604 



•rmm msmmmi^mn mmm jo^mifMir. 



to handle it over, and in this handling, 

 its character is somewhat changed by 

 the addition of the secretions from their 

 glands. There is also an opportunity 

 of sealing over the syrup, when it is 

 less likely to be injured by changes in 

 temperature, moisture, etc. If fed late, 

 the syrup must be made thick, as the 

 bees have no time to evaporate it ; and 

 there must be something added to 

 prevent the syrup from crystallizing. 

 After repeated trials I give my pref- 

 erence to honey. From ten to twenty 

 per cent, of honey is sutTicient. I never 

 want to be put to the trouble of extract- 

 ing the honey in the fall before feeding 

 sugar, and, if contraction of the brood- 

 nest is properly managed, the combs 

 will be perfectly free from honey at the 

 end of the honey harvest ; when, with 

 Heddon feeders, oil-stoves to prepare 

 the syrup, and the proper utensils, 

 feeding is never dreaded in this 

 ■"family." 



• Two or three years ago I experi- 

 mented by feeding and preparing for 

 winter a few colonies each day. 1 be- 

 gan the latter part of August and con- 

 tinued feeding a few colonies each day 

 until nearly the middle of October. All 

 wintered equally well, except the last 

 few colonies that were fed. 1 think 

 that September. is early enough to feed. 

 When feeding has been neglected until 

 it is so late, and the weather so cool 

 that the bees will not leave the cluster 

 and go up into a feeder, it may be man- 

 aged by tilling the feeder with hot 

 syrup and placing it under the hive. 

 The heat from the syrup will warm up 

 and arouse the bees, when they will 

 come down and carry up the feed. 



But all cannot, or may not wish to, 

 use sugar for a winter food, and I have 

 done my best to help them. I especially 

 recommend the views of Mr. O.O. Pop- 

 pleton. According to his idea, those 

 who have been so successful by saving 

 out combs of early-gathered honey upon 

 which to winter their bees, may at- 

 tribute their success to the fact that 

 the early honey harvests were very 

 abundant, while the fall flow was 

 scanty. Mr. J. II. Martin unconsciously 

 voices that idea when he says : " I find 

 that good buckwheat honey will winter 

 bees better than honey from a great 

 variety of fall flowers." Possibly the 

 honey, in a slight flow, becomes more 

 heavily charged with pollen. Candied 

 honey or thin, watery honey is an unfit 

 food for bees long confined by cold. As 

 a rule, honey-dew furnishes a poor win- 

 ter food. To those whose management 

 is such that their bees must winter 

 upon natural stores, we would say, see 

 to it that the stores are from the most 

 bountiful flow, well ripened and sealed, 

 and you have done all that you can do. 



Dr. Miller asks for an explanation of 

 why bees have starved with an abun- 

 dance of pollen within easy access, and 

 yet showed no signs of diarrhoea. I 

 would say that I suppose bees can live 

 but a short time without honey, that 

 upon pollen alone they would soon 

 starve— before enough would be con- 

 sumed to overload the intestines. In 

 other words, if bees had access to pol- 

 len only, they would eat but very little 

 of it, and the result would be starvation 

 rather than overloading the intestines. 



Flint, Mich., Sept. 1, 1888. 



COlVVEIMTIoai DIRECTORY. 



1888 Time and Place of Meeting. 



Oct. 3-5.— North American, at Columbus, O. 



W. Z. Hutchinson. Sec, Flint, Mich. 



Oct. 11, 12.— Union, at Clayton, Ills. 



S. N, Blacli, Pres., Clayton, nis. 



Dec, —.—Michigan State, at ,Jackson, Mich. 



H, D, Cutting, Sec, Clinton, Mich. 



ZW In order to have this table complete. Secre- 

 taries are requested to forward full particulars of 

 time and place of futuremeetinKs.— Ed. 





Plan for a Bee-House.— Chas. D. 

 Barber, Stockton, N. Y., on Aug. 31, 1888, 

 says: 



I want to build a bee-house. Will some 

 one who has one, or who knows, please give 

 a description of it in tlie Bee Journal ? 

 How liisili, wide and long should it be ? 1 

 want it for 20 to .30 colonies. Honey is selling 

 here for from 12 to 15 cents per pound. 



Protectors of tlie Uees.— F. M. 



Herrick, Woodstock, N. T., on Sept. 3, 1888, 

 writes : 



1 desire to become a membpr of the Na- 

 tional Bee-Keepers' Union, as I fully indorse 

 all its principles, and realize that in union 

 only is there strength to protect an honest 

 industry. 1 do not think that 1 shall ever 

 have any trouble myself, hut others may, 

 and I wish to cast my lot with the protectors 

 of the bee. The proceedings of the city 

 authorities in the Arkadelphia ease, tarings 

 to my minri amusing thoughts, and begKiuK 

 clemency with hope of escaping Immediate 

 execution (from the editor) I will submit the 

 following : 



Some folks there are with critic spleen 

 liilte dogs, who barlt at things unseen ; 

 Not knowing what the bee was made for, 

 From whence I', came, or what It staid for; 

 They think some enemy hath sent it,— 

 Thus take occasion to resent it. 



Ilor to Control S>varniing;, etc. 



—J. F. Eikeuberry, Green, Iowa, on Aug. 3, 

 1888, says : 



1 took out of my outdoor cellar, 27 colo- 

 nies in good condition in the spring, and 

 lost 6 colonies by spring dwindling. It was 

 very cold and wet so long, that bees could 

 not do anything until June. They com- 

 menced to swarm the first of July, and have 

 kept It up until now, a swarm having issued 

 yesterday. 1 wish that some one would tell 

 me liow to control swarming. My bees have 

 done wkII the last mouth, and are still work- 

 ing faithfully in tlie sections. 1 have now 

 37 colonies all doing well. 



Virgin <(iieens — Fall Prospects. 



— G. W. Demaiee, Christiansburg, Ky., on 

 August 31, 1888, says: 



In answer to query .511, on page 566, 1 

 wished to say, "the virgin queen lays 

 ■no egcs until her amalorial period has 

 passed," The omission of the word "7io" 

 clianges my meaning to the reverse of what 

 1 intended to say. We have had an abun- 

 dance of rain since Ang. 16, and there is now 

 fair prospects of fall honey lor winter stores, 

 to say the least. The young white clover Is 

 partially saved. 



Worlclng- on Bnck-wUeat, etc. — 



1, N. Rogers, Jackson, Mich., on Aug. 31, 

 1888, writes : 



So far this has been a very poor honey 

 year for this (Jacksnn) county. But very 

 few had any white clover honey stored in 

 the sections, and the present indications are 

 that but little fall honey will be obtained. 1 

 have 5 colonies tliat have given me 24 pounds 

 each, gathered from buckwheat, for which 1 

 readily obtained 20cts, per pound. My bees 

 are still working lively on a piece of buck- 

 wheat, sown late expressly for them. I 

 would say in regard to bees working on buck- 

 wlieat, that I have giown it for several years 

 (as much for the bees as for the seed), and 

 have ob,served that, on a hot, sunshiny day, 

 hees work ou it only in the forenoon ; but if 

 the day be cloudy and warm, they will work 

 on it the greater part of the day. Only 

 about one-fourth of the bees put into winter 

 quarters last fall, were alive when fruit trees 

 commenced to bloom last spring, and the 

 most of them were very weak. 1 put 36 

 colonies into the cellar; 1 had 19 in chaff 

 hives, and liad but 9 colonies to commence 

 the season with — tlie first loss of any conse- 

 quence, that 1 ever met with. Everything 

 IS drying up, not having had any rain to 

 speak of, in this immediate vicinity, since 

 early in June. 



Itees are Busy.- Geo. G. Scott, Wa- 

 dena, Iowa, ou Sept. 4, 1888, says : 



My bees have gathered about 30 lbs. of 

 honey per colony, spring count. The sea- 

 son's yield in this section may be estimated 

 at about half a crop. Fall flowers are yield- 

 ing well, and bees are very busy. 



Small Average per Colony. — D. 



L. Shapley, KandallsvlUe, N. Y., on Aug. 6, 



1888, says : 



Bees have got through putting the honey 

 into the sections for this season. It is the 

 poorest season 1 have seen in six years. I 

 shall not have over 50 lbs. of surplus honey 

 from 6 colonies, spring count ; and my bees 

 have done as well as any in this vicinity. 

 There is no honey here to speak of, this year. 

 The average per colouy is only about 5 

 pounds of surplus, and of poor quality at 

 that. 



Blessing in Bisgnise— Increase. 



— E. B. Morgan, Cleveland, Iowa, on Aug. 



31, 1888, writes : 



The honey crop in this locality (southern 

 Iowa) is very poor. Different bee-meu have 

 told me that they have no honey. The 

 spring was too wet and cold, and the white 

 clover yielded hut little ; the heads being so 

 loose and straggly ; they had lost that sym- 

 metrical shape, hut 1 see that the fall clover, 

 or the clover now in bloom, has resumed the 

 old shape. Quite a number of the bee-men 

 feel despondent, and 1 think 1 will class 

 myself among them. Still, we had better 

 look upon the bright side, as Dr. Mason 

 says " that two poor seasons may be a bless- 

 ing in disguise." One thing is sure, that 

 quite a numbir of our farmer bee-keepers 

 that kept from 10 to 30 colonies are swept 

 out of existence, and have their ill-shaped 

 hives for sale. My 50 rolonies are in good 

 condition for winter. The question of pre- 

 venting increase, that has ca.ised so much 

 study and anxiety to many will, I think, 

 soon be settled. 1 tliink that the principle 

 is already discovered, but not being quite 

 sure as to its ivsulls, having had such poor 

 season, we must wait ; but one thing is sure, 

 it will not be caging old queens and keeping 

 them over from year to year. Young queens 

 for fertility, hence strength of colonies and 

 honey; old queens for drones and swarming. 



