THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



811 



Sour and Rusty Honey.— A. F. 

 Wheeler, llossville.d Iowa, on Dec. 

 7, 1887, says; 



I got about 100 pounds of surplus 

 honey from 9 colonies, spring count, 

 and increased them to 16 colonies. 

 Last year I got 4-50 pounds from the 

 same number of colonies. I would 

 like to know the cause of the follow- 

 ing effects : 1. In one colony the 

 houey in the surplus boxes smelled 

 sour, looked frothy, and some of the 

 cells were drawn out longer than the 

 general surface. 2. On the surface 

 of some of the sections there appeared 

 rusty spots, in which the cell caps 

 were sunken in some. Please state 

 the cause, and also the remedy. 



[I cannot tell the cause at this 

 range. It is from a local cause, and 

 no disease. The cure is this : Melt 

 up the whole mass, evaporating the 

 honey, and skimming off the wax. 

 Put the combs in a pan in an oven, 

 and leave one door open. Keep the 

 temperature at about 100° to 110°, till 

 all is liquid, and then set it to one 

 side till the waxen surface is cool ; 

 and while the honey is still warm, tap 

 the wax surface, tip up the pan, and 

 leave it until all drains out clean. 

 This is the way we treat cappings, 

 and in this way we save every particle 

 of wax and honey, and both are of 

 the best quality.— James Heddon.] 



Bees in Good Condition.— O. L. 

 Hershiser, Big Tree Corners,*oN. Y., 

 on Dec. 12, 188", says : 



As far as can be judged from ap- 

 pearances thus far, bees are in good 

 condition in this locality. They have 

 had opportunity to fly nearly every 

 week, and colonies seem to be strong. 

 In this section bees are for the most 

 part wintered on the summer stands, 

 and usually very successfully when 

 chaff hives are used. Last winter, 

 during two warm, windy days, with a 

 very damp atmosphere, the bees flew 

 profusely, and nearly one-third of 

 them were chilled and unable to re- 

 turn to their hives. The result was 

 heavy spring dwindling, by which 

 fully one-half of some apiaries per- 

 ished. Those having bees in the cel- 

 lar did not suffer from this cause. 



Plenty of Stores and Young Bees. 

 — W. Mason, of rillmore,»o Ind., on 

 Dec. 12, 1887, writes : 



The long-continued drouth was 

 broken here the last of a^ovember, 

 which made all hearts glad. I stored 

 my bees in the bee-house on Nov. 19, 

 it being the first cold spell. They 

 were in fair condition, with plenty of 

 stores, excepting 3 or 4 colonies which 

 were rather light, and will have to be 

 fed later in the winter, or in early 

 spring. We had a .few light showers 

 in August, that started the bees to 

 breeding, and leaving them well 

 stocked with young bees. In October 



we had the largest flow of " honey- 

 dew " ever known in this country, on 

 a few kinds of timber, such as oak, 

 hickory and elm, and it was almost as 

 fair as white clover honey. If the 

 winter should prove a very cold one, 

 I shall have my fears about success- 

 fully wintering ; but if the winter 

 proves to be mild, so we can give our 

 bees an occasional flight, then they 

 may winter through all right. 



Poor Season for Bees.- Thos. W. 

 Weaver, Edinburg,© Ind., on Dec. 

 10, 1887, writes : 



I have kept bees near Edinburg for 

 five years, and the season of 1887 has 

 been the poorest that I have experi- 

 enced. From 20 colonies in fair con- 

 dition in the spring, I have taken 

 about 300 pounds of comb honey, and 

 increased them to 32 colonies. I had 

 to feed them for winter. I have 

 packed them on the summer stands. 

 I owe many thanks to the American 

 Uee Journal for my success. 



Poor Season, but Not Discouraged. 



— S. H. Moss, Colchester ,*o Ills., on 

 Dec. 13, 1887, says : 



My report for 1887 is as follows : 

 Spring count, SO colonies, and this 

 fall I have the same number. Of 

 comb honey in finished sections, I 

 have 100 pounds, and in unfinished 

 sections, but cut out, 300 pounds. I 

 fed to hybrid bees, for winter stores, 

 300 pounds of sugar. The poor sea- 

 son was on account of the drouth. 

 But I am not discouraged yet. 



Small Yield of Honey.— George 



Shafer, Neoga,o Ills., writes : 



My bees did nothing the past sea- 

 son, the yield from 30 colonies being 

 only 300 lbs. of extracted honey. It 

 has been the worst failure that I ever 

 knew. 



No Surplus from Black Bees.— A. 

 E. Maley, Auburn,o> Nebr., on Dec. 

 14, 1887, says : 



The spring of 1887 was very favor- 

 able here, until July. My bees 

 swarmed early. Buckwheat yielded 

 well, but I had no surplus honey from 

 the black bees. My bees are still out- 

 doors, and are not consuming much 

 stores. The dry atmosphere of Ne- 

 braska will insure safe wintering. 



Securing Proper Ventilation.— G. 

 A. Adams, Perrysville,5 O., on Dec. 

 10, 1887, writes : 



Bee-keepers ought to know more 

 than they do about ventilation. The 

 bees ventilate as all ventilating 

 should be done— at the bottom ! No 

 open drafts upon their heads are 

 allowed, if they can prevent it. The 

 used-up air is expelled at the bottom, 

 and new air taken at the same place. 

 "Music Hall" in Cleveland holds 

 6,000 people, and the hot air comes 

 from below, and the cold or exhausted 

 air is drawn out by heat through the 

 floor; that is the true, scientific 



method of ventilating. It gives equal 

 temperatures at equal heights in any 

 building where it is properly applied. 

 I am glad Mrs. Harrison has touched 

 on the subject. At the Detroit con- 

 vention, in 1885, I could not stay in 

 the room, for want of air. 



Mustard for Bees.— W, H. Stewart, 

 Kimball,? Dak., asks: 



I want to raise mustard for bees 

 and for seed. What time of the year 

 is best to sow the seed ? 



[It may be sown very early in the 

 spring in shallow drills, wide enough 

 for the cultivator, using from 6 to 10 

 pounds per acre ; or it may be sown 

 broadcast, 2.5 pounds to the acre. For 

 seed it should not be sown later than 

 Julyl. When ripe it does not shell 

 out by the wind, and may be har- 

 vested at leisure. — Ed.] 



Honey Trade in Philadelphia.— 



Arthur Todd, Philadelphia,©^ Pa., on 

 Dec. 9, 1887, writes : 



With an average temperature of 

 58°Fahr.,and the bees flying every 

 day, the sales of honey by groceries in 

 this city is, and has been very poor 

 ever since the opening of the season. 

 Grocers have accepted the advance in 

 prices, and for good honey they have 

 not grumbled to pay good prices, viz : 

 18 to 20 cents. The possibility of 

 lower prices now comes as a conse- 

 quence of the non-sale of the honey so 

 purchased ; altogether owing to the 

 fact that cold weather and the con- 

 sumption of honey are concomitant. 



Convention Notices. 



ty The next meetlDK of the Nebraaka State 

 Bee-Eeepers' Association will be held on Jan. 11, 

 1888, at Lincoln, Nebr. 



Hbnrt Patterson, Sec. 



The annual convention of the Vermont State 

 Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at the Van 

 Ness House, in Burlington, Vt., on the Jan. 18 and 

 19, 1888. R. H. UOLMES, Sec. 



|y The Ontario Bee-Keepers' Association will 

 hold its annual meeting at Woodstoclt. Ontarla, oi* 

 Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 10 and 1!, 1888. 



W. CouSK, See. 



^" The Hardin County Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion will meet at the Court House in Eldora, Iowa, 

 on the second Saturday in each month, at noon 

 (lli o'clock), until further notice. 



J. W. Bdchanan, See. 



1»" The fifth annual Ohio Slate Bee-keepers' 

 Convention will be held in the United States Ho- 

 tel, corner High and Town Sts., t.'olumbu8, O., on 

 Jan. loimd ll,l888. An interestint; programme 

 will be arranged. Reduced rates at tiie hotel. 



Fkank a. Eaton, Sec. 



|y The Cortland Union Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion will hold their annual meeting at Cortland, N. 

 v., on Tuesday. Jan. lu, 1888. for the election of 

 otHcers and to transact such business us may come 

 before the meeting. All bee-keepers are invited. 

 R. L. Weatkr, Sec. 



|y The Susquehanna County Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation will meet at New Milford. Pa., on Jan. 

 7. 18S8. Subjects for discussion ; "The Best Way 

 to Prevent Swarming." and "Is it Advisable to 

 Italianize Colonies?" AH bee-keepers are cordially 

 invited. U. M. SEEL^T. See. 



|y" The annual meeting of the Northwestern 

 Illinois and Southeastern Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will bo held in G. A. R, Hail, corner of 

 Statelet North Main 8ts..in Rocktord. Ills., on Jan, 

 17 and 18. 1888. Dr. Miller will be present, and a 

 good programme le in course of preparation. 



D. A. Fuller, See. 



