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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Well Done. 



On page 300, Mr. J. O. Sherman 

 gives a candid, clear report of what 

 he lias done by crossing bees, and 

 what stock he used to do it with. 

 Mr. S. is recognized by those who 

 know him at all, tn be a man of scien- 

 tilic turn of mind, as well as nn- 

 doubted integrity. lie did just what 

 I have been doing for several years 

 past, and any one who does thus', will 

 become another witness to the living 

 truth. May I be so impertinent as to 

 ask Mr. F. I. Sage to give us the 

 names of the Michigan bee-keepers 

 whose honey he has handled, and the 

 amount handled from each person 

 named. Such statistics might throw 

 much light on the separator question ; 

 at least, as far as Michigan producers 

 are concerned. James IIeddon. 



Dowagiac, Mich., June 15, 1SS3. 



Profusion of Basswood Bloom Expected. 



We have a few colonies that have 

 stored 32 pounds of comb honey from 

 apple blossoms. Bees are in tine con- 

 dition. Alsike clover, white clover, 

 and raspberries are in full bloom, but 

 it is too rainy and cold. Basswood 

 gives evidence of great profusion of 

 bloom. Please tell us, through tlie 

 Bee -Journal, if you have had any 

 experience with the honey ))lant 

 known by the name of det lira alni folia 

 or white alder. I see it recommended 

 by some bee-keepers, but would like 

 your opinion of its merits. 



A. W. OSBURN. 



Water Valley, N. Y., June 18, 1883. 



[Personally, we have not. It blos- 

 soms from July to September, when 

 there are are few other flowers. The 

 honey from it is " about white, thick, 

 and of tine flavor." It will grow in 

 any soil, and is perfectly hardy ; but 

 it does best in a moist, rich loam. 

 Several have reported, in the Bee 

 Journal, its excellent qualities for 

 honey.— Ed.] 



Letter from Whitley County, Ind. 



I am a beginner in the new method 

 of bee-keeping (with movable frames), 

 though having some experience in the 

 old way with box hives. Last fall I 

 purchased a colony of Italians of a 

 neighbor in a Qui'nby hive. I kept 

 them out during the winter, protected 

 ■with chaff matting in the upper story 

 and wraped with strips of carpeting 

 on the outside ; they wintered splend- 

 idly, and came out all right this 

 spring, casting a large swarm on the 

 1.5th, which was hived in a Quinby 

 hive, and are doing well so far. We 

 have a great abundance of white 

 clover in bloom now. and the " little 

 busy bee improves each shining hour, 

 from early dawn to dewy eve,"' on its 

 fragrant bloom. We have another 

 plant here that I have not noticed 

 anything mentioned by any corres- 

 pondent of the Bee Journal as a 

 honey-producer ; it is known here as 

 ground ivy, the botanical name I do 

 not know. It is a trailer, and grows 

 from 7 to 10 inches high ; blossoms 

 about the middle of ^lav, and con- 



tinues for a long while in bloom ; and, 

 at the present writing, its vines are 

 full of blue blossoms, on which the 

 bees literally swarm from morning 

 till night, almost forsaking all other 

 blossoms ; it grows spontaneously, 

 and we farmers have considered it a 

 great nuisance, on account of its 

 tenacity of life, spreading through our 

 meadows and yards, almost taking 

 possession ; but if it is a great honey 

 plant, we, who keep bees, will be able 

 to tolerate its pre.sence on account of 

 its honey secretions, if it possesses 

 them. Please say if it is known to 

 you as a valuable honey plant. We 

 have also here in northern Indiana, a 

 great amount of the linden and bass- 

 wood, which bloom here about the 

 middle of July. Our spring has been 

 wet and cold, and bees have had a 

 hard time, but the last few days have 

 brought us warm, if not sultry 

 weather, and now they are getting 

 ready for business. A bee-keepers' 

 convention or association has been 

 formed in Whitley county, and its 

 members meet once a moiith to dis- 

 cuss apiarian subjects. Among its 

 members who have given it much 

 attention. I will mention the names 

 of Levi Mosher, H. H. Lawrence, 

 Wm. Kelsy, and Joseph Sumners ; 

 the last named is. perhaps, the best 

 posted, in reading and experience, of 

 any man in the county ; he has about 

 80 colonies of the Italian, and uses 

 extensively the improved Quinby 

 hive, and thinks it the best for all 

 purposes ; the only objection being 

 the depth of the brood-chamber for 

 convenient handling. W. II. W. 



[Ground ivy has many excellent 

 qualities. It will grow almost any- 

 where, and under the most adverse 

 circumstances. It is a proverbial 

 bloomer, and yields excellent honey 

 in abundance. — Ed] 



Bee-Culture in Nebraska. 



Bee-culture is fast becoming one of 

 the leading industries in this State, 

 and all we need is correct knowledge 

 to make a grand success of it, having 

 all the other requisites all ready fur- 

 nished by nature. John IIammitt. 



Wahoo, Xeb., June 15, 1883. 



Heavy White Clover Bloom. 



We are having a heavy crop of 

 white clover, but bees have had but 

 little good of it yet. Out of the last 



78 days it has rained, more or less, 41 

 days ; some days all day, and all night 

 too. I have had no swarms yet, out of 



79 colonies. By feeding, I have kept 

 my bees in good condition, and hope 

 to have some honey yet. 



S. L. Vail. 

 Coal Creek, Iowa, June 19, 1883. 



The Season in Scotland. 



The vveather has been very severe 

 all winter, and the spring has been 

 exceedingly cold and bitter, so that 

 our bees, throughout the whole coun- 

 try, are in a very backward state. 

 As far as the season has gone there is 

 no great prospect of us having a good 

 harvest. We are busy preparing for 

 our annual show, which takes place 

 at the end of July, in Inverness, in 

 the North of Scotland, a good dis- 

 tance past " Perth." I will send you 

 one or two schedules, and will be very 

 glad if you or any friends could send 

 any exhibits to it. 



John D. Hutchinson. 



Glasgow. Scotland. May 31, 1883. 



Rearing Pure (Jueens. 



I have 4 colonies of hybrid bees (a 

 cross between the black and Italian) 

 in moveable frame hives, into one of 

 which I introduced an Italian queen 

 about a month ago, and the young 

 Italians are now beginning to be seen 

 at work. I should like to Italianize 

 the other 3 colonies, but do not know 

 how to go about it, owing to the fact 

 that black drones are found in all 4 

 hives. Will you please inform me in 

 the Weekly Journal, when and how 

 I can manage so as to rear queens and 

 have them fertilized by Italian drones, 

 and greatly oblige ? J. F. C. 



Xew Orleans, La., June 16, 1883. 



[It cannot be done with any degree 

 of certainty. The oidy way will be to 

 obtain fertilized queens.— Ed.] 



Work I Have Accomplished Alone. 



As all the reports I see published 

 are rather discouraging, as regards 

 the honey crop, I will give my report 

 for this season, so far. My bees 

 started off vi-ell in tlie spring, and 

 carried in the tirst pollen on Jan. 28. 

 I had my flrst swarms on JSIarch 2. 

 Linden commenced to bloom on May 

 15 ; then wild China and horsemint; 

 and now elder is blooming. I com- 

 menced extracting on June 4. I have 

 now extracted 5.-500 pounds, and have 

 1,000 pounds of honey in one-pound 

 sections, and I did all the work my- 

 self, except the winding up of my 

 buckets and drawing the" honey from 

 a large tank into small vessels, which 

 my better-half did for me. I started 

 with 125 colonies ; and extracting and 

 attending to the swarms, kept me 

 stepping about iiretty lively. I have 

 reports from all the principal parts of 

 our State, and nearly all are feeding 

 their bees. My lioney is pronounced 

 by all as equal to white clover honey, 

 and weighs a little over 12 pounds to 

 the gallon. J. W. Eckjian. 



Richmond, Texas, June 18, 1883. 



Too Much Wet Weather. 



Bees are doing splendidly this 

 spring, considering the kind of 

 weather we have had. White clover 

 has been in bloom since the latter part 

 of May, and the flelds are white with 

 it, but the bees do not get more than 

 three days in a week in which they 

 can work. When it is not raining, it 

 is so cloudy and cold that the bees 

 cannot get out ; they have not been 

 out now for three days. I 'extracted 

 about 75 pounds of honey, and liave 

 some of them working in sections. 

 Last year I got no surplus before 

 Aug. 1 ; that is our regular time for 

 surplus. I could not consent to do 

 without the Bee Journal, or miss 

 one number. Richard Gunsell. 



Baden, Mo., June 18, 1883. 



