494 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



controlled, and the apiary visited only 

 at intervals. 



In producing comb-honey, the diffi- 

 culty is that most of the colonies will 

 swarm, unless the queens .are removed. 

 Mr. Manum, Mr. Elwood, Mr. France, 

 and a few others practice removing the 

 queens just at the beginning of the 

 swarming season, and pronounce it a 

 success. 



I have, as yet, said nothing about the 

 number of colonies to put in an out- 

 apiary. It ought to have as many as the 

 location will bear ; certainly enough to 

 make a day's work at each visit during 

 the busy season. It would be unprofit- 

 able to drive off five or six miles to do 

 only a part of a day's work. Where all 

 necessary tools, etc., are kept at the out- 

 apiary, and all the bee-keeper has to 

 carry is himself, a bicycle is a very ex- 

 cellent kind of conveyance. It is fast, 

 always ready, requires little care, and 

 stings do not make it run away. If the 

 apiaries are in or near towns connected 

 by railroad, it is a great convenience. 



Instead of having any buildings at the 

 out-apiaries, some bee-keepers use a 

 small tent that is easily "struck," and 

 carried from one apiary to another. — 

 Country Oentlcman. 



Preilictiiii the Honey-Flow, 



SAMUEL WrLSON. 



I have ascertained that Fall flowers 

 fail to secrete nectar from the same 

 cause that results in failure with the 

 linden and white clover, and if bee-men 

 knew the true cause of the failure of 

 the honey crop, as I do, each one would 

 know of the impending failure 5 or 6 

 months in advance. 



I have discovered that the conditions 

 that cause linden and white clover to 

 fail to secrete nectar, produces a honey- 

 flow from ivy. What we call ivy here is 

 what produces poisonous honey. There 

 is plenty of laurel, ivy and hemlock, 

 which are nearly alike, but it is the ivy 

 that produces the poisonous honey, and 

 not the laurel, as I have seen stated. 



At present, I am not ready to make 

 known ray secret, preferring to prove 

 to the bee-keepers, first, what I can 

 do. I know, beyond a doubt, the true 

 cause of the failure of flowers to secrete 

 nectar, and I will prove it to bee-keepers 

 by telliQg them, long in advance, of any 

 good honey-flow, or of any general fail- 

 ure, and I wish to ask space in the 

 American Bee Journal, for the publi- 



cation of my predictions, which I expect 

 to have prepared by February, 1892, 

 and in which I wish to include California. 



My aim is to convince bee-keepers 

 that I am not a humbug, even if it takes 

 10 years, or longer, to do so. I would 

 like the bee-keepers of North Central 

 Iowa and Southern Illinois to send in 

 their reports for this season, and see if 

 they do not verify my predict!ons. 



When I say that I can foretell a fail- 

 ure of the honey crop, or a good crop, I 

 mean that I can tell the amount of 

 nectar that the flowers will contain, if 

 there are any flowers. There might be 

 plenty of nectar in the flowers, and the 

 weather be such that the bees could not 

 work ; or hot, dry weather might dry up 

 the bloom, nectar and all. 



Bees have had a long rest in this part 

 of Tennessee, but they never gather any 

 honey from July 15 or 20 until about 

 Sept. 15 to 25, in this section. They 

 are doing well now, and the weather is 

 fine, but very hot and dry for this season, 

 and will soon dry up the white bloom, if 

 it continues. 



Cosby, Tenn., Oct. 3, 1891. 



Bee-Keepins in Wisconsin. 



JOSHUA BULL. 



The past season has been a very poor 

 one for bee-keepers in this locality. My 

 bees stored, on an average, about 35 

 pounds per colony, mostly comb-honey 

 from white clover. 



We got no basswood honey this year, 

 the late frosts last Spring having de- 

 stroyed the buds. The yield from 

 Autumn flowers is very light, owing to 

 the extreme drouth, which has not been 

 so severe since 1871. 



Forest fires are becoming very numer- 

 ous and troublesome. The weather has 

 been unusually warm for this season of 

 the year, and during the past ten days 

 the mercury has risen to 90^ and up- 

 wards nearly every day ; yesterday it 

 stood at 94^ in the shade. It is a little 

 cooler to-day. 



Having recently sold my farm I have 

 had a photograph taken of my apiary 

 before leaving it, and following the ex- 

 ample of some others, I send a copy of 

 the picture to the highly esteemed 

 American Bee Journal. 



The first building seen back of the 

 dwelling house, is a poultry house, the 

 second is a work-shop, where I made my 

 hives and other fixtures, the third is a 

 house, 20x25 feet. The lower story Is 



