THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



155 



boxes. We all know that when the 

 half-pound box sells for IS and 20c. 

 per lb., as it certainly must, if it be- 

 comes the standard size, that it will not 

 pay. Some say tliat we must use only 

 a few half-pound sections. If the 

 consumer wants them an<l is willing 

 to pay 46c. per lb. for such honey, it is 

 best to use them, and not until then. 

 I do not believe that it is best to edu- 

 cate theui to use them, but let them 

 entirely aloue. If proiUicers wish to 

 cut their own throats they will keep 

 cuttini? down the size of sectious, or 

 will allow supply dealers to persuade 

 them into using them. They will, 

 perhaps, be wiser some day. 



I have sold and produced honey for 

 the last U'o years, and will say that 

 cutting dowii the size of sections lias 

 never been called for by the cunsunier, 

 but by supply dealers. This restless 

 spirit, predominates I think, in the 

 supply dealers. There is no general 

 demand for a half-pound section. I 

 have taken some pains to find if there 

 was any call for them, and I never 

 liave found a buyer that; said there 

 was a call for it "by the consumers. 

 Mr. McCall, Thurber's agent, says 

 there is no call for them in New York 

 city. 



The facts in the case are just these : 

 one of two things must come to pass, 

 if the half-pound box is used, honey- 

 producing will become a non-paying 

 business, or the consumer must pay 

 double the price he now pays for comb 

 honey. 



Oriskany, N. Y., Feb. 20, 1 883. 



For tlie American Bee JourDal 



West Texas Bee-Culture. 



T. C. GREENWOOD. 



Our winter is now nearly over, hav- 

 ing been not the severest we have 

 ever had, but a very cold one. Our 

 bees have come through all right, and 

 have been bringing in pollen for two 

 weeks. We have no flowers yet visi- 

 ble, and where they get the pollen 

 from we do not know ; but surmise it 

 is obtained from the little buddings 

 of the long moss, which grows pro- 

 fusely in our river valleys. 



1 experimented .somewhat in my 

 wintering ; placing some colonies in 

 the lower Langstroth story, covering 

 the cloth above with cotton seed ; 

 others I left with upper story on, giv- 

 ing them also a covering of seed. I 

 can discover no difference in them 

 now ; all being riglit, with laying 

 queens, now actively breeding up. 

 This early active breeding is not de- 

 sirable in this latitude, it promises 

 early swarms; but where rapid in- 

 crease is not desirable, it is trouble- 

 some, as oiu- honey, from our main 

 honey plant, does not reach us before 

 the first of May. 



I commenced, last year, with 24 col- 

 onies; increased to 49, and obtained 

 over 2,400 lbs. extracted, and over 200 

 lbs. comb honey, in oue-i)ound sec- 

 tions. From one colony, transferred 

 from a box hive March 20, I obtained 

 195 lbs. extracted honey and one 

 swarm of bees. From a colony 

 swarming out on the same day, I ob- 



tained 145 lbs. by tiering up to four 

 stories. This last item explains to our 

 Xorthern friends the wonderful re- 

 ports coming from Texas, made by 

 some of our enterprising bee-keepers. 

 " Spring count," in this warm climate, 

 does not remain spring count long, 

 and a vigorous swarm emerging in 

 March, by judicious management, can 

 be made ready for work early in the 

 honey flow, and increase the general 

 average greatly. Northern brethren, 

 who doubt our occasional enormous 

 yields, may make a note of this, be- 

 sides remembering that such a honey 

 flow, as we had last year, is seldom 

 seen in Texas. 



I have resided in Texas 30 years ; 

 have liad bees for 20 years ; have run 

 against several " patent hive " ven- 

 ders, who " bled me some," and only 

 last year " got down to work " in the 

 Langstroth. In some seasons our 

 honey How is immense, sometimes 

 from honey dew, mostly from flowers, 

 especially the "mint;" but in other 

 years, as in California, we get noth- 

 ing. Western Texas is, on the aver- 

 age, a good honey country, and bee- 

 keeping, on the right plan, will 

 undoubtedly pay here. We are im- 

 proving our colonies with the best 

 Italians ; have been patiently awaiting 

 the results of Northern experiments 

 with the Cyprians, Syrians, etc. Our 

 three well-delined races here are 

 enough, just now, for us. Our little 

 black bee is irritable enough to teach 

 us to avoid some of the others that 

 have been tried. Our brown bee, 

 mixed with the Italians, is a decided 

 success, the cross producing a won- 

 derful worker,not always irritable,and 

 exhibiting the traits evidently best in 

 both races. 



The excessively prolific bee, somuch 

 desired by many up your way, is not 

 the best for us. We have plenty of 

 time to get ready for the honey flow ; 

 and too much swarming is decidedly 

 troublesome, and sometimes attended 

 with loss as well as inconvenience. I 

 witnessed an amusing illustration of 

 this, at the apiary of my friend and 

 neighbor, J. S. Tadlock, last year. He 

 is one of our most advanced and en- 

 terprising bee-keepers, had purchased 

 one of Root's chaff hives, and had it 

 already for work, last spring, in crack 

 Older. He gave me to understand, 

 that with that colony, he was going 

 "to trump" Mr. Eckman, a bee- 

 keeper on the Brasos east of us, who 

 liad, the year before, obtained 450 lbs. 

 from one colony, and bragged about 

 it in the Bee Journal. 



Well, the chaff hive became full of 

 bees. He declared there was one-half 

 bushel of them, and so there must 

 have been, for I called to see him, and 

 looked at them myself, admiringly. 

 They were in fine order, and the 

 honey just flowing in, " so to speak." 

 1 went again next week; it was early 

 in Mav, and immediately noticed that 

 there were but few bees flying in and 

 out of that chaff hive. Mr. Tadlock 

 explained. Says he : " I went around 

 the other day, suspecting nothing, 

 when I discovered they had swarmed, 

 in fact, nearly all went off, and we 

 knew nothing about it. How they 

 got away thus, I do not know." He 



did not run that colony against Mr. 

 Eckman last year, but he went quite 

 up to his figures, with several others. 

 He is an excellent man, enjoys a joke, 

 and will pardon me, I know, for tell- 

 ing on him, how he intended to "lay 

 it on " Mr. Eckman. 



Our people here are not yet trained 

 to eat honey a great deal. We sell our 

 extracted at 10 cents and our comb 

 honey at 15 cents. Bee-keeping, iU 

 fact, is not regarded as even business 

 with most of our people, but we have 

 some few men all over the State who. 

 are abreast of the times, and who are 

 opening the eyes of the old box-hive 

 men. 



With the excellent Bee Journal 

 on my table (many single articles 

 worth more to me than the subscrip- 

 tion price), surrounded with the appli- 

 ances of our fascinating art, I am 

 well pleased with my progress. 1 no- 

 tice one fact: wherever the Journal, 

 is taken, the patent hive " mothtrap 

 man " disappears, no more to return. 

 To the Journal and other similar 

 publications, wherein Heddon, Doolit- 

 tle, Dadant, Pond, Hutchinson and 

 others give us their best thoughts, 

 we owe a great debt of gratitude. 



Luling, Texas, Feb. 20, 1883. 



Convention Notices. 



1^ The Texas State Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will hold its Fifth Annual 

 Convention at McKinney, Collin Co., 

 on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 

 17tli and 18th, 1883; at the residence of 

 Hon. W. H. Andrews. 



VVm. R. Howard, Sec. 



Kingston, Texas. 



^^ The next meeting of the Haldi- 

 mand, Ont., Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will be held at Nelle's Corners on Sat- 

 urday, March 31, 1883, at 11 a. m. 



H. Campbell. 



i^ The Union Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation will meet in Grange Hall, Em- 

 inence, Ky., on Thursday, April 26, 

 1883. All bee-keepers, and the public 

 generally, are invited to be present. 

 G. W. Demaree, Sec. 



Christiausburg, Ky. 



1^ The regular meeting of the 

 Farmers' and Gardeners' Club, will be 

 held April 2, at A. Z. Madison's oflice, 

 Fredonia, N. Y. Question: "Bees, 

 Fish and Poultry." Mr. U. E. Dodge 

 will open the discussion with a lecture 

 on " Bees and Bee-Culture," giving 

 practical manipulations of the hive, 

 showing the various improved imple- 

 ments, devices and terms used in bee- 

 culture, illustrating the lecture with 

 a colony of bees. Bee-keepers are es- 

 pecially invited to spend the afternoon 

 at Sunshine Apiary, where Mr. Dodge 

 will try and entertain them. Mr. 

 Dodge is a thoroughly practical apiar- 

 ist, and this will be a rare treat for 

 bee-keepers in Western New York. 

 Means will be taken to form a Bee- 

 Keepers' Association for this part of 

 the State. A, Z ]Madison, Sec. 



U. E. Dodge, Fres. 



