266 



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HONEY-PLANTS. 



The Season of 1887— Some Bee. 

 Questions. 



Written fur the AmericaiiBcc Journal 



BY FKED. SLIiVERT. 



I commenced last spi'ing with 5 col- 

 onies, increased them to 10, by natural 

 swarming, and obtained no honey. 

 Owing to the great drouth in this 

 locality, the most of the bee-keepers 

 had to feed their bees. 



The principal honey-plants in this 

 part of Indiana are linden and white 

 clover, and the latter produced no 

 nectar. There was but little fall honey 

 secured from golden-rod and boneset. 

 The linden trees in this vicinity have 

 been consideraly cut out, and it will 

 prove quite serious to bee-keeping. 

 The bee-keepers are encouraging the 

 farmers to sow Alsike clover, which 

 will be beneficial to the farmers as 

 well as to bee-keepers. 



I fed my 10 colonies 130 pounds of 

 sugar syrup, according to the Heddon 

 method, and put them into the cellar 

 on Nov. 19, 1887, and I think they 

 were put into winter quarters in fine 

 condition. They have been confined 

 for 126 days, and are in good condi- 

 tion now. The temperature in the 

 cellar ranged from 40^ to 48'^ Fahr., 

 and the bees seemed to be the most 

 quiet at 40^. I am favorably im- 

 pressed with Mr. TjaTel's article on 

 page 25, referring to proper tempera- 

 ture of a bee-cellar, hence I think that 

 from .30^ to 40^ is the proper tempera- 

 ture for a bee-cellar or cave. 



The indications for white clover are 

 good, if it has not been winter-killed. 

 Tliere are plenty of flowers in the 

 limber localities, and everything 

 promises well for another season. 



The Bee Jouknal is a welcome 

 visitor at our fireside, and the infor- 

 mation which I have received from it 

 is of great advantage to me ; indeed I 

 cannot see how I could do without it. 



I want to sow some Alsike clo^v er. 

 1. Where will it produce the largest 

 crop, on high, clay, or sandy land, or 

 'in low, loamy soil ? 



2. What temperature is preferable 

 to look at bees in the spring ? 



3. Is it essential to feed sugar syrup 

 in the spring for stimulating brood- 

 rearing ? 



4. Is it preferable to contract th(? 

 brood-eliamber to get the bees into the 

 sections ? 



5. Will it prevent the old colony 

 from swarming twice, by hiving the 

 young swarm on the old colony's 

 stand ? 



Chesterton, Ind., March 24, 1888. 



[1. A moist soil is better than dry, 

 sandv land for Alsike. 



2. The temperature of the centre of 

 the cluster averages 70^ Fahr., and if 

 the temperature outside is less than 

 that, the hives should not be opened 

 unless in an emergency. 



3. It is not essential, unless they are 

 short of stores, but it is sometimes 

 desirable to feed them sugar syrup to 

 stimulate brood-rearing. 



4. Yes, if the colonies are weak. 



5. Not invariably. — Ed.] 



STATISTICS. 



Agrieiiltural Statisties from the 

 Crop Reporters. 



Writte7i for the American Bee Juur^ial 

 BY C. L. SWEET. 



States take the agricultural part in 

 some way every year. It may be that 

 all the committee will have to do is, 

 to furnish, as far as thej- can, the 

 names of the reporters, and suggest 

 the questions which they want an- 

 swered, to the Washington Depart- 

 ment, and they will take care of it 

 afterwards. That is what the}- are 

 there for. 



The secretaries of the State Boards 

 can be notified from there, what is 

 wanted. They know who the secre- 

 taries are. Of course, if the statistics 

 are taken by Government machineiy, 

 and at Goverinnent expense, it will be 

 for publication. The "light" obtained 

 will go on the house-top. I am on that 

 side of this question. It will be for 

 the consumer as well as the producer. 



Glenwood, Ills. 



As it is requested that those bee- 

 keepers who are willing to report as 

 to the condition of' the bees and yield 

 of honey in each county, I will agree 

 to be one of them for Cook county,Ills. 



I am one of the crop reporters for 

 Cook county, and have been such for 

 the past nine years. For the past two 

 or three years, the blanks furnished to 

 the correspondents have contained the 

 (juestion to be answered on the first 

 day of Ma}% as to the "condition of 

 honej'-bees ;" and of course it was an- 

 swered by all the crop reporters in 

 Illinois, according to their best infor- 

 mation. I had wintered about 100 

 colonies last year, and they were in 

 good, average condition ; so I marked 

 that question 100. Now I suppose the 

 blanks for this year will contain the 

 same question. 



Suppose the committee on bee-keep- 

 ing statistics ask Mr. Charles L. Mills, 

 of Springfield, Ills., to have printed in 

 the blanks such questions as to the 

 yield of honey, as they may desire to 

 be answered on the first day of August 

 and October. The number of colonies 

 of bees and pounds of honey produced 

 last year will, I suppose, be taken .as 

 usual by the assessors. The committee 

 will then have made a commencement 

 as far as Illinois is concerned. 



The statistics taken by the township 

 or county assessors in the several 

 States, is also used by the Department 

 of Agriculture at Washington, as a 

 foundation upon which to estimate the 

 amount produced ; the number of acres 

 being given for the year before, and 

 the reporters answering from month 

 to month, :is the season advances, for 

 the current year. For bees, .the nmii- 

 ber of colonies, and pounds of honey 

 and wax, forms the foundation. 



The United States only takes the 

 census including agricultural statistics, 

 once in ten years, while the difterent 



WINTERING BEES. 



Bees Flying in the Sunshine in 

 Winter. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY E. L. HOLDEN. 



On page 788, of the Bee Jouknal 

 for 1887, Mr. J. A. Buchanan has an 

 article on packing bees for winter, in 

 which he says : "Bees in thin board 

 hives come through in better condition 

 than those in hives that are packed ;" 

 and gives his reason for it, Avhich is, 

 that the sun shining upon the thin liive 

 warms up the bees and causes them to 

 come out and take a cleansing flight. 



I have experience in wintering bees 

 for more than half a century, and I 

 early learned that the sun often warms 

 up the bees, so that they will come out 

 for a flight, when the air is much too 

 cold for them ; and the consequence 

 was, that hundreds of them fell to the 

 ground, and never relin-ned to the 

 hives. In such cases, the bees in the 

 hives become very much reduced in 

 numbers, and if many such days occur 

 the chances are tliat the colony will 

 perish. 



Last fall there was a gentleman 

 from Rhode Island at my place, who 

 wanted to.look over my bees, and in- 

 quired how I wintered them without 

 losing anj-. He said that he lost his 

 entire apiary of bees last winter, by 

 their coming out on sunny days, and 

 being chilled bj- the cold air. His bees 

 were in thin hives, and not packed. I 

 showed him my double-walled hives, 

 and told him tliat I filled the spaces 

 with sawdust. 



Who has not seen snow on the roofs 

 of buildings melted by the sun, when 

 the general temperature was much be- 

 low freezing ? I have seen it melt on 

 a roof facing the south, when the ther- 



