764 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 





)Un'L£'^ 



About One-Third of a Crop. 



This year my crop of honey was 

 short. I obtained 22,000 pounds, 

 being about one-third of a crop. I 

 have 700 colonies with which to begin 

 the winter. L. Lindsly.Q 



Waterloo, La., Xov. 12, 1884. 



Use of Foundation, etc. 



I comuicenced the season with 42 

 colonies, and increased them to 7-5 

 colonies by natural swarming. I ob- 

 tained about one-thifd of a crop 

 (1,800 pounds) of comb honey, and I 

 sold it at 18 cents per pound. The 

 prospect in the early part of the sea- 

 son was encouraging, but during 

 basswood bloom the weather was so 

 cold and dry that the bees did not 

 store much surplus. They gathered 

 most of their stores from goldenrod. 

 I notice that some writers for the 

 Bee Journal think that it does not 

 pay to use foundation. I think that 

 it IS just the thing for this Northern 

 climate. The honey seasons are so 

 short that it is certainly profitable to 

 use foundation very freely. I have 

 had new colonies draw out the foun- 

 dation and deposit eggs in it in 30 

 hours after being hived. During the 

 season I introduced 3 queens on the 

 plan suggested by S. Simmins, and it 

 proved a success. 



C. S. Hawkins.© 



Sauk Rapids, Minn., Nov. 12, 1884. 



Good Yield of Beeswax. 



I have to report about 17 tons of 

 extracted honey from 246 colonies, 

 spring count, and an increase of 44 

 natural swarms. This average of 138 

 pounds per colony is certainly small 

 in comparison with that of Mr. H. C. 

 Parks, of Riverside, Calif., which is 

 only 20 miles from this place ; but I 

 challenge any bee-keeper in the pro- 

 duction of beeswax, which amounted 

 to 4-50 pounds, or nearly 2 pounds to 

 the colony. This season has settled 

 the much-agitated question of ripen- 

 ing the honey by means of ventilation, 

 and exposition to the solar heat in 

 large tanks and glassed troughs. The 

 vastness of the crop made this method 

 impracticable and unnecessary, as 

 most bee-keepers had not help enough 

 (specially skilled) to take out the 

 honey before it was capped in the 

 cells. In my opinion nature does 

 this curing or ripening process not 

 only better, but also more econom- 

 ically, if we consider the result. The 

 low prices for honey in good years, 

 make the business of bee-keeping less 

 profitable than other pursuits well 

 performed. Bee-keepers are here 

 scattered all over the country, but far 

 apart, and should unite, therefore, for 

 two purposes. First, to lower the 

 price of production, by ordering the 

 cans and cases at a certain price from 

 one reliable firm ; and, second, by 

 stating the prices of the different 



grades of honey, under which they 

 agree not to sell. H. Sontag.o. 



Cucamonga, Calif., Nov. 4, 1884. 



Report from Fairview Apiary. 



The present season has proven a 

 very poor one in this locality. No 

 basswood honey has been secured, and 

 but little clover honey. My honey 

 harvest was confined to 16 days on 

 buckwheat, from Aug. 4 to Aug. 20, 

 with the following result : Those 

 colonies run for extracted honey 

 averaged 100 pounds per colony, or 

 ey pounds per day ; those run for 

 comb honey, 283^ pounds per colony. 

 All was gathered by black bees. With 

 extracted honey at 10 cents per pound, 

 and comb honey at 15 cents, retail, 

 one will readily see which is the more 

 profitable. Box-hive men have had 

 varying degrees of success, some re- 

 porting no increase and no honey ; 

 some a large increase but no honey, 

 and some, a little honey. One small 

 apiary of 14 colonies in box-hives pro- 

 duced a surplus of 2-5 pounds of comb 

 honey ; these I have come in posses- 

 sion of, and will see what they will do 

 in frame hives. Not 75 rods from 

 them was another lot of bees in the 

 same kind of hives, and every condi- 

 tion apparently as favorable, but they 

 produced no honey. 



WiLBEK G. Fish. ? 



Ithaca, N. Y., Nov. 14, 1884. 



Bee-Keeping in Alabama. 



Old fogy bee-keepers, with their 

 log or box-hives, as usual, know all 

 about bees. They say that this year's 

 yield was about an average honey 

 crop, being 20 to 2.5 pounds per colony. 

 The following is the report of Geo. 

 H. Hoyle, of Mobile, Ala. : He com- 

 menced the season with 11. weak colo- 

 nies, and later obtained a 4frame 

 nucleus, making 12, which increased 

 to 37 strong colonies, from which he 

 secured 1,941 pounds of honey, 186 

 pounds of comb honey in one-pound 

 sections, and 1,805 pounds of .ex- 

 tracted. He sold it at home at 20 

 cents and 12J^ cents per pound. Many 

 people came to get 50 or lOD-pouad 

 kegs after the honey was all sold. The 

 4 frame nucleus was transferred to a 

 10-frame Langstroth-Simplicity hive, 

 and were given six sheets of founda- 

 tion. The fine Italian queen being 

 very prolific, the colony soon covered 

 40 combs, 36 of which were on foun- 

 dation. It was increased to 2 strong 

 colonies, and gathered 137 pounds of 

 extracted honey, which was sold at 

 123^ cents per pound, making a profit 

 of about 237 per cent, in honey alone. 

 A. M. Hoyle. 



Morgan, Texas, Nov. 17, 1884. 



Convention Hand-Book. 



It is a nice Pocket Companion for 

 bee-keepers. It is beautifully printed 

 on toned paper, and bound in cloth — 

 price 50 cents. 



We have had some bound in Russia 

 leather, with colored edges— price 60 

 cents. 



Convention Notices. 



t^ The Central Illinois Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association will hold its next 

 annual meeting in Bloomington, 111., 

 on the second Wednesday in January, 

 1885, at 9 a. m. 



W. B. Lawrence, Sec. 



1^ Excursion rates from all points 

 on the Chicago & West Michigan R. 

 R. have been secured for the benefit 

 of those desiring to attend the West- 

 ern Michigan Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion, held at Music Hall, in Fremont, 

 Mich., on Nov. 25, 1884. Certificates 

 can be had by applying to Mr. T. M. 

 Cobb, President, Grand Rapids, Mich., 

 or to Mr. Geo. E. Hilton, Secretary, 

 Fremont, Mich. Prominent bee men 

 from abroad are expected, and an 

 interesting time is anticipated. 



Geo. E. Hilton, Sec. 



m" The Willamette Valley Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will hold its 

 second meeting at La Fayette, Ore- 

 gon, on the third Tuesday in June, 

 1885. All who are interested are in- 

 vited to attend. 



E. J. Hadley, Sec. 



F. S. Harding, Pres. 



1^° The annual meeting of the 

 Michigan State Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion will occur in Lansing, Mich., in 

 the Senate Chamber of the State 

 Capitol, Dec. 10 and 11, 1884, first ses- 

 sion beginning at 10 a. m. on Dec. 10. 

 This being the home of Prof. A. J. 

 Cook, and the location of the State 

 Agricultural College, it is expected 

 that this will be the most interesting 

 meeting ever held by this Society. A 

 programme is being prepared, includ- 

 ing several very important and inter- 

 esting papers from Prof. Cook, T. J. 

 Burrill, Dr. Beal, and R. L. Hewett, 

 and several prominent apiarists from 

 other States. A large delegation is 

 expected from Canada. The question- 

 box will be one of the important fea- 

 tures. Come prepared to ask and 

 answer questions. Reduced rates on 

 all Michigan railroads, and at hotels 

 in Lansing. The President and Sec- 

 retary will be at the Hudson House. 

 Notify me as soon as possible how 

 many railroad certificates you will 

 want, and over what road you will go, 

 so I will have time to procure them. 

 A cordial invitation is extended to all. 

 Please come and bring your bee-keep- 

 ing friends with you. 



H. D. Cutting, Sec. 



^" The Southeastern Michigan 

 Bee-Keepers' Association will hold 

 their annual meeting in Adrian, Lena- 

 wee Co., Mich., oh Dec. 3, 1884, in 

 Plymouth Church Chapel. AH bee- 

 keepers are cordially invited to attend, 

 and bring with them anything for 

 exhibition that will be of any use or 

 benefit to bee-keepers. Let all turn 

 out and have a good time. 



A. M. Gander, Sec. 



F. W. Gilbert, Pres. 



