214 



THE- AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



colonies, and has, during last season, 

 taken several thousand lbs. of honey. 



II. Olson and Mr. Wilson, from 

 Ohio, seven miles south of New 

 Smyrna, have 184 colonies, the largest 

 apiary in Florida. They make bee- 

 keeping their sole occupation, and are 

 supplied with machinery for the man- 

 ufiicture of hives and everything per- 

 taining to them, and work up an im- 

 mense amount of lumber during the 

 year. Their bees are mostly Italians, 

 with some liybrids and a few blacks. 

 This seasons crop foots up 25,800 

 pounds of the best honey we ever 

 sampled. 



In regard to the quality of Florida 

 honey, Mr. C. F. Muth, of Cincinnati, 

 who has handled most of the crop 

 produced by these gentlemen, says 

 " he considers their honey the finest 

 ever placed on (lie market, and that it 

 sells more readily than the white 

 clover honey of the North." 



L. H. Bivens, of Glencoe, has 37 

 colonies, and has shipped, this year, 

 2,000 pounds. M. B. Rolfe, also of 

 Glencoe, has 8, which has produced 

 600 pounds. 



R. S. Sheldon is one of our oldest 

 bee-keepers. He has, for years past, 

 shipped tliousands of pounds of ex- 

 cellent honey, and last year his suc- 

 cess was very satisfactory. In the 

 spring he had 53 colonies, increased 

 by artificial swarming to 84, and took 

 thus far, Oct. 1 , 6,300 pounds. From 

 a natural swarm hived April 15, 328)^ 

 were taken, up to Aug. 15. 



Mr. Morrison Lewis, of New Smyrna, 

 is the pioneer in bee-keeping in Flor- 

 ida ; that is, he was the first to make 

 bee-keeping pay. He commenced in 

 1868 with one wild swarm, which he 

 found in the woods, which did finely, 

 increasing to several colonies, be.sides 

 producing a large amount of honey, 

 the second year, which showed Mr. L. 

 what they were capable of doing, 

 when properly cared for. He received 

 25 to 30 cents per pound for all his 

 honey, for some eight years. He in- 

 troduced the first movable comb hive 

 and the first lioney extractor into the 

 State, and shipped the first barrel of 

 honey, gathered in Florida, to New 

 York, in 1876. From his 30 colonies, 

 he has shipped, up to Oct. I, 1882, 

 over 3,000 pounds. 



From a private letter received re- 

 cently from Mr. O. Olson, he states : 

 "I made six swarms from one colony, 

 this season, and took from the old 

 colony 440 pounds of extracted honey. 

 I have, at last, found a climate where 

 I like to stay, in spite of all the in- 

 sects, which is a great drawback on 

 this coast during June, July and Au- 

 gust. A more pleasant and healthy 

 climate cannot be found on earth, and 

 I have lived in Europe and several of 

 the States of America. Smyrna is a 

 place of twelve families, and six miles 

 distant, are twelve more." 



I could continue this article to a 

 greater length, but have given the 

 important information sought after 

 by those thinking of going into the 

 business, in Florida. Any further in- 

 formation will be cheerfully given as 

 far as in my power, or by addressing 

 any of the above named gentlemen. 



Baltimore, Md., Feb. 12. 1883. 



For tbe American Bee Journal. 



Experienced Students of Apiculture. 



JESSE OllEN. 



I cannot see the force of the ob- 

 jections made by Mr. Ileddon, page 

 73, against the views advanced by 

 Dr. Besse in his " advanced step," in 

 recommending diplomas to be given 

 by the North American Apiarian Col- 

 le'ge. It seems to me that Dr. Besse 

 requires of the applicant for honors 

 all that Mr. Heddon requires, and a 

 little more. Mr. Heddon's diploma 

 and " red tape circumlocution," as he 

 calls it, would pass current with the 

 society, and entitle the young man to 

 an examination. Dr. Besse demands 

 an experience of one year in all the 

 manipulations of the apiary. Mr. 

 Heddon, five months, or a bee year, 

 if you please so to call it. Both men 

 are on the same plane in this period 

 of preparation. If Mr. Heddon was 

 one of the examining committee, as 

 he probably wo\ild be, and his line of 

 students, with their"red tape," signed 

 " Get there Success," should file into 

 line before the committee, would he 

 not approve them V Would he pro- 

 test against Dr. Miller's, Doolittle's, 

 Dadant's, Jones", Dr.Besse"s,Grimm's 

 "Get there Success V" We believe 

 he would admit all the names to his 

 ad eundem list of red tape. They are 

 all well known to the bee world. I 

 am glad they are known, and that 

 they have spoken out. Red tape from 

 any of them would pass a young man 

 into my yard. Still I should prefer 

 the combined red tape of alias being 

 better than of any one alone. One 

 might be all extracted, the other all 

 comb, and half-pound sections at 

 that, too. I might be suited with a 

 mixed husbandry. 



Some men are born poets, and 

 must sing ; others are born mutes, 

 and cannot sing. There is this dif- 

 ference, also, among bee men. Some 

 few miles from me lives a man who 

 has been "getting there annually" 

 with his 15,000 to 2,000 pounds of 

 honey. He is a local phenomenon, 

 and only known at home. His name 

 is " Get there Success ;" but the 

 North American Society knows noth- 

 ing of him. He has paid $100 per 

 month for an apiarian assistant ; and 

 any red tape he should adopt would 

 pass the owner into my yard as com- 

 petent. We do not want a private 

 monopoly of red tape, but rather, a 

 good Jsupply from every part of the 

 country. In this way, many who are 

 mutes, will come out of their holes 

 and hold up their hands to be seen. 



We hold that red tape does mean 

 something ; and that if Mr. Heddon 

 has any. he is proud of it, and would 

 not readily part with it. A graduate 

 of Yale or of Ann Arbor does not im- 

 ply an illiterate person by any means, 

 but, on the contrary, snch graduation 

 is i3rima facie evidence of scholarship, 

 the United States over. We do not 

 expect to make such men as Sir Isaac 

 Newton, Kepler and Leverrier by 

 diplomas, nor, perhaps, such apiarist 

 as Mr. Heddon either ; yet this ad- 

 mission does not diminish the signfi- 

 cation of diplomas. We are friendly 



to Dr. Besse's " advance step," and 

 believe the Society will so look upon 

 the matter, wlien it meets in Toronto, 

 next autumn. I liave just given Mr. 

 Heddon's and Mr. Jones' address to 

 a young man wlio wishes to learn our 

 business. I have given him a hope 

 that he may be able to meet us at 

 Toronto and pass examination next 

 autumn. With the hope of success, 

 he is going to work tiie ensuing sum- 

 mer. But like many lawyers and 

 doctors, he may graduate and after- 

 wards make an honorable living haul- 

 ing manure and digging potatoes. 

 La Forte City, Iowa. 



For tlie American Bee Journal. 



Haldimand Bee-Keepers' Association 



The Haldimand Bee-Keepers' Asso- 

 ciation held its third meeting on Sat- 

 urday, March 31, at Nelles' Corners, 

 Ontario, pursuant to adjournment. 



Members present, E. DeCew, Presi- 

 dent ; and Alessrs. James Armstrong, 

 R. Buckley, Robt. Coverdale, Eph- 

 raim Gee, VVm. Abbott, Joseph Car- 

 ter. Fred. Mehenbacher, E. C. Camp- 

 bell, R. Anguish, Ambrose Gloyd, 

 James Gloyd, William Harrison, A. 

 Vanderbugh, Wm. Kindree, David 

 Byers, Henry Smith, Elijah Kindree, 

 R. W. Beam, David Anguish. 



Minutes oi^ previous meeting read 

 and approved. 



The president gave a short address, 

 after which the first question was 

 taken up. 



Two iStoy Hives.— M.I. Armstrong 

 said it depended on the depth of 

 frames ; if the frames were shallow, 

 two stories were an advantage ; if 

 deep, one story or Hi stories was 

 about the right thing. Mr. Buckley 

 thought that when extracting, a 

 double story was not necessary. 



The Desirabk Style of Hue Cover.— 

 The president exhibited one which 

 met with the approval of the mem- 

 bers. It was very similar to those 

 now used by D. A. Jones, and is deep 

 enough to allow for a chaff cushion in 

 winter. 



ZJoMoiJi Boards— Caused considerable 

 discussion. A number of members 

 favoring loose bottoms ; others pre- 

 ferring tight bottoms ; the majority ■ 

 being in favor of the latter. 



Spring Feeding.— The president said 

 the nest plan of spring feeding, was that 

 of D. A. Jones, and explained how it 

 should be made. Mr. Byers advocated 

 feeding syrup strained through a 

 cloth ; it had worked well. Mr. Van- 

 derburgh thought the best plan of 

 spring feeding was to feed in the fall. 

 Mr. Buckley gave his plan, viz : mak- 

 ing a syrup of sugar and flour, pour- 

 ing it into an empty frame, and put- 

 ting it in the hive between the cluster. 

 The secretary recommended linseed- 

 cake meal as one of the best substi- 

 tutes for pollen. 



Is it BeM that Bees Should Swarm?— 

 Mr. Vanderburgh advocating divid- 

 ing, as did Messrs. Armstrong and 

 Buckley, and recommended having 

 queens on hand for new colonies. Mr. 

 Kindree thought if the object was to 

 increase, natural swarming was best; 

 if for honey, dividing was best. The 



