572 



THE AMERICAIT BEE JOURNAL. 



The Honey Crop of 1883. 



Last June the outlook was very eu- 

 couraging to the honey-producer, but 

 alas, for human anticipations, from 

 the 1st of July, and in some localities 

 from the last week in June, there has 

 been but little honey gathered, with 

 a very few exceptional localities. The 

 fall crop has been exceedingly light, 

 and many are obliged to feed the bees 

 for winter stores. Dr. W. G. Phelps, 

 of Galena, Md., in tlie Practical Far- 

 mer, gives the following as the results 

 of the honey harvest for ISS:^, in his 

 locality : 



At the beginning of the present sea- 

 son (i. e. of the honey iiow.) the re- 

 ports from all over tlie country to the 

 various bee papers were as follows: 

 " Bees bringing in honey very rapidly. 

 " Splendid yield of lioney from white 

 clover." '^"The promise of a tremen- 

 dous iioney harvest," etc. Tlie out- 

 look was very promising, it must be 

 admitted, but" the results as we glance 

 at the harvest throughout the entire 

 country have fallen far short of ex- 

 pectations. At the critical period 

 when the delicate white clover bloom 

 was opening to the persuasive in- 

 fluences of the cheering rays from 

 " Old Sol," thus it was that many a 

 bee-keeper's heart was saddened by a 

 succession of cold and dismal rains. 

 To one not acquaii>ted intimately 

 with the effect of atmospheric changes 

 over the secretions of honey m flow- 

 ers this may seem a trifling matter. 

 Bee-keepers though, know too well, 

 and oftimes to their sorrow, the dire- 

 ful consequences of such. Be the 

 bloom ever so fair and brilliant, it 

 takes certain conditions of tlie weath- 

 er to enable the flower to secrete 

 honey in abundance. W ith occasional 

 showers, plenty of sunshine, warm 

 nights, and southerly biee/.es the 

 apiarist's heart will be gladdened by a 

 generous flow of honey. It contrary 

 conditions prevail, the reverse will 

 certainly be the case To some c<m- 

 siderable extent the '' contrary condi- 

 tions " have prevailed in many parts 

 of the United States the past siimmer 

 and the enormous yield predicted at 

 the start will not be realized. This 

 is a fact to be borne in mind by those 

 fortunate enough to have good honey 

 iS salable shape. Be in no hurry o 

 rush it into the market at rumour y 

 low prices. The demand.will probably 

 exceed the supply later m the season, 

 Ind you may regret a premature sale 

 at only moderate figures. 



In some sections where bee-keepers, 

 ^vithan eye to results, have eucour- 

 aeed the growth and perhaps planted 

 tuch crops, vines and trees as produce 

 honey, the results have been favorable 

 to a good yield, notsvithstandmg the 

 vSiprlpitous weather. Personall>^ I 

 have found over an acre ot red rasp- 

 hen v vines upon my place, a great 

 advantage to my bees. The honey 

 fmn the raspberry bloom exc-eecls in 

 flavor and appearance even the t ai 

 tened white clover honey. My acie 

 oT^ore of sweet clover and alsike will 

 neS year •• come in pat for liee-yias- 



turage, even after the white clover is 

 gone. My bees, this year, have averaged 

 over 4.5 pounds per colony, with which 

 result, considering the nature of the 

 season, I have every reason to be sat- 

 isfied. Moreover, they are well pro- 

 vided with ample stores for their ow-n 

 use— a fact that is calculated to make 

 the bee-keeper feel peaceful about the 

 region of the heart. If asked " Does 

 l,ee-keeping pay V" I should answer, 

 in the light even of this year's experi- 

 ence, (wliich may be termed only ordi- 

 nary,) '' yes, 100 per cent, on the m- 

 vestmenl." 



Beeswax, that " Wiley" Story, etc. 



Tlie following is taken from the 

 Indiana Farmer, and concerns bee- 

 keepers generally : 



Editors Indiana Farmer -.—The 

 following is taken from the Indiana- 

 polis Journal of Oct. 17 : 



" Do you know where I can get 

 some beeswax "i"' inquired a wholesale 

 druggist of the reporter. The Journal 

 man didn't know. "It's mighty 

 scarce, continued the druggist. I 

 want genuine wax, suitable for phar- 

 maceutical purposes. Honey is plenty 

 and cheap, never was cheaper than 

 now. Honey men now pour out the 

 mellifluous product and put back the 

 comb. Then there's a practice of 

 making artificial comb out of P»ra- 

 ftine, which is growing in favor. This 

 saves the bees the labor of making 

 comb, and they put in all their time 

 making honev- They don't have to 

 go out' and rckm around, hunting up 

 flowers, either, as the practice now is 

 to feed them on glucose. As the 

 yield of wax is light, there are a num- 

 ber of sophistications. Japan wax is 

 the chief of these. It is white m 

 color, and a vegetable product." 



The question is, does the Journal 

 man know anytliing worth speaking 

 of ? How much do you think this 

 item helps genuine bee-keeping? I 

 wisli you would try and enlighten the 

 reporter a little. F- R- 



Tlie Journal man is not so much to 

 blame, for he has seen this same in- 

 formation going the rounds of the 

 press, in some form or another, for the 

 past two years. Prof. Wiley originated 

 it as a " scientific pleasantry."' It has 

 proved anything but pleasant to bee- 

 keepers. However, it seems very 

 strange that a wholesale druggist 

 should be led into the same error. The 

 paiatthie - comb - filled - with - glucose- 

 story has done the bee-keepers a vast 

 amomit of injury. But the immense 

 amount of honey beuig consumed each 

 year is a fair indication that the peo- 

 ple at large are becoming pretty well 

 posted in the matter. 



^ Make all Postal Money Orders 

 and Postal Notes payable at the 

 Madison St. Station. Chicago, 111. 



Are the Bees Prepared for 'Winter!— 



The Indiana Farmer remarks as fol- 

 lows about the necessity of seeing to 

 the matter at once : 



It is to be hoped that all of our bee- 

 keeping friends have their bees nice- 

 ly prepared for the winter before this, 

 but if any yet remain uncared for, let 

 them be attended to at once. At least 

 see that they have plenty of stores. 

 Xlie indications are that the winter 

 will be an open one, and if such is to 

 be the case, colonies with plenty of 

 stores will stand a fair chance of 

 coming through safely, thoueh other- 

 wise neglected. In many localities 

 the fall drouth cut the honey crop 

 short, leaving many colonies short of 

 stores. Such must be fed or they will 

 surely perish. We would deem it 

 much more humane to brimstone such 

 colonies, than to allow them to die of 

 slow starvation; besides, the honey 

 saved from one, might save the lite 

 of another, if given before the weather 

 becomes too cold. 



1^ Mr. Jerome Twitchell, of Kansas 

 City, Mo., has worked faithfully for 

 severa years in the interests of the 

 honey trade, and has created a market 

 for that health-giving article, in sec- 

 tions where it has scarcely been 

 known as a merchantable commodity 

 before. By his untiring efforts he 

 has built up a trade in honey that 

 agregated, last season, some 75,000 

 pounds. His sales, for the present 

 season, already foot up quite large, 

 though he says he has been unable to 

 get as much comb honey as he wants, 

 and he says that he is now largely 

 behind his orders. 



He has been netting his shippers 16 

 cents to 17 cents per pound for choice 

 comb honey in one and two-pound 

 sections, and making his returns in 

 a very few days after receipt. We 

 note that his weekly market reports 

 show a better demand and better 

 prices than any other Western mar- 

 ket. 

 The cashier of the Citizens' N ational 



Bank recommends Mr. Twitchell as a 

 thoroughly-reliable, straight-forward 

 and honorable business man. We 

 know that he takes great interest in 

 the honey business, and we are as- 

 sured that any shipments made to 

 him, or business confided to his care, 

 will receive prompt and careful atten- 

 tion, and meet with quick returns. 

 AVe take pleasure in encouraging 

 such enterprise as Mr. Twitchell has 

 shown. The producer is compelled 

 to look to some good business-man to 

 market his products profitably for 

 him, and we think that Mr. Jerome 

 Twitchell, of Kansas City, Mo., will 

 fill the bill. 



