792 



THE AMERICAl^ BEE JOURNAL. 



warm words about what was done 

 with some of the $1,000 granted them 

 by the government to help pay the 

 expenses of the honey exhibit at the 

 " Colonial." No warm words were 

 ever indulged in by any one as to the 

 way in which this grant was used. 

 The "grant" was disbursed, not by 

 those who had charge of the exhibit, 

 but by the treasurer of the Ontario 

 Bee- Association (who was not one of 

 the delegates), and no adverse com- 

 ments were ever made as to the way 

 in which it was expended. The warm 

 words of which he speaks had no 

 reference to this grant. 

 Owen Sound, Ont. 



B^r the American Bee Journal 



Tartaric Acifl in Winter Stores. 



JAMES HEDDON. 



Away back on page 585, Dr. Jesse 

 Oren propounds two questions, one to 

 Prof. McLain, and one to myself. 

 The question with which I am to 

 deal, is regarding the addition of 

 tartaric acid to the winter food of 

 bees. Now, I presume the Doctor is 

 aware that I am a practical bee- 

 keeper, and in my answer, which is 

 the only one I can truthfully make, 

 the Doctor will not be compelled to 

 accept any theories whatever. 



I believe that I have never used, 

 nor advocated using, tartaric or any 

 other kind of acid in any wintering 

 food for bees except that composed of 

 cane-sugar syrup ; this I put into that 

 syrup simply and solely to prevent re- 

 crystallizaiion, and it is a well-dem- 

 onstrated fact that nearly all acids 

 have that tendency. 1 have used it 

 in proportionately small and large 

 quantities, and I have never been 

 able to discern that in any quantity 

 in which I have used it, it was detri- 

 mental to the health of the bees ; and 

 as I have stated before, the late M. 

 Quinby, after making some experi- 

 ments, was of the opinion {and was 

 planning to demonstrate the truth of 

 that opinion, when his useful labors 

 were suddenly brought to an end by 

 death) that the addition of acid to 

 the winter food of bees, whether of 

 syrup or honey, would act as a pre- 

 ventive to the dreaded bee-diarrhea. 



So, you see, Doctor, I never sought 

 acid as a medicine for bee-diarrhea, 

 but rather as an antidote for crystal- 

 lization of syrup— a food which is 

 much superior to honey tor the safe 

 wintering of bees, so far as any ex- 

 perience has gone. 



Dowagiac, ? Mich. 



ror toe American Bee Journal. 



A Dry Season— Alfalfa. 



MART A. GOODALE. 



ance of honey to carry them through 

 the winter, with but very little feed- 

 ing, goldeurod being a good honey- 

 plant in this locality, and growing in 

 abundance. 



I commenced the season with 20 

 colonies, bought one colony for queen- 

 rearing, but the only use that I found 

 for queens was in superseding, as I 

 did not increase my colonies either 

 by division or making nuclei ; neither 

 did I have any natural swarms, and 

 consequently I consider myself in the 

 same place I was one year ago, minus 

 the amount paid out last spring for 

 supplies, as 1 got very little honey, 

 having sold but .50 cents worth. 



ALFALFA IN COLORADO. 



I have been reading of alfalfa as a 

 honey -plant; also that it is exten- 

 sively sown in Colorado. I have been 

 searching the files of the Bee .Jour- 

 nal for information on the subject, 

 but although I find there is a State 

 organization of beekeepers in Colo- 

 rado, and that alfalfa is highly prized 

 as a honey-plant both in California 

 and Nebraska, yet I find nothing 

 from Colorado on the subject. Now, 

 I would ask some who are acquainted 

 with both the plant and Colorado, to 

 give their opinions in the American 

 Bee Journal. Would it pay to 

 emigrate to Colorado, taking the bees 

 along y Who can tell us anything of 

 the prospects of bee-keeping in south- 

 eastern Colorado V 



Clear Creek,? Ind., Nov. 30, 1887. 



This has been a very dry season 

 here as well as elsewhere. Crops of 

 almost all kinds were nearly an entire 

 failure, and consequently the honey 

 crop failed also ; yet 1 find that our 

 bees have made their own living all 

 summer, and have stored an abund- 



For tbe American Bee JoumaL 



Tlie Bee-Keepers' Union Convention. 



The Central Illinois Bee-Keepers' 

 Association met at Pittsfield, Ills., on 

 Nov. 26, 1887, in connection with the 

 members of the Pike County Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, for the purpose 

 of uniting the two societies. W. T. 

 F. Petty, President of the Pike County 

 Association, occupied the chair, and 

 Wm, Camm was elected Secretary. 



On motion, the two societies were 

 united under the name of " The Bee- 

 Keepers' Union," when the following 

 officers were chosen for the ensuing 

 year : S. N. Blafk, of Clayton, Ills., 

 President ; J. M. Hambaugh, of Perry 

 Springs, Vice President ; Thomas S. 

 Wallace, of Clayton, Secretary ; and 

 Jno. G. Smith, of Barry, Treasurer. 



It was decided to hold the next 

 meeting at Clayton, early in October, 

 1SS8, the day to be fixed by the Presi- 

 dent. 



The following are reports of colo- 

 nies, the crop, and the condition of 

 the bees for winter : 



W. T. F. Petty, of Pittsfield, 90 

 colonies, spring count, 105 colonies 

 fall count; 700 pounds of comb honey, 

 and 200 pounds of extracted honey. 

 The condition of his bees is good. 



T. S. Wallace, of Clayton, 110 in the 

 spring, and 100 colonies now. He had 

 no honey, and the condition of his 

 bees is poor. 



J. G. Smith, of Barry, 15 colonies in 

 the sprinar, and 14 colonies now. He 

 had no honey, but the condition of 

 his bees is good. 



W. H. Raftery, of Pittsfield, 74 col- 

 onies in the spring, and 90 colonies 

 now; 200 pounds of comb honey, no 

 extracted, and the condition of his 

 bees is fair. 



John Pickup, of Pittsfield. 7 colo- 

 nies in the spring, 14 colonies now ; 28 

 pounds of comb honey, but no ex- 

 tracted. His bees are in fair condition. 



C. T. Lame, of Horton Station, had 

 37 colonies in the spring, 44 colonies 

 now, and took 200 pounds of comb 

 honey, but no extracted. His bees 

 are in fair condition. 



Jos. Dober, of Atlas, had 11 colonies . 

 in the spring, 18 now, and took 300 

 pounds of comb honey, but no ex- 

 tracted. His bees are in good condi- 

 tion. 



W. Camm, of Murrayville, had 96 

 colonies last spring, and 90 colonies 

 this fall. He took 500 pounds of 

 comb honey, and 700 pounds of ex- 

 tracted. His bees are in fair condi- 

 tion. 



J. M. Hambaugh, of Perry Springs, 

 had 138 colonies last spring, and 160 

 colonies in the fall, 22 being purchased. 

 He had no comb honey, but 1,250 

 pounds of extracted honey. His bees 

 are in fair condition. 



Mr. Petty's bees had been moved 

 to the Mississippi river bottom for a 

 fall crop. Mr. Hambaugh's bees were 

 put in the cellar on Nov. 10 to Nov. 

 21 ; the bees of other members being 

 out-of-doors yet. 



On motion, the meeting adjourned 

 without formal discussion of any 

 questions, as the weather was so 

 rainy as to prevent many from at- 

 tending. Wm. Camm, Sec. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Season's Results, Marketing, etc. 



WILLIAM CRAWLEY. 



I wintered 20 colonies in the cellar 

 last winter, without any loss, except 

 one queenless colony, and one-third 

 of them were very weak. I increased 

 them to 45 good colonies, and I have 

 taken 1,000 lbs. of extracted honey, 

 and 500 lbs. of comb honey in Mb sec- 

 tions, being 75 lbs. per colony, spring 

 count. About two-thirds of it was 

 linden honey, and the balance was 

 from fall flowers. I have fed 250 lbs. 

 of granulated sugar for winter stores. 

 They were not short of honey, but I 

 fed part of them syrup, as an experi- 

 ment. 



My honey is about all sold, and at 

 home, too. Extracted honey sold for 

 15 cts. per lb., and comb honey for 20 

 to 25 ct3.-> according to 'grade. I will 

 give my method of selling honey, as it 

 may be a benefit to some, and be the 

 means of supplying our home market 

 at a better price than we would get by 

 sending it to commission-men. It is 

 as follows : 



Redwood Falls has a population of 

 1,500, with 6 groceries. I supply all 

 these stores with a moderate amount 

 of both comb and extracted honey, 

 and I make the price for which they 

 are to sell it, with the understanding 

 that all I can use in trade shall be sold 

 without any commission to them ; but 



