

 as well as other animals or insects, that are 

 worn out with age and toil, cannot with- 

 stand a long, dreary winter as well as 

 younger ones that are in the prime and 

 vigor of life. 



\: In the management of my bees I make it 

 a point to see that all queens are laying at 



