564 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Alsike Clover. 



I have raised alsike clover for five 

 years in succession, and I find it to be 

 one of tlie best honey phmts, wliile it 

 lasts, that I can raise ; bees will work 

 on it by the side of white clover. I 

 have been to old pasture fields tliat 

 were lined with white clover and 

 would scarcely Hud a bee, and then go 

 back to the alsike and found it booni- 

 iner with bees. Besides, it makes the 

 best pasture and better hay than red 

 clover. It does not get as dusty as 

 red clover hay, and rain does not pile 

 it as soon. A. B. Miller. 



Wakarusa, Ind. 



Sowing Mignonette Seed. 



Will the Bee Journal please ask 

 Prof. Beal to answer the following 

 questions through the Bee Journal 

 in regard to mignonette : 



1. Which does Prof. Beal consider 

 the best for bees, reseda odorata, 

 rese odorata grandiflora, ameliorata, 

 Parson's new white and new hybrid 

 spiral V 



2. Can i)iignonette be sown in drills 

 in the fall V 



3. How much should mignonette be 

 sown in drills to one acre V 



4. How wide apart should the rows 

 bey 



5. How wide apart should mig- 

 nonette be planted in drills ? 



6. How often sliould mignonette be 

 sown V 



7. Will mignonette, after sown, re- 

 main permanently ? 



A SUBSCRIBEB. 



Indianapolis, Ind., Oct. 14, 1883. 



In reply to the above queries, I give 

 the following answers : 



1. They are all very good. I should 

 sow for the main crop the most com- 

 mon kind, and sow small plats of the 

 newer kinds, and in this way ascer- 

 tain which is the best. 



2. No. 



3. I should sow at least one seed to 

 every inch in the drill. 



4. About 9 inches. 



5. Thinned to 4 inches. 



6. In March (in hot-beds) and in 

 May. 



7. No. W. J. Beal. 

 Lansing, Mich., Oct. 29, 1883. 



Not a Good Season. 



The season for 1SS3 has come to a 

 close, and I can by no means call it a 

 good one. My 30 colonies of bees win- 

 tered without loss, although in May 

 and June it was cold and rained most 

 of the time. When clover was in 

 bloom it rained some most every day, 

 and very little honey was gathered 

 from basswood. In September we had 

 two hard frosts that killed all of the 

 fall bloom, so I had to feed one-half 

 barrel of A sugar. 



AVhen the honey season began I had 

 25 strong colonies and 3 weak ones ; 

 they increased to 02 strong ones, and 

 I have taken 1,182 pounds of comb 

 honey in prize boxes, and the most of 

 it is sold for 18 and 20 cents per pound. 



I have them all packed, sides and 

 top, with fine oat straw, and will put 

 them into the cellar some time next 

 month. Charlie W. Bradish. 



Glendale, N. Y.. Oct. 29, 1883. 



Moving Hives for Winter Packing. 



I have my hives scattered all over 

 the yard, about 6 feet apart; will it 

 do to move them all in one row, about 

 6 inches apart, so that I can cover 

 them, except the front, which I wish 

 to face to the east ? Some tell me 

 that if I move them, the bees, when 

 taking a flight, will return totlie place 

 their hive stood before moving, and 

 will perish. I wish your opinion. 



John W. Stukwold. 



Haymond, Ind., Oct. 26, 1883. 



Thickness of Sections. 



I have heretofore predicted that 

 wide frames and separators for sec- 

 tions would, in the near future, be 

 discarded by our best honey-producers. 

 If we take the Chicago Convention 

 for an example, three-fourths of the 

 members present producing their 

 honey without separators, we may ex- 

 pect to see the time soon, wlien they 

 will be discarded. I get straight 

 combs with closed-top sections, and 

 straighter combs with small starters 

 than with whole sheets, Mr. James 

 Heddon to the contrary notwithstand- 

 ing. In regard to the proper thick- 

 ness of sections, without separators, 

 for combs, say from 4 to 5 inches 

 square, I would suggest 1 Jg inches ; is 

 this too thick or too thin ? As we will 

 soon have our bees packed away for 

 winter, and will be preparing for 

 another year's crop, can we not have 

 some discussion on the above su'oject 

 from those of experience, such as 

 James Heddon, C4. M. Doolittle, W. 

 Z. Hutchinson. C. C. Miller and others. 

 There are many who are undecided as 

 to how they will secure their honey 

 another year, and views from those of 

 experience would certainly prove very 

 beneficial. The experience of R. A. 

 Burnett shows that thin combs of the 

 same weight sell better than thick 

 ones. Is the queen more liable to 

 enter the boxes and deposit eggs in 

 thin combs than thick ones 'i AVill 

 not the combs be built straighter 

 when thin than when thick 'i Who 

 will explain first, and benefit those to 

 whom it may concern ? 



A. J. Fisher. 



East Liverpool, O., Oct. 27, 1883. 



Chaff Hives Wintered in the Cellar. 



Mr. J. T. ^Matthews, in an article 

 entitled "Cellar vs. Chaff Hives." read 

 before the Central Michigan Conven- 

 tion and published in the present vol- 

 ume of the Journal, page 299, reports 

 having placed "3 chall hives in the cel- 

 lar " to test them on an equal footing 

 with single-walled hives, to see the 

 effect on " spring dwindling." As 

 there is no further mention made of 

 them in the article, and as there are 

 several points besides "spring dwind- 

 ling " to be taken into account in the 

 adoption of a method of winter pro- 

 tection, will :Mr. :Matthews kindly in- 

 form the readers of the Bee Journal 



how many pounds those colonies in 

 chaff hives decreased in weight while 

 in the cellar; also tlieir condition 

 when removed and at the begimiing 

 of the honey season. 



Franklin P. Stiles. 

 Haverhill, Mass., Oct. 26, 1883. 



Make a Note of it. 



Bees have done very well for the 

 kind of season ; they average about 55 

 pounds of honey to the colony ; in- 

 crease, SO per cent. They go into 

 winter quarters in this unusual condi- 

 tion ; no fall honey ; no fall bees ; no 

 fall pollen— all old bees, with pure 

 clover honey. Xow, please remember 

 what the result of the wintering will 

 be, and make a note in your calendar 

 of philosophical beedom. I speak 

 only for my own locality. 



E McNiTT. 



Harlem, Ohio, Oct. 26, 1883. 



Open Letter to Mr. F. L. Dresser. 



Dear Sir.— On page 4.54 of the 

 Ajierican Bee Journal, is an arti- 

 cle under your signature, headed 

 " How to Clean Wax." After giving 

 us your method of using the Swiss 

 extractor for that, piu'pose, vou state 

 in the latter part of the article that 

 you have a further addition to the ex- 

 tractor, by which you can render the 

 wax white as originally made by the 

 bees. Your article, as far as it went, 

 was very good. Now% please state 

 how this instrument is made, and how 

 you use it, and then your article will 

 be much better, and your bee brothers 

 will find it doubly interesting. 



L. Jajees. 



Atlanta, 111.. Nov. 1, 1883. 



One-third of a Crop of Honey. 



So far as I have been able to learn, 

 bee men in this vicinity have had a 

 small yield of honey,' this season. 

 Perhaps one-third of an average crop ; 

 all. or nearly all of wliich will find a 

 home market. A fair number of 

 swarms was secured, and nearly all 

 colonies are in good condition for the 

 coming winter. L. Jasies. 



Atlanta, 111., Nov. 1, 1883. 



Sook Notices. 



i^There is no better companion for 

 man than a good wife, but next comes 

 a good book, and if it is instructive as 

 well as entertaining, the time in read- 

 ing it is well spent. Dr. Foote's 

 " Plain Home Talk and Medical Com- 

 mon Sense" is held in high esteem by 

 the judges of good literature, and all 

 classes of readers praise its clear style, 

 enjoy its variety and profit by its in- 

 struction. Thousands have bought it 

 and more have borrowed it. but every 

 family should have one of its own 

 now that the price is only SI. 50, and it 

 can be had by mail, prepaid, from the 

 Murray Hill Publishing Co., 129 E. 

 2Sth St., N. Y. City. 



igr Constitutions and By-Laws for 

 local Associations S2.00 per 100. The 

 name of the Association printed in the 

 blanks for 50 cents extra. 



