THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



475 



sections. We experimented some- 

 what last season in this matter, and 

 witli i;o(id resnlls. We are again ex- 

 jierimeiitiiitr this present season on 

 this point, imil so far it lias proved a 

 success. .Many plans of niakin;;; re- 

 versitile frames have been given to 

 the pulilic ; but the simplest one we 

 know of is to make frames with a pro- 

 jection only at one end of bottom-bar. 

 These frames can then be used in any 

 hive, by simply putting a strip of tin 

 or sheet iron across the liottom of the 

 hive for the prejection of the bottom- 

 bar to rest on. Then, when desired, 

 the frame can be turned over without 

 trouble, or change of the hive. 1'." 



1 cannot make the two articles 

 agree at all. 'Can Mr. PondV 

 "Austin, Texas. 





Large Crop of Honey. 



We have had a heavy run on clover, 

 wliich has just closed, and we have on 

 hand more honey than the whole of 

 last year's crop. All of the white 

 honey is of the very best quality. 

 The prospect is yet fair for some bass- 

 wood and button-willow honey before 

 the fall lioney begins to come. 



J. O. Shearman. 



:N'ew Richmond, Mich., July 10, 1884. 



Honey from Cotton. 



The houey-flow from mint is over, 

 and bees a're working some on the 

 cotton. The weather is dry and very 

 hot— 104- F. in the shade. I expect 

 we will get a good How from cotton, 

 as the plant is very late blooming, and 

 the main bloom will be during the last 

 of July and the first of August. 



B. F. C.\UKOLr,. 



Dresden. Tex.; July 12, 1884. 



Bees Gathering Honey Rapidly. 



The work of the apiary, in this part 

 of the country, is up to boiling heat. 

 I put 18 colonies into winter quarters, 

 and by neglect, one starved. After 

 spring opened I lost two more. A 

 niuiiberof bee-keepers in this neigli- 

 borhood wintered their bees all ri^ht, 

 and then lost them in the sinung. 

 I have 21 strong colonies, and I do 

 not think that I ever saw bees gather 

 honey as fast as they have done this 

 spring. I use foundation, and in 9 

 days after being hived, the bees will 

 be ready for boxes. I use a modifica- 

 tion of the Langstroth liive, called 

 the Fisk hive, I have been using the 

 brood-frames, but I am now introduc- 

 ing a crate into the hives, and 1 think 

 it is going to be an improvement. I 

 have a splendid location lor an apiary. 

 It is two miles from timber and run- 

 ning water, and is bounded by pas- 

 tures over-ttovving with wliite "clover 

 bloom, which, through the bees, lavish 

 their copious streams of wealth upon 

 my scanty store. W>[. Sialev. 



.\dair. 111.. Julv M. Is.s4. 



I No Honey, and Prospects Blighted. 



I am sorry that I am compelled to 

 say that we have got no honey, as yet, 

 from onr bees in this city. U seems 

 that our prospects are blighted in re- 

 gard to the rich harvest which, to all 

 appearances in the spring, we were 

 promised; but this season we have 

 been over-run with caterpillars and 

 moths of all kinds; in fact, there is 

 not a blossom that is not alive with 

 insects of some kind, and in some 

 places the caterpillars have eaten 

 every green thing. The lirst crop of 

 liicein has been cut without coming 

 into bloom : so the bees are just get- 

 ting as ranch honey as will feed them 

 and their yoinig. I went through my 

 apiary, Ju'ly 5, but I could lind only 2 

 frames that 1 could extract from, and 

 those were not sealed over. I think 

 that if a change does not take place 

 soon, the bees will have to be fed 

 their winter supplies. I have fed to 

 my bees about 400 pounds of honey 

 this spring and snmmer, but I could 

 not get 40 pounds back. I have now 

 2.5 colonies, and they are all in good 

 condition. No blanie can be attached 

 to the condition of the bees. T. W. 

 Lee told me, the other day, that he 

 had fed over .")00 pounds of honey to 

 his bees, and did extract 5 pounds 

 during May ; but it was only to keep 

 the ■' baby from crying," as he had 

 fed so much that he was left without 

 any honey for his own family. I had 

 about 60 pounds with which I have 

 been able to keep peace in the house, 

 so far; but I rather fear that there 

 will be a cry soon, if a new supply is 

 not forthcoming. In 1882, our hoiiey 

 months were July and August ; in 

 188.3, June and July ; and, perhaps, to 

 make a change, it may be August and 

 September for lss4. 1 will be pleased 

 to notify yon of such a change. 



John Dunn. 

 Tooele City, July 8, 1884. 



Honey Crop. 



The swarming season is about over, 

 and tlie bees have done but little so 

 far. I have had only 2.) swarms from 

 13-> colonies, and have only about 1,200 

 pounds of finished comb honey ready 

 to come off. Bees are in tine condi- 

 tion, and we have a fair prospect for 

 a fall crop. J. V. Caldwell. 



Cambriilge, 111.. July 16, I8S4. 



One-Fourth of a Crop. 



Clover harvest is over here, and the 

 bees are robbing. The season has 

 been peculiar ; [ilenty of bloom, but 

 cold nights and wet days, so we have 

 not more than one-fourth of a crop. 

 B. II. Standish, 1.56. 



Evansville, Wis., July 1-5, 1884. 



On a Still " Hunt." 



I desire to state, since the matter 

 has come up, that a Mr. F. II. Hunt, 

 of Iowa (Linn county I think) has 

 been selling stuff unfit to eat as 

 honey, in Iowa, and tried the same in 

 Nebraska last winter. A caution over 

 my signature was promi)tly published, 

 and tliat was the last I heard of him. 

 The matter is in the hands of a 



chemist. For pjirticiilars I would re- 

 fer to letters from Mr. O. O. Popple- 

 ton and a .Mr. McIOIroy, of Iowa, now 

 in possession of Mr. "M. L. Trester, 

 Secretary of the Nebraska State Bee- 

 Keepers' Association. 



T. L. Von Dokn, 

 Pres. i\eb. 8. B. K. Ass'n. 

 Omaha, Neb., Julv II, 1884. 



Mlhut and |jlo\u. 



ANSWEKS BY 



James Eeddon, Dowagiac, Mich. 



How to Make Honey-Boards. 



1. Will Mr. Ileddon tell me in which 

 number of the Bee Jouknal he gave 

 a description of his honey-board (sink 

 honey-board), and how to make itV I 

 have mislaid it, and I am unable to 

 " come up with it." 



2. If you were working, or intended 

 to work for extracted honey, would 

 you use frames for the upper story the 

 same depth as the brood frames, or 

 shallow frames half that depth 'i 



.3. When preparing bees for winter- 

 ing on the summer stands, do you 

 leave the slat honey-board on, or re- 

 move it and cover the frames with a 

 quilt y E. E. EwiNG. 



Highlands, N. C. 



Answeu.— 1. I have never given 

 any description of how to make my 

 hoiiey-board, because it would take 

 up a' great deal of space, and then 

 one might not get it correct without a 

 sample to work from. I can do so in 

 the near future, however. 



2. After carefully weighing, in my 

 own mind, the advantages of both 

 systems, I have made up my mind 

 that I would use the whole story 

 above. I would make the super the 

 same width as the hive, \i inch shal- 

 lower, use sink honey-board between 

 it and the hive, and use the same 

 number and style of frames as in the 

 hive. I have fixed one whole apiary 

 of 200 colonies that way, and have 

 made 500 supers (or 1}i per colony, 

 spring count). By the use of two 

 supers to the colony, you can leave 

 the honey to be well ripened before 

 extracting, and yet never lose any 

 honey by so doing, even during the 

 most excessive honey-flow. 



;-!. I sometimes turn over the honey- 

 board (thus doubling the bee-space 

 above the frames), and lay a cloth over 

 it, and put the packing over the 

 cloth. For ten years I have used a 

 basswood stick thus ^^^ bent and 

 hel-d bowing, by its ends be- 



ing within the sides of the hive. The 

 hives are llj^ inches in the clear, and 

 the stick is 3-16x7^x12 inches long. I 

 soak them and press them into hives 

 to dry. They should be cut straight 

 grained. I am not sure that these 

 bows are any better than the inverted 

 honey-boards. 1 cannot say that I 

 know either device is of much value. 

 I do not think as much of it as I once 

 did. I am revolutionizing my whole 

 wintering methods. 



