THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



153 



some say they have, but I have got 

 nearly as good an average, per colony, 

 as others, where the most of the honey 

 was taken in tlie combs or sections ; 

 my average, last year, being 164 

 pounds per colony, spring count, and 

 had but little increase. Last year my 

 honey was all taken from clover and 

 basswoood, with the exception of 

 about 200 pounds of fall honey ; the 

 average was 153 pounds from 16, in 

 spring ; increased to 23 by the nucleus 

 plan ; I made my increase late, so I 

 took no surplus except from 3 colonies. 



I am inclined to think there can be 

 more honey obtained by letting them 

 swarm once, if any one wants in- 

 crease. The most I ever got from 

 one colony was 238 pounds, part ex- 

 tracted and part comb ; this colony 

 ■did not swarm. Last year my honey 

 was all white, and, of course, it was 

 taken in much less time than the year 

 before, when I got as much dark as 

 light. This, I tliink, is owing to a 

 better plan of getting my honey. It 

 seems to me that one set of sections is 

 not enough for a swarm of bees to 

 work in, when you do not intend for 

 them to swarm, as is the case with 

 mine for the last two years. 



Last year my best results were from 

 my best Italians ; this year it was 

 from two queens which show the three 

 bands only when tilled with honey. I 

 think theie is a little black blood in 

 them ; still there are no bees wholly 

 black ; they are a little crosser than 

 some of mine, but not bad. I have 

 raised some queens from one, and 

 will watch them with interest next 

 summer. They may be something 

 like Mr. Ileddon's, but I see his aver- 

 age was rather small, as given at the 

 ■Chicago convention. I have one of 

 his queens, and expect to have some 

 red clover honey to sell next year. 

 The twb colonies of dark bees gave 

 200 pounds each of comb honey, as 

 near as I could judge by the sections. 



Rockton, 111. 



For the American Bee Journal 



Bee-Keeping in Missouri. 



H. S. VAN ANGLEN. 



My apiary is situated on a high 

 commanding table land, a short mile 

 south of the Missouri river, in Lafay- 

 ette County, Missouri, and its 90 odd 

 hives of bees stand in the wintry air, 

 on their summer stands, where they 

 are kept throughout the year. This 

 plateau is dotted over with an occa- 

 sional oak, maple, wild cherry, and 

 numerous apple, peach and apricot 

 trees, flanked north and northwest by 

 a back view of dwelling and out-build- 

 ings, and surrounded west, south and 

 east by extensive fruit orchards, with 

 a linden or bass wood forest on the 

 nortli. The hives are scattered and 

 placed at unstudied, but convenient 

 intervals over this lawny, tree-shel- 

 tered spot, singly or in rambling lines 

 and irregular groups, under and 

 among the spreading trees, most of 

 them fronting the south, while, here 

 and there, some face in other direc- 

 tions, but none west, and as they are 

 mostly of the American type, and 



painted white, it would not be a very 

 lively stretch of the imaghiation to 

 liken this bee yard, on some clear, 

 placid moonlight night, to a ghostly 

 cemetery, or during a genial summer 

 day to indue it with the semblance of 

 a picturesque, well-to-do and inviting 

 liamlet of neat and cozy cottages, at 

 least such are some of tlie conceptions 

 and fancies that a few of the more 

 visionary visitors entertain for it. 



I am neither a specialist nor an ex- 

 pert in bee-culture, but manage, after 

 an easy fashion of my own, to keep on 

 hand, from year to year, about 100 

 colonies of bees — do not want any 

 more— sometimes giving them a good 

 share of attention, and then, again, in 

 a great measure, neglecting them, 

 having varying success according to 

 season, attention given, etc. I have, 

 up to the present winter, generally 

 prepared my hives, in due time, for 

 the cold months by the common 

 method of quilts over frames, con- 

 tracting the entrances, stutling caps 

 and all other available space with 

 somegood,porousmaterial, and. some- 

 times, laboredly stuffing and shelter- 

 ing, neglecting a few, by way of 

 experiment, almost wholly, and have 

 found the per cent, of loss to vary but 

 little ; and have but few dead bees. 



The past season, however, my time 

 was too much occupied with other 

 tlungs to fix up my hives as usual. 

 On the last of November I removed 

 the honey boxes and simply spread 

 quilts over the tops of the frames, 

 contracted the entrances, and left the 

 hives in that condition throughout 

 the weeks of terribly severe weather 

 that ensued — the mercury in January 

 scored 20'^ below zero, and lingered 

 for days at a time, off and on, around 

 zero and lower. An examination on 

 Feb. 6, found all quite satisfactory, 

 very few dead bees, hives full of life 

 and vitality, and in first-rate condi- 

 tion. Then I liad them well cared for, 

 " tucked in " the neglected bees — 

 something like taking'in the grind- 

 stone after the cow had eaten it up. 

 It is possible, however, that the 

 severest test is yet to come with the 

 varying climatic changes that will 

 stili necessarily occur. My experience 

 in this latitude for a number of years 

 past, with experimental hives and 

 otherwise, is that bees simply but 

 carefully fixed up for winter, have 

 commonly come out in the spring 

 fully as well or better than those so 

 elaborately and circumspectly pre- 

 pared after the " must be " plan of 

 the would-be orthodox. 



My best season's operation was 

 vphen honey bore a better price than 

 now. I received about $1,200 cash for 

 nice and fair comb honey sold from 

 something less than 100 strong colo- 

 nies, wliich were closely supervised 

 and manipulated in a practical com- 

 mon-sense manner throughout the 

 season. I rather incline to the opin- 

 ion that a considerable part of the 

 gratuitous advice, so freely offered, 

 and promulgated as science in pro- 

 gressive bee-culture, is little better 

 than "clap trap," or in more familiar 

 parlance, " humbuggery," to acceler- 

 ate the aims and ends of interested 

 parties, but as I am not as full of ad- 



vanced scientific and progressive ideas 

 as some, perhaps I should be excused 

 for my non-appreciation of the ex- 

 uberant " pile on " in regard to the 

 special make-up and material man- 

 agement of an apiary for profit that 

 not unfrequently meets the eye in this 

 excessive age of wonder and progress. 

 An advanced idea that is given for 

 what it is worth, is more or less 

 acceptable and relished by the sincere 

 and progressive, but an idea with a 

 selfish handle, tliat is calculated to 

 mislead and damage, should be indig- 

 nantly repelled. 



How to winter bees successfully is 

 having much attention and study by 

 able and comprehensive minds, and 

 the various interesting experiments 

 being made, notably those of chaff 

 packing, may possibly go far towards 

 a satisfactory conclusion, and, per- 

 haps, after all that is said and done, 

 some well devised and defined out- 

 door plan, wherever admissible, will 

 be. found superior to any special house 

 or cellar arrangement. Such deposi- 

 tories are, to a certain extent, unnat- 

 ural ; the bees are put under a kind 

 of surveillance,restrained and deprived 

 of free action, and the possible se- 

 quence is debility and disease ; 

 whereas, the out-door methods allow 

 them to indulge their natural instincts 

 whenever a suitable opportunity of- 

 fers, thereby enabling them to retain 

 their normal condition, and are thus 

 the better fitted for the active re- 

 quirements of the hive with the 

 opening of spring. I believe it is 

 common for those who winter their 

 bees in special repositories to com- 

 plain more or less of " spring dwind- 

 ling," but this trouble I have almost 

 invariably escaped, therefore, I shall 

 continue to adhere to the summer- 

 stand idea of wintering, as safest and 

 best in all favorable localities. 



Waverly, Mo., Feb. 15, 1883. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Progressive Bee-Culture. 



W. M. WOODWAKD. 



Mr. Editor : — I want to congratu- 

 late you upon your success in giving 

 usa"really good Bee Journal. So 

 far as I know there are only about two 

 other publications issued, even from 

 progressive Chicago, that will com- 

 pare with it. I wonder how many of 

 us do not date a new era from the 

 time the Journal first made its ad- 

 vent on our tables. 



1 propose, with your permission, to 

 say to the i-eaders of the Bee Jour- 

 nal : Stmh/ the habits and instincts of 

 the bees for yourselves, and make 

 everything else conform thereto ; 

 hives, profits, management and all. 

 Read for ideas, but "look before you 

 leap," for what will be a success with 

 some one else by his methods, may, 

 perhaps, prove a" failure with you by 

 yours. But, if you have the genius of 

 a genuine bee-keeper, you will soon 

 liit upon something that will be better 

 suited to you than you will be likely 

 to get by copying any one's fixtures. 



Conservatism has a proper place in 

 bee culture, jaut its right use is in 



