654 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



ished, but this season has been wet, and 

 it has raised so much seed, and grown 

 so well, that the ground is almost cov- 

 ered with it now. This gives us some- 

 thing to hope for next season. While 

 many of our hopes have not been fully 

 realized in the past, and probably will 

 not be in the future, yet the only thing 

 we can do is to have the bees in proper 

 shape for the harvest when it comes, 

 and the only way to do this is to have 

 the colonies strong. 



Many colonies died last Winter. Fifty 

 per cent, will die this, and there will be 

 some honey to gather next season. A 

 colony that just lives through, will take 

 at least half the season to get in work- 

 ing condition, while a strong one will be 

 ready for business early in the Spring. — 

 Homestead. 



Texas ADlciiltnral Notes, 



A. C. ATEN. 



Several months have passed away 

 since my last notes were written. 



In this part of Texas we have had a 

 pretty good honey-flow, in both the 

 Summer and Fall. In Summer, mostly 

 from cotton. This Fall, from morning- 

 glory, asters and broom weed. 



The honey crop in the Spring and also 

 in the early part of the Summer was a 

 failure. 



I got on an average 40 pounds of 

 honey per colony. One of my apiaries 

 was in a part of the country where a 

 hail storm destroyed nearly everything, 

 about the first of June. 



About the time the cotton began to 

 bloom, it being late, the worms at- 

 tacked it ; and in poisoning the worms, 

 my bees were injured very much, a few 

 colonies being entirely destroyed. 



I got 1,800 pounds of honey from 

 that apiary of 70 colonies, being but 

 little over 25 pounds to the colony ; so 

 the other apiaries had to do pretty well 

 to bring the average up to 40 pounds 

 per colony. One of the other apiaries 

 averaging 65, and the other 44 pounds 

 per colony. Two colonies gave a surplus 

 of 125 pounds each. Why did they not 

 all do as well ? 



Most of my honey is sold without 

 much effort on my part. 



On Nov. 7, the last day that I ex- 

 tracted honey, I took over 100 frames 

 from 25 hives, extracted the honey, and 

 returned the frames, using a veil, but no 

 gloves, and did not get a sting. I do 

 not think that I ever before worked a 



day with bees without getting some 

 stings. 



The weather here, for over a month, 

 has been dry and warm, very favorable 

 for saving the honey crop. Bees have 

 been gathering more or less honey and 

 pollen every day, until yesterday, when 

 we had a fine rain. Last night it turned 

 quite cool, and bees are flying very little 

 to-day. The honey is of fine quality, 

 very thick, and granulates very soon 

 after it is extracted. 



Round Rock, Tex., Nov. 10, 1891. 



Bees and FrniHirowins in England. 



K. BROWN. 



I am very pleased to say that I have 

 had an abundant crop of every kind of 

 fruit this year, and have made a fair 

 price of all of it — we have just finished 

 the damson gathering. The bees had 

 the first taste of the sweets of the 

 fruit crop, and this gave me the means 

 to carry on operations for still another, 

 season. 



Though the Summer has been so ex- 

 ceptional, I never experienced a better 

 for fruit — the result of which is, that I 

 have purchased five acres of land, which 

 I hope to plant with fruit trees, and 

 have enlarged my apiary, in order that 

 I m^y take dO colonies of bees to my 

 newly purchased ground when planted, 

 for I am more fully convinced than ever 

 that bees and fruit-culture ought to go 

 hand in hand. 



It makes me smile when I read of 

 some correspondents talking about 

 " bees eating fruit." I certainly have 

 seen bees on pears, but it was after the 

 fruit had been attacked by wasps. 



Now, sir, you know that some people 

 are fond of finding fault with and de- 

 stroying anything that comes in their 

 way. i am not, for I have had my 

 orchard about ten years, and during 

 that time have shot but one bird, and 

 that act I afterwards regretted, more 

 especially when I found his gizzard was 

 full of insects. Poor little chap ! he 

 was doing me good, and that is how I 

 rewarded him ; and so of birds and man- 

 kind in general. 



Some grumble because the bees eat a 

 few plums or pears, which, perhaps, 

 would never have grown had they (the 

 bees) not fertilized the blossom. I do 

 not wish your readers to imagine that I 

 dislike sport. I certainly like sport, 

 more especially when the "furry" 

 quadrupeds become too numerous, and I 



