620 



Tmm MMK'RICMfi MMm J©^KE«ffi£f. 



iron kettle or something fire-proof, and 

 place it in the box with the hive. Then 

 set the sulphur aBre. After it had 

 burned, put the hive on the old stand, 

 and put the bees into it. That will kill 

 the brood and eggs, and save the hive, 

 frame and bees. Has any one ever 

 tried it V 

 Marietta, Ohio. 



COWVENTIOiV DIRECTORY. 



1888 Time and Place of MeetinQ. 



Sept. 25, 26.— Cedar Valley, at Cedar Falla. Iowa. 



J. J. Owens. Sec., Waterloo, Iowa. 



Sept. 26.— ProEre?sive. at Newburp. O. 



Miss Dema Bennett, See., Bedford, O. 



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



W. Z. Hutcbinson. Sec. Flint, Mich. 



Oct. 4.— Ohio State, at Columbus, O. 



Franlc A. Eaton, Sec, Bluffton, O. 



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



S. N. Black, Pres., Clayton, Ills. 



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



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



t^~ In order to have this table complete. Secre- 

 taries are requested to forward full particulars of 

 time and place of future meetings.— BD. 





Yield of Fall Honey.— Jno. A. 



Thornton, Lima, Ills, on Sept. 5, 1888, says : 



The yield ot fall honey will be good. I 

 will have an average surplus of about 3.5 lbs. 

 per colony. The quality is pqual to clover, 

 as some of it was from red clover. Tlie 

 largest yield is from smart-weed. My 200 

 colonies have gathered a good supply for 

 winter besides the above amount of surplus. 



A Ulooining' Curiosity. — J. C. Bell, 

 Belton, Tex., on Aug. 31, 1888, writes : 



1 send a blossom that made its appearance 

 about April 1, from which the bees gath- 

 ered quite a quantity of honey for 60 days. 

 Since the rains set in on Aug. 18, it is 

 blooming again. What is it ? Bees have 

 done finely in Texas this year. 



[This is not yet identified. It is a curi- 

 osity, and I should much like to have a 

 pressed specimen showing more of the 

 plant. Please address it to T. J. Burrill, 

 Champaign, Ills.] 



Heart's-Ease Houey.— John Has- 

 kins. Empire Prairie, Mo., on Sept. 7, 1888, 

 writes : 



Tliree to four weeks ago it seemed as 

 though I should have had another failure 

 with my bees ; but about the middle of 

 August they commenced to swarm, and no 

 person that has not seen bees working on 

 the heart's-ease can form but little idea 

 how fast they will gather honey. The colo- 

 nies that three weeks ago I did not know 

 would gather enough honey to winter on, 

 will probably give me in comb honey from 

 100 to l.=iO pounds each. There are thou- 

 sands of acres of heart's-ease here. 



Chapman Honey-Plant Seed.— 



H. Chapman, of Versailles, N. Y., on Sept. 

 10, 1888, gives the following information in 

 reply to a question by Mr. R. Bacon, on 

 page .590 : 



The seed of the Cliapman honey-plant 

 should be collected as soon as the balls 

 commence to turn brown ; the balls should 

 be spread upon platforms until thoroughly 

 cured, when the seed can be easily shaken 

 fri mi the heads. But to separate the seed 

 from tlie capsule, requires more labor. 1 

 accompli.sli this with a machine devised by 

 myself, and which consists of a cylinder 

 thickly studded with steel teeth, and which 

 is made to revolve within another cylinder, 

 from the inner sides of which project steel 

 teeth. It is unnecessary to remove the 

 capsules from seed used at home, but I have 

 always cleaned that which I sold. 



«jJay Featlicr.— D. W. McDaniel, of 

 Hamilton, Ills., on Sept. 3, 18S8, says : 



I send a specimen ot a honey-plant to be 

 named. It grows on thin clay soil, and 

 from 3 to 4 feet in liight. Bees work on the 

 blossoms all day. The bloom commences 

 at the too of the spike, and blossoms down- 

 ward. Please give its name in the "old 

 reliable" Ameiuc.^n Bee Journal. 



[This is "gay feather" {Liatns scarlosa) ; 

 not known to be specially valuable for 

 honey ; but like other " compound " flowers, 

 it is a great pollen producer.— T. J. Bur- 

 kill.] 



Wo Swarms or Honey.— Mr. John 

 Boerstler, Vashoii, Wash. Ter., on Sept. 7,' 

 1888, says : 



I am not discouraged yet, although the 

 bees did not swarm or store one pound of 

 surplus honey this year. In the spring it 

 was too wet, and after that they secured a 

 good supply of stores, and will have plenty 

 to winter on ; but not a pound for me. I 

 will have to do without houey this year. All 

 right ; I guess I am not the only one in 

 that "boat." 



Hedge Hyssop, etc.— T. M. Cole- 

 man, Glendon, Iowa, on Aug. 28, 1888, 

 writes : 



I send you apart of a plant which grows 

 in a corner of my lot, that I do not recollect 

 of ever seeing before this season. It grows 

 about 6 to 7 feet high, and the bees work on 

 it as if they liked it. Will you please state, 

 in the Bee Jouhxal, what it is. 



Bees are doing nothing as to surplus 

 honey. My colonies have been strong all 

 the season, and I have not had an ounce of 

 honey and no swarms this season. The 

 most of tneni stored in about enough to 

 winter on. from the linden trees, of which 

 I have a good beerange. 



[This is "hedge hyssop" (Lophanfhus 

 scrophularifoUtis) : like most of the mint 

 family, it is an e.xcellent honey-plant.- T. 

 J. Burrill.] 



Excessive Swarming-, etc. — Mr. 



Franklin Wilcox, Mauston, Wis., on Sept. 

 10, 1888, writes : 



The bees have not worked " according to 

 rule" this season. They wintered fairly 

 well, but dwindled verv badly in the spring. 

 1 had 3 swarms in June ; they swarmed 

 almost every day from the middle of July 

 to Sept. 4. I havp kept bees for 20 years, 

 and I have never had so much swarming as 

 this year. I hived nearly all the first 

 swarms on full combs on the old stands, cut 



out queen-cells, and hived back after- 

 swarms ; in this way all colonies have been 

 kept strong. The crop of honey is better 

 than last season, though rather below an 

 average. The hooey season usually ends 

 by Aug. 20, but this year it continued good 

 till Sept. 4, since which time only the buds 

 of black-oak have yielded a clear, fine- 

 flavored nectar. From sunrise till 9 o'clock 

 it may be seen in drops on the ends ot dark- 

 colored, shining buds. It is no honey-dew. 

 It has lasted a week or more. I never saw 

 it before, and may never see it again. 



Happily IMsappointed. — Rev. S. 

 Roese, Maiden Rock, Wis., on September 1, 



1888, says : 



The very heavy rains have ceased here, 

 and we have now'had 10 days' fair weather, 

 after the winter wheat in shocks was nearly 

 spoiled, and all other crops but corn (so tar) 

 a total failure. We have had for the last 

 week or so, a fair honey-flow, and I feel 

 happily disappointed. The bees are taking 

 advantage ot this opportunity. Since my 

 la.st report 1 have extracted over 4U0 lbs. of 

 houey, and take oH about the same number 

 of pounds of comb houey, for which I feel 

 thankful. 



Honey Coming in Freely.— J. E. 



Pryor, Dexter, Iowa, on Sept. 13, 1888, 



writes : 



Up to Aug. 1 our bees scarcely stored 

 enough honey to keep them from starving ; 

 in fact, ill June we had to feed to keep them 

 breeding. But .since Aug. 1.5 I think 1 

 never saw bees do any belter. I have had 

 10 or 13 swarms since Aug. 22, all of which 

 will have considerable surplus honey. 

 Swarms that were hived on full frames of 

 foundation, had their hives filled with 

 honey to the exclusion of the queens, in 

 from 4 to 6 days. The honey is ot the finest 

 quality of tall honey, very thick and heavy, 

 and is still coming in quite freely. Our 

 bees will he in splendid condition for win- 

 ter. I increa.sed my apiary from 48 to 76 

 colonies, by natural swarming. 



Bee-Keepers' Union. — Dr. H. J. 



Scoles, KnoxviUe, Iowa, on Sept. 10, 1888, 



says : 



As to the change ot time of election of 

 officers and payment of dues to the Bee- 

 Keepers' Union, I vote "No!" I think 

 that it would be a detriment to the Union, 

 and decrease the membership instead of in- 

 creasing it. It wuulil lu'ing the election 

 and renewal of membership at a time when 

 the bees are in winter quarters, and there is 

 no fear or talk ot the bees interfering with 

 anyone; and all would rest content, and 

 be more likely to forget, than they would if 

 it came at a time when it required attention. 



TT^ The 6th annual meeting, and basket picnic, of 

 the Progressive Bee-Keepers' Association will be 

 held on Wedneslav. Sept. 2fi. I'-ss, at the residence 

 of Mr. W.S Wait, ill Newburg, Geauga Co.. Ohio. All 

 are invited to be present. UE«A BEXNETT. Sec. 



C:^?" The Cedar Valley Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will hold its annual meeting at the Council Kooms, 

 Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Sept. l'5 and 2H. 1KS.S. All who 

 are interested in bees and honey are cordially invi- 

 ted to be present. J. J. Owens, Sec. 



A Modern UEE.FAR:TI, and its 



Economic Management ; showing how bees 

 may be cultivated as a means of livelihood ; 

 as a health-giving pursuit ; and as a source 

 of recreation to the busy man. By S. 

 Simmins. For sale at this office. Price, $1, 

 postpaid. 



