Most parties report bees to have died in March after the severest weather had passed. Is this not additional proof that loss was caused by aged bees going into winter quarters and becoming worn out, and insufficiency of stores? One report before me gives eleven starved out of thirteen. Bees in some localities are doing remarkably well this spring. Fresh honey is being stored in abundance, combs having honey from top to bottom, and here we feel confident some of our colonies, unless there is a sudden change in the weather, will require extracting before the end of the week and the prospects are that beekeepers will reap an abundant harvest.
--“Money in Potatoes” is the title of a valuable and instructive little manual published by the Franklin News Co. of Phila., Pa., which they kindly sent us for review.
--Mr. A. I. Root of Medina, Ohio, has also sent us a potato book entitled the A B C of Potato Culture, written by T. B. Terry of Hudson, Ohio, which is well illustrated and printed in good clear type.
Mr. Henry Alley, of Wenham, Mass., has submitted for review, the proof sheets of the latest edition of the “Beekeeper’s Handy Book.” Our reason for not waiting until the work was complete was because it will be placed on the market at about the same time that our subscribers receive their journal.
Mr. Alley’s former work was an invaluable addition to bee literature, giving as it did, not only the most scientific, systematic and practical method of raising queen bees, but also many other items of interest and much valuable information, gleaned from an intimate acquaintance with beekeeping of about twenty-seven years. The present work, however, surpasses the former in every respect, and no beekeeper can afford to do without it.
The instructions given have been thoroughly tested by the author who has made a success of the business, and these instructions are presented to the reader in a simple matter-of-fact way: They are, in fact, the concise description of the every-day experiences, for nearly twenty-seven years, of a thoroughly practical apiarist who has mastered every branch of the business.
This work contains about 300 pages, and nearly one hundred illustrations.
While we have other valuable works on Apiculture, yet none of them fill the position occupied by the “Handy Book,” and no matter what works one may have this one should be procured, as it will more than return its cost each season.