348 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



May 12 1"^' 4. 



10 to 15 cents per pound on the ground, and I 

 could sell more if I had it. 



I intend to buy 5 or 6 colonies and increase 

 to 15 this summer. The liasswood did not 

 bloom last summer, so I think there will be a 

 good crop of basswood honey the coming 

 summer. 



There was a sort of bee-mouse which de- 

 stroyed a good many bees and combs, but I 

 soon put an end to that. The mouse is about 

 2 inches long, and has no eyes, very sleek, 

 with short hair, and a short tail. I can't give 

 it a better name than a '' bee- mouse." 



We are having nice weather here. The elm 

 and box elder are in full bloom, and soon the 

 fiowers will bloom. We had two nice rains 

 this week, and that is what has made every- 

 thing look green. 



I received a few double numbers of the 

 " Old Reliable," in which I found much to 

 read that was of interest. B. F. Schmidt. 



Clayton Co., Iowa, April 'J5. 



Prospects Look Bright. 



My bees wintered well ; I lost only 5 colo- 

 nies out of ISO. I wintered 100 colonies in 

 the cellar and 80 in an out-shed. I lost 8 in 

 the shed, and they left from 35 to 30 pounds 

 of honey in the hives. The bees are begin- 

 ning to work a little, carrying in the first pol- 

 len to-day. We had a very severe winter 

 here, and it still keeps cold. The prospects 

 lor a good season are looking liright, and my 

 bees are ail in good condition. 



I hope the good work of the American Bee 

 Journal will keep steadily on. 



Wm. J. Healt. 



Iowa Co., Wis., April 18. 



Severest Winter— Hardy Bees. 



The past was the severest winter in this 

 State experienced for 30 years. The mercury 

 reached 38 degrees below zero, and did not 

 rise above zero at one time for 30 days in suc- 

 cession. In this vicinity there was an almost 

 total loss of out-of-doors wintered bees. 

 There was about the usual loss of from 5 to 10 

 percent of those in cellars, where they had 

 suflioient stores. But owing to the fact that 

 the bees put in but little honey after Aug. 1, 

 some through carelessness did not feed, and 

 several in this vicinity lost their entire apia- 

 ries, through starvation in their cellars. 



An incident of remarkal-)le hardiness in bees 

 came under my observation. Three years ago 

 last summer a colony of black bees, slightly 

 crossed with Italians, took possession of a 

 squirrel-house, about 30 feet from the ground 

 in a large poplar tree standing on the east 

 shore of the lake in this city. The house is 

 33 inches long, IS inches wide, and 18 inches 

 high, well made of double thickness of inch 

 boards, with an entrance 4x5 inches, with a 

 back window 4x5 inches filled with glass. 

 The colony came through the -past winter in 

 good shape, making their first ilight the 

 first warm day in March. The location is the 

 coldest in this vicinity, being entirely unpro- 

 tected, and exposed to the north and west 

 winds from across the lake. With such a 

 colony of bees the problem of wintering 

 would be solved. Loren Edwards. 



Waukesha Co., Wis., May 3. 



Heavy Losses in Wintering. 



The bees at the out-yard are as follows: 12 

 colonies alive, 2 of which are very weak ; 8 

 colonies dead. Cause not ascertained. They 

 were packed with straw on the summer 

 stands, I think in good shape. Bees had no 

 flight from Nov. 15 to March 30. Owing to 

 the inability to do so, I did not unpack them, 

 hence I can only guess that the continuous 

 zero weather was too much for them. 



The 111 colonies here in my home cellar did 

 better. Five colonies are dead outright, per- 

 haps as many more very weak, and prol)ably 

 about the same number medium weak. The 

 balance are apparently very strong. To give 

 a better idea, those classed as very weak 

 occupy a portion of the space between 4 to ij 

 frames, and those very strong occupy all the 

 frames, and sopae of the bees are hanging be- 

 low them. I think it is safe to expect all to 



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