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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 





Strange Noise in a Bee-Hive. 



I think that the strange noise of 

 which Mr. J. X. Smoot speaks, on 

 page 620, is the result of the workers 

 trying to drive out the drones, and 

 tlie latter getting into some hollow 



Elace, make the noise referred to. I 

 ave heard the same thing, and have 

 come to the above conclusion. 



A. F. ROBSON. 



Italy, N". Y., Sept. 29, 1884. 



My Report for 1884- 



Another honey season has passed, 

 and as the reports of the season are 

 in order, I will give mine also. Last 

 spring almost all of the bees were 

 not in a very good condition, the 

 most of them being somewhat weak, 

 and it took half of the season for 

 them to get sufficient bees to work in 

 the sections, excepting the Syrians 

 which were ready for the honey 

 harvest, and they commenced to work 

 in the sections a month before any of 

 the Italians and hybrids began. Tlie 

 Italians and hybrids gathered only 

 about 30 pounds of honey, while the 

 Syrians and Syrian-hybrids gathered 

 from .50 to 80 pounds per colony, and 

 the honey season was not as good as 

 that of last year. I think that the 

 Syrians are the best bees that ever 

 landed on the American shores. It was 

 almost too cold here all summer for 

 bees to work, so I got only about one- 

 half of a crop of honey. To-day I re- 

 ceived a tine Syrian queen from Mt. 

 Lebanon in Syria. After a journey 

 of 21 days she was as lively as if she 

 had just been taken out of the hive, 

 and only about a dozen bees were 

 dead. L. A. Lowjiasteh. 



Belle Yemen, O., Sept. 20, 1884. 



A Poor Season. 



The season here was a fair one up 

 to June 2-5, when it turned cold and 

 remained so during basswood bloom, 

 which was plentiful enough in this 

 immediate locality, but there was too 

 much cold, northwest winds to receive 

 any honey from that source. Bees 

 built up nicely on fruit bloom, and 

 then filled up the hives with honev- 

 dew ; then came white clover which 

 was mixed more or less, thus damag- 

 ing what little surplus that was ob- 

 tained. I have heard several com- 

 plaints from parties purchasing honey 

 that they could not eat, or was very 

 poor stuff. Since .June 2-5, bees have 

 barely obtained a living, and there is 

 not a drop of fall honey. Thev will 

 have to be fed some for winter." The 

 honey-flow seems to be in spots 

 throughout this part of the country, 

 as some bee-keepers in favorable 

 localities have secured a fair crop, 

 but, as a whole, the season is a poor 

 one. Our County Fair held here dur- 

 ing the past week, was a grand suc- 

 cess. The Society coming out enough 

 ahead so that they will be enabled to 



put improvements on the new grounds 

 purchased this season. The bee- 

 keepers' display was good for as poor 

 a season as we have had. There was 

 a lady bee-keeper who exhibited an 

 observatory hive made by herself, 

 which attracted considerable atten- 

 tion. Witti better accommodations, 

 and an enlarged premium list, we 

 hope, if possible, to make a much 

 larger display next fall. 



A. M. Gander. 

 Adrian, IVIich., Sept. 29. 1884. 



Report for 1884. 



I commenced the spring with 68 

 colonies of black bees ; increased to 

 110; and they produced 4,200 pounds 

 of comb lioney, and 1,000 pounds of 

 extracted. How is that for a poor 

 season 'i J. HoDCiSON, Jr. 



Pewaukee, Wis., Oct. 1, 1884. 



[Good enough.— Ed.] 



Season Almost an Entire Failure. 



We had about one-half of a crop of 

 honey in 1883, but this season is al- 

 most an entire failure. Bees came 

 through the winter healthy and 

 strong. Fruit bloom was very abund- 

 ant. We have some 700 apple trees 

 besides cherry and plum trees. There 

 was as good a stand of white clover 

 as I have ever seen, and it was in 

 bloom rather longer than usual. Other 

 honey-plants were about as usual, 

 and yet little or no surplus honey was 

 stored. S. S. Keigwin. 



Springfield, 111., Sept. 29. 1884. 



Apiarian Display at New Orleans. 



I am appointed by the Agricultural 

 Department of the United States to 

 make an apiarian display at New 

 Orleans in connection witli their col- 

 lections. The exhibition will not be 

 large, but I shall aim to show that 

 which will be the most instructive : 

 Hives, apparatus for surplus honey, 

 honey in all forms to ship and in 

 market, and all kmds of apparatuses 

 and material used or produced in the 

 apiary. If any bee-keeper thinks that 

 he has that which will be instructive, 

 and is new or peculiar. I shall be glad 

 to hear from him. I am given but 

 little means for this object, and I de- 

 sire to limit the exhibit to the prac- 

 tically useful. I shall also be glad of 

 suggestions. A. J. Cook. 



Agr'l College. Mich., Sept. 26, 1884. 



Report for the Season. 



This has been the best season for 

 the production of honey from fall 

 flowers, that I have ever known. The 

 yield from white clover was small, 

 but enough, however, to keep brood- 

 rearing going constantly forward. 

 Goldenrod began to show itself about 

 Aug. 28, and from that date till Sept. 

 22, my bees have been fairly rusliing 

 it into their hives. I have been 

 obliged to extract every week ; my 

 practice being, not to extract at all 

 until capping is commenced in the 

 upper part of the combs ; thus I am 

 assured of well ripened honey. The 

 honey, too, this season, from golden- 



rod, is exceedingly light in color; in 

 fact, almost as light as that from 

 white clover, although not as limpid 

 in appearance. I have found it so 

 heavy that two or three samples tested 

 by weight, pulled down the scale at 

 143-4 pounds to the gallon. My entire 

 surplus comes from fruit bloom gath- 

 ered in early spring, and goldenrod 

 this fall. I had s colonies last spring, 

 sold 6 and delivered them before May 

 2-5, increased to 10 strong colonies 

 well prepared for winter, and have 

 over 900 pounds of honey besides. I 

 give this report to show what the 

 possibilities are in a poor locality, but 

 beginners must bear in mind one 

 thing, viz : that I have devoted some 

 18 years to the study and practice of 

 apiculture, and have applied the ex- 

 perience thus gained, to the care of 

 my little apiary. What I have done, 

 others can do equally as well ; but in 

 order to make even a partial success 

 of apiculture, requires hard study, 

 hard work, and more than all else, 

 the knowing how to do the right thing 

 at the right time and doing it. 



J. E. Pond, Jr. 

 Foxboro, Mass., Sept. 2.5, 1884. 



St. Joseph Co., Ind. Convention. 



The convention of St. Joseph 

 county, Ind.. liee-keepers assembled 

 on Saturday. Sept. 27, in the com- 

 missioners' room at the Court House. 

 W. D. Rockhill acted as temporary 

 chairman, and presided over a good- 

 sized body of men interested in bee- 

 keeping. Mr. Geo. H. Stover, of Cen- 

 tre township, acted as temporary 

 Secretary. The morning session was 

 devoted to the treatment of general 

 topics of interest to those engaged in 

 bee-keeping. The convention ad- 

 journed to meet at 1:30 p. m., after 

 appointing a cummittee on permanent 

 organization and one on constitution 

 and by-laws. 



The' committee on constitution and 

 by-laws reported at its afternoon 

 session, through its chairman, A. J. 

 Hatfield. The report was adopted. 



The following were selected as offi- 

 cers of the convention : President, A. 

 J. Hatfield ; ^'ice-President, Wm. D. 

 Rockhill; Secretary, Geo. H. Stover; 

 Treasurer, A. Lindley. 



The name decided upon was " The 

 Bee-Keepers' Association of Northern 

 Indiana." 



^ A. J. & E. Hatfield, the well- 

 known bee-breeders of New Carlisle, 

 have a novel and tempting exhibit in 

 Exposition Hall, consisting of honey 

 in the comb, as well as e.xtracted. 

 There is a pyramid of white-clover 

 honey in boxes on one side of the 

 booth, on the other side honey from 

 the basswood blossom, and on the 

 other side, honey from fall flowers. 

 A colony of industrious Italian bees ia 

 among the collection, and through the 

 glass sides of the box, the bees can be 

 seen at work. The Messrs. Hatfield are 

 practical bee-men, and have some 200 

 colonies. — South Bend, Ind., Tribune. 



