AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



17 



ing convinced of this fact, and is co- 

 operating with the bee-keeper in this 

 important work. 



The time is not far distant when the 

 established horticulturist will likewise 

 become an apiarist, or will have an 

 apiary established in the midst of his 

 orchards, and thus, while performing an 

 essential part toward the proper fertili- 

 zation of the fruit bloom and seed 

 product, he is assisting in the production 

 of a sweet that is fit for the gods — 

 honey ! Delicious honey ! " Not made, 

 but gathered from the nectar of flowers, 

 which is secreted according to the rules 

 of Nature's laboratory." 



And now, as to the future possibilities 

 of bee-culture. I believe that if it were 

 possible to gather the sweets from the 

 flora of the State of Illinois, that are 

 yearly lost, we could nearly or quite 

 double the record given in our census 

 reports of the product of the entire 

 United States. Bee-culture, under 

 modern, improved methods, is making 

 long strides in this direction. 



I have produced 15,000 pounds of 

 honey from 18 square miles of territory, 

 and within the borders of this territory 

 were more colonies of bees belonging to 

 other parties than the number under my 

 supervision. 



We have in the State of Illinois 

 56,000 square miles of territory, not 

 including, of course, the lakes and 

 rivers. Within the borders of the 18 

 square miles previously referred to, is a 

 lake 4 miles long by from Ji to 3^ mile 

 wide. If you will compute this amount, 

 at the rate of 15,000 pounds of honey 

 to every 18 square miles of territory, 

 you will have the neat little sum of 

 46,665,000 pounds of honey for the 

 State of Illinois. 



The census of 1890 gives the total 

 product of the entire United States and 

 territories as 25,743,208 pounds. That 

 of the State of Illinois alone was 

 1,105,689 pounds. From this you can 

 base your calculations as to the undevel- 

 oped condition of the bee industry, and 

 the importance we could attain in this 

 direction by developing the same. 



We believe that we are entited to some 

 recognition from our law makers, and 

 we believe that if you will grant us the 

 small amount asked for as an appropria- 

 tion to enable us to publish our reports, 

 it will encourage the industry, increase 

 our wealth, and rebound two fold to the 

 good of our fellow men. 



Remember, we are not only an 

 essential adjunct to the fruit and seed 

 growers of the country, but we are 

 storing a sweiet that would otherwise be 



lost; hence, our product is that much 

 saved from the economy of Nature. We 

 occupy no territory, and do not interfere 

 with any other pursuit or industry. 



Bee-KeeBini in Minnesota, 



q. THEn.MANN. 



Many colonies of bees have died in this 

 vicinity since last Fall, and many are 

 still too weak to gather the harvest. 



I lost 4 colonies out of 225, and the 

 remainder are hardly as strong as is 

 usual at this season, but swarming has 

 been in progress since May 29. The 

 feeding of so much sugar, which was 

 made necessary by the poor crop of last 

 year, has proven fatal to the queens, 

 and workers, too, and my argument that 

 sugar cannot supply the place of honey 

 as food for the bees, and preserve their 

 health, and strength, has been more 

 forcibly demonstrated during the past 

 year than ever before, and I am fully 

 convinced that the feeding of sugar to 

 our bees should not be resorted to as 

 long as good honey can be had, for it 

 will weaken the constitution and destroy 

 the vitality of the queens, and discour- 

 age the workers. 



I have noticed this fact for the past 

 seven or eight years, in the case of 

 nearly every colony to which any 

 considerable quantity of sugar had been 

 fed. Not only was this so with regard 

 to the weak colonies, that are to be 

 found in every apiary, but in the case of 

 some of the very best and strongest 

 colonies, whose queens had kept the 

 brood-chamber so full of brood until 

 Fall, that but very little honey could be 

 stored in them, thus necessitating the 

 feeding of sugar for Winter stores. 



In the following April and May a very 

 marked difference could be noticed in 

 the colonies to which the sugar had been 

 fed. They could not make such head- 

 way as those colonies which had honey 

 alone for their Winter stores. 



I was obliged to feed considerable 

 sugar last season to keep my bees from 

 starving, and I never had so many 

 queens superseded by the bees as has 

 been the case this Spring, and many of 

 the swarms that issue form only a small 

 cluster, thus indicating that a great 

 many of the queens have lost their 

 strength and vigor, and I am convinced 

 that the excessive feeding of sugar is the 

 cause. 



It appears that sugar (I feed only the 

 granulatfed) contains considerable sul- 



