AMERICAN BEE JOURNAE. 



215 



inches long, and the nails were clout 

 nails. With the above, I had ordered a 

 tested Italian queen, price $3.00, to be 

 sent in April, at his risk ; but he did not 

 send her until May 8, and she was so 

 near dead that she could not crawl when 

 she reached me, on May 14, and died 

 that afternoon. I sent the.queen back 

 to him, and also the tins and nails. I 

 wrote him twice after that, and the last 

 time, about June 24, I said jbhat I would 

 have him reported if he did not send the 

 right tins, nails, and a good qu'een, or 

 refund the money. July 3 he wrote that 

 he did not have the tins of the proper 

 length, nor nails of the right size, and 

 returned the money for them, saying 

 that he would send the queen as soon as 

 he could determine what the bees were, 

 since which time I have heard nothing 

 from him, nor received the queen, and I 

 should like to have him reported. I 

 could not keep bees without the Bee 

 JouEXAL, it gives so much valuable 

 information. It is worth five times the 

 subscription price. Jas. P. Goodwin. 

 Danbury, Iowa, July 27, 1891. 



[If this is a fair statement of the trans- 

 action, there can be no excuse for such 

 unbusiness-like conduct. We withhold 

 the name so as not to injure the business 

 of the supply dealer, and give him an 

 opportunity to make reparation. If he 

 does not do so, we may give his name and 

 address in the future. — Ed.] 



Not First-Class. 



The honey crop will not be first-class 

 in this part of the country. The 

 weather has been very cold for this time 

 of year, but is warming up now. 



Barxett Taylor. 



Forestville, Minn., July 27, 1891. 



Poorest Honey Crop Ever Known. 



The honey season is over in this 

 locality, and it has been one of the 

 poorest ever known. I had to feed all 

 my bees up to July 12, to keep them in 

 good condition, for the basswood, that 

 looked so promising; but when it came 

 into blooHi the weather was everything 

 but what it should have been, and 

 between the wind and cold, rainy weather 

 the bees could not work, and the result is 

 there is but little surplus in the hives 

 to take off. There was quite a frost in 

 this section last night. Ira Barber. 



DeKalb Junction, N. Y., July 31. 



Porter Bee-Escape. 



I wish to add my hearty endorsement 

 of the Porter Bee-Escape. It is a most 

 excellent implement. Ruse is worthy of 

 great praise for bringing this idea before 

 the bee-keeping public. Dibbern should 

 have recognition for his suggestion, but 

 the Messrs. Porter have so perfected the 

 instrument, that success is certain in 

 every case. Like the bee-tent, this 

 invention is worthy a place in every 

 apiary, and its merits are so patent that 

 it will soon take this place. No bee- 

 keeper can afford to be without it. 



A. J. Cook. 



Agricultural College, Mich. 



Black vs. Italian Bees. 



Yesterday I lifted the super from a 

 hive containing black bees, for one of 

 my neighbors, and found the honey to be 

 very dark. It tastes like sorghum 

 molasses which has been made from 

 frozen cane. Itis "bug-juice," of course. 

 From my Italians I have taken 42 sec- 

 tions of honey, gathered during the same 

 time as the above, and find it so clear 

 that you can see through the honey, and 

 it is of as fine flavor as any one could wish 

 for. Who will say that black bees are 

 as good as any ? J. H. Berry. 



Gales Creok, Greg., July 30, 1891. 



Spraying Trees. 



There is no use in talking, we must 

 prosecute the first man spraying trees 

 when in full bloom. The law provides 

 ample punishment for any person con- 

 victed of putting out poison. 



Duester, Wis. H. O. Kruschke. 



Best Crop for Four Years. 



My bees have done better this Summer 

 than any season during the last four 

 years, and the same report comes from 

 nearly all bee-keepers in this vicinity. 

 I think we have liad more rain this year 

 than formerly. Frank Hentrick. 



W^all Lake, Iowa. 



Fall Honey-Flow. 



One of my neighbors lost 2 colonies of 

 bees lately. When he examined the 

 hives he found them full of honey and 

 bees, but no queen, nor brood. Neither 

 colony had cast a swarm this season. 

 What became of the queens ? Did the 

 bees supersede the old ones, and were 

 the young queens lost on their wedding 



