Chapter M: G. Reynolds

Williamsburg, Ind., March 7, 1881.

=First Year's Experience.=—Bees done poorly here last season.
There was an abundance of bloom, but too much rain. I sowed
1 acre of buckwheat; while this lasted my bees stored more
honey than at any other time in the season; I think it an
excellent honey plant. Pumpkin blossoms yield considerable
honey; would it pay to plant them all over a field of corn?
My bees are packed in chaff, and they are all in good
condition at present. They have not had a flight since the
1st of Nov. Success to the Weekly BEE JOURNAL; I like it
better than the Monthly.

WM. HAGAN.

Holly, Mich., Jan. 18, 1881.

[Pumpkin blossoms yield a rich, but strongly flavored honey; we think the pumpkins would be remunerative for their cultivation to feed to stock, and that the honey obtained from the blossoms would be a net profit.—ED.]

=Summer a long way off.=—This winter has been, so far, the
most severe known for many years in this part of the State.
Snow-storm has followed snow-storm, and cold spell has
followed cold spell, until now there is more snow on the
ground than we have had altogether for 6 or 7 years. And the
poor bees! how have they fared through all the snow and cold?
Badly, I fear from the reports I hear every few days; but so
far as heard from, where they were properly cared for, either
in cellar or on summer stands, they are doing quite well; but
summer is a long way off.

HARRY G. BURNET.

Blairstown, Iowa, March 5, 1881.

=A Little Discouraged.=—I am a little discouraged this
spring. I put 54 colonies into winter quarters last fall
and now have but 23, and some of them are weak. Those in
my bee-house suffered the worst. I had 20 colonies on the
summer stands, packed with cut straw, and lost 6 of them by
dysentery and starvation. If bees are strong in numbers and
have plenty of honey, I can see that there is no danger of
loss. Last season it was so dry here that the white clover
dried up, and the bees could get but little honey, and what
they did gather was very dark. I am glad to receive the BEE
JOURNAL weekly now; the news comes and seems so _fresh_. I
hope it will be well supported.

J. W. RIKIE.

Mont Clair, N. J., March 6, 1881.

=Why Did They Die?=—Last fall I put my bees into a dry
cellar; some of them had 75 lbs. of honey, and in 4 or 5
weeks there were many dead bees. I cleaned them up but in a
few weeks more they all died; what was the cause of this?
Over 80 per cent. of all the bees in this vicinity are dead.

R. L. HOLMAN.

Springfield, Ohio, Feb. 19, 1881.

[Your colonies were strong, had a large quantity of honey, and the cellar was too warm; they commenced breeding, became uneasy, and left their hives from disquietude.—ED.]

=Wintered Without Loss.=—I packed 41 colonies and they
are now all living, and nearly all appear to be in good
condition. My bees are flying to-day. Many bee-keepers in
this country have lost heavily, and are much disheartened. I
hope to be able to make a good showing when I report again,
say about May 1.

J. J. ROE.

Buchanan, Mich., March 9, 1881.

CONVENTION
NOTES
]

Champlain Valley, Vt., Convention.

This Association held its winter meeting at Brandon, Vt., on Jan. 20, 21, 1881. Pres. Crane in the chair. Col. H. H. Merritt gave an address of welcome, to which Pres. Crane replied, stating the object of the meeting and giving a brief narration of the ancient history of the honey bee, and of its improved management in the present age.

Mr. A. E. Manum said success depended on the man and circumstances. The bee-keeper should be a person of even temperament—not easily excited—should be somewhat acquainted with botany; and recommended small section boxes, to hold not more than 2 lbs. Everything should be kept ready and in order. He gave an estimate of produce in a good season with Italian bees, and also a poor season like the past.

Mr. O. C. Wait, of Georgia, said that experience had shown that bee-keeping was no mystery or sleight of hand, but a clear, plain, practical science. Bee-keepers were an intelligent, enterprising class of men; men of progress. No intelligent man would destroy his bees.

After some discussion Mr. Manum exhibited some of his honey boxes, and explained their uses and advantages.

Bees were advantageous in the orchard, and to the buckwheat crop, as he had satisfactorily demonstrated. Some doubts had been expressed to the value of the red clover blossom on account of the inability of the bee to reach the nectary; Italians have the advantage over black bees, because they are provided with greater length of proboscis.

Pres. Crane said he had noticed bees working in red clover early and late in the season; bees will not work where they get no honey.

In the evening, after a few preliminaries, Mr. E. A. Hasseltine read a sensible and witty poem on “Prospects and Retrospects,” which was well received by the audience.

The talk on Sweets, by Prof. Seely, was a learned dissertation on the chemical properties and qualities of the various kinds of sweets that are offered in our markets. He exhibited over 20 different kinds of sugar; spoke of the various substances from which sugar was extracted, as trees, plants, roots and fruits; some specimens would solidify sooner than others; sugar from cane, corn, beets and maple, were all of the same chemical formation.

J. E. Crane spoke on the Individuality of Bees; there was a marked difference in the character of colonies, some were industrious, others not so; some prefer some kinds of flowers, others reject them; Italians dislike buckwheat, while black bees work well on it. Every colony has some peculiar character. He showed several samples of honey from different flowers, and explained their various qualities, and also exhibited specimens of bees from the Holy Land.

Dr. F. Bond said that the Creator had placed the sweets in flowers to attract the bee, to carry out nature's laws, by carrying the fertilizing pollen to the unfertile flower, and thus showing a wise and beneficent Providence.

On Friday, Jan. 21, after some preliminary business, the following were elected officers for the ensuing year: President, J. E. Crane; Vice-Presidents, H. L. Leonard, E. P. Wolcott, E. A. Hasseltine; Secretary and Treasurer, Hon. T. Brookins.

Mr. O. C. Wait spoke of the bad condition he found honey in the Boston market, and of the manner of awarding premiums at fairs.

Mr. Manum remarked that it was important to have good queens, he advised all to raise their own; old queens were best to rear queens from, say 2 years old or more; it is best to rear queens in warm weather, when honey is plenty.

The question “how to prevent bees from dwindling” Mr. Leonard answered thus: In this case as in all other ills to which bee-keepers are heir to, keep the colony strong and healthy. Mr. Leonard read an essay on “Bee-culture for Women,” giving instances of marked success. He said women in Vermont were as capable and had as good facilities as in any part of the country, and would succeed as well, if attended to.

Adjourned to meet at Bristol, Vt., in May next.

T. BROOKINS, _Sec._

Local Convention Directory.

1881. _Time and Place of Meeting._

April 2—S. W. Iowa, at Corning, Iowa.
5—Central Kentucky, at Winchester, Ky.
Wm. Williamson, Sec., Lexington, Ky.
7—Union Association, at Eminence, Ky.
E. Drane, Sec. pro tem., Eminence, Ky.
7—N. W. Ohio, at Delta, Ohio.
13—N. W. Missouri, at St. Joseph, Mo.
D. G. Parker, Pres., St. Joseph, Mo.
May 4—Tuscarawas and Muskingum Valley, at Cambridge,
Guernsey Co., O.
J. A. Bucklew, Sec., Clarks, O.
5—Central Michigan, at Lansing, Mich.
10—Cortland Union, at Cortland, N. Y.
C. M. Bean, Sec., McGrawville, N. Y.
11—S. W. Wisconsin, at Darlington, Wis.
N. E. France, Sec., Platteville, Wis.
Sept. — —National, at Lexington, Ky.
— —Kentucky State, at Louisville, Ky.
Oct. 18—Ky. State, in Exposition B'd'g, Louisville, Ky.
W. Williamson, Sec., Lexington, Ky.

☞ In order to have this Table complete, Secretaries are requested to forward full particulars of time and place of future meetings.—ED.

CLUBBING LIST.

We supply the Weekly =American Bee Journal= and any of the following periodicals, for 1881, at the prices quoted in the last column of figures. The first column gives the regular price of both:

_Publishers' Price._ _Club._

The Weekly Bee Journal (T. G. Newman) $2 00
and Gleanings in Bee-Culture (A. I. Root) 3 00 2 75
Bee-Keepers' Magazine (A. J. King) 3 00 2 60
Bee-Keepers' Exchange (J. H. Nellis) 2 75 2 50
The 4 above-named papers 4 75 3 75
Bee-Keepers' Instructor (W. Thomas) 2 50 2 35
Bee-Keepers' Guide (A. G. Hill) 2 50 2 35
The 6 above-named papers 5 75 5 00
Prof. Cook's Manual (bound in cloth) 3 25 3 00
Bee-Culture (T. G. Newman) 2 40 2 25

For Semi-monthly Bee Journal, $1.00 less.
For Monthly Bee Journal, $1.50 less.

Honey and Beeswax Market.

BUYERS' QUOTATIONS.

CHICAGO.

HONEY.—The market is plentifully supplied with honey, and sales are slow at weak, easy prices. Quotable at 18@20c. for strictly choice white comb in 1 and 2 lb. boxes; at 14@16c. for fair to good in large packages, and at 10@12c. for common dark-colored and broken lots.—_Chicago Times._

BEESWAX.—Choice yellow, 20@24c; dark, 15@17c.

NEW YORK.

HONEY.—Best white comb honey, small neat packages, 17@18c.; fair do., 15@16c.; dark do., 12@13c.; large boxes sell for about 2c. under above. White extracted, 9@10c.; dark, 7@8c.; southern strained, 80@85c.

BEESWAX.—Prime quality, 20@23c.

CINCINNATI.

HONEY.—The market for extracted clover honey is very good, and in demand at 11c. for the best, and 8@9c. for basswood and dark honey. Comb honey is of slow sale at 16c. for the best.

BEESWAX.—18@24c.