AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



51 



quarters, and lost 8 colonies by starva- 

 tion. Up to date 12 swarms have 

 issued. May 311 hived a sw^arm and 

 hung the hive on the scales, the bees 

 weighing S}4 pounds; June 7, they had 

 gained 5 pounds; June 15, they had 

 gained 8 pounds more, being a gain of 

 I'S pounds in 15 days. We had a copi- 

 ous rain last night, which was badly 

 needed. R. B. Wheaton. 



Middlebury, Conn., June 19, 1891. 



Honey from Smart-Weed. 



Bees are doing fairly well here. From 

 some cause, white clover does not yield 

 honey here like it does in other sections." 

 Our main crop is from basswood. Usually 

 we get a good flow of Fall honey, mainly 

 from smart-weed. It is very wet here 

 now, and we anticipate a good Fall flow 

 of honey. E. W. Pitzer. 



Glenwood, Iowa, June 26, 1891. 



Useless Drones. 



My bees are doing finely, but one 

 colony has cast two large swarms, and I 

 noticed that they were not doing much in 

 the sections. On examination, I found 

 that the hive was full of drones, and 

 had few worker-bees. What shall I do 

 with the drones ? T. C. Breece. 



West Berlin, O., June 19, 1891. 



[Unite the bees with another colony 

 having a good laying queen. The drones 

 are useless, and should be promptly 

 destroyed. — Ed.] 



Fine Honey-Flow. 



We have had the finest honey-flow so 

 far this season that has been known for 

 several years ; the weather has been 

 favorable, and the bees worked with a 

 vim. I had one colony in my apiary 

 that gave me 160 pounds of surplus 

 honey, but the average was about 40 

 pounds. Spring count. My bees were 

 not in good condition when the honey- 

 flow commenced. They had run short 

 of stores, which was something unusual; 

 but last Fall there was so much rain 

 that they could not build up sufficiently 

 to carry them through the Winter, and 

 I had to feed some colonies, and some 

 died from starvation. I think there are 

 too many bees in my neighborhood for 

 them to do well — there are 500 colonies 

 within 1}4 miles of my place. 



L. B. TOLAR. 



Kerrville, Tenn., June 27, 1891. 



Honey Plants for Marsh Land. 



What kind of honey plant would be 

 best to plant or sow on reclaimed marsh 

 land ? Also, what is the best time to 

 plant? J. W. Matiieny. 



Argos, Ind. 



[Either pleurisy root or sweet clover 

 would do well on marshy soil. The 

 honey from these plants will compare 

 favorably with white clover, and they 

 bloom profusely, and it lasts long. The 

 seed of pleurisy root may be sown like 

 cabbage seed. Sweet clover may be 

 sown in the Fall and transplanted in the 

 Spring to 2 feet apart ; or it can be 

 sown in any way, for it will grow any- 

 where except on a bare, flat rock.— Ed.] 



Too Much Honey-Dew. 



For over three weeks the bees have 

 been working on the oak trees, the 

 leaves of which are covered with so-called 

 honey-dew or " bug-juice," as per sample 

 sent you to-day. I had intended to work 

 for extracted-honey, but as the combs 

 are full of this "bug-juice," which I 

 will not offer for sale, I shall work for 

 comb-honey, provided the bees ever stop 

 storing honey-dew. Some of my hives 

 are three stories high, with 30 Lang- 

 strotli frames filled with brood, honey, 

 and honey-dew. I have 36 colonies of 

 bees, but cannot find any honey that is 

 fit to eat, although some colonies have 

 over 75 pounds in the combs. It is 

 capped, and looics very nice. 



E. Calvert. 



Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 1891. 



Heavy Crop of Honey. 



The bees are just booming, and honey 

 from white clover, blue thistle and sumac 

 is coming in rapidly. The prospects are 

 very favorable for a heavy crop of good 

 honey. J. W. Carter. 



Pleasant Dale, W. Va., June 26, 1891. 



Too Much Rain in Kansas. 



In the Spring my pa gave me a colony 

 of bees, which was very weak. The 

 honey-flow was good from fruit bloom, 

 but after that the weather was very dry 

 for about three weeks.. My pa has a 

 colony of Italian bees that has cast three 

 swarms. The first swarm took wing 

 and were lost ; the second swarm issued 

 and settled on the hedge fence. The 



