May 2b, 19U4. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



381 



the queen, then lift out the Irauie carefully, 

 and if the bees are not quiet I wait a few sec- 

 onds, then find a clear spot about the middle 

 of the frame and let her walk out. 1 watch 

 her a little and see that she is received all 

 right, then put the frame in place. Should 

 the bees undertake to ball her, I have dropped 

 the ball in water, and they will leave her 

 quickly. I then daub a little honey on her 

 and let her go. But I have never had but two 

 queens balled in all that I have ever clipped. 



When I left the South I bad 5t; colonies; all 

 have their queens clipped. Now, if they 

 swarm I will probably lose the queen, but the 

 swarm will return to its hive. 



I am in favor of a good bee-house. I have 

 all of my bees in one, excepting 14 colonies. 

 It is far more pleasant for them than those 

 outside. There is no danger of robbing, and 

 I can work rain or shine. 



I see that a good many build their bee-sheds 

 wrong, according to my notion. If I was 

 building a shed with the roof running one 

 way, say facing the south, have that the low- 

 est, have the eaves on the south. You want 

 it the highest in the rear. No one should 

 stand in front of a hive to manipulate the 

 frames. My bee-house in the South is ant- 

 proof. The sills are set in cement piers made 

 of brick. This space is three inches wide all 

 around. Ants in the South are quite bad. 

 The only one that does much harm is the big, 

 black ant. Roaches do no damage, I think, 

 but I generally kill them when I find them 

 around the hives. 



I rather think the honey crop will not be 

 large, as there are too many dead colonies, 

 and some will not take care of what is left as 

 they should. 



I rather admire the way L. V. Ricketts goes 

 for those bee-men that think they own the 

 earth. I rather think " hog " would fit them. 

 R. L. McCOLLET. 



Wood Co., Ohio, May 6. 



Hard Winter— Fine Spring. 



The past was a hard winter on bees in this 

 -ocality — about 60 percent lost. It is a fine 

 spring so far, however, for the bees that are 

 left. H. D. Talladt. 



Emmet Co., Mieh., May 13. 



Bees Wintered in Cellars. 



Bees are nearly all wintered in cellars here, 

 nevertheless the result of the past winter 

 shows a loss of from 25 to 40 percent. Our 

 spring has been slow, with a "promise to 

 stay," but with the exception of a slight chill 

 at present, the past two weeks have been ex- 

 <jeedingly fine, and the bees have gathered 

 freely from willow and soft maple. 



Todd Co., Minn., May 11. E. S. Roe. 



Cellar-Wintering of Bees. 



Well, the winter weather ceased all of a 

 sudden a week ago last Friday. April 22. The 

 temperature had been holding close around 20 

 to 35 degrees above zero for some time, with 

 some snow and much high wind. Since April 

 22 the mercury has averaged about TO degrees, 

 and as high as 78 degrees, and scarcely wind 

 enough to tell from what direction it came. 

 Box-elder, elm, soft maple, red cedar, wil- 

 lows, ash, and a few other trees, are in full 

 bloom, and it seems like a dream that the bees 

 have been confined in the cellar, wrapped in 

 winter garb, for 157 days, when you see them 

 tumbling one another gathering honey, and 

 keeping it up for a week. The result of my 

 wintering is as follows: 



"Wagner Yard," 20 colonies packed in 

 straw Nov. 5; unpacked April 25 — 12 colo- 

 nies dead (1 queenless, the rest starved with 

 honey still in the hives;, s colonies living, 

 with laying queens and but a quart-cup size 

 of a cluster. Enough of such weather as last 

 week has been will put theui in shape for the 

 July white clover. 



The home yard, of 111 colonies, wintered in 

 the house-cellar, 18 colonies dead, of which 

 about 'i, were queenless, drone-layers, or lay- 

 ing workers. The other '-., were mostly 

 starved colonies, caused, I think, in part, by 

 too many colonies for the size of the cellar 

 (14x16 feet), with cement floor, bricked sides, 



LOSS BY LICE 



.iniUry amounts to nuiny lini.'S 

 .usi ofLamberfKDcsith to 

 ■*■ — tbe sure preveuiivu. A 11 

 ; nan bo saved and more proUt 

 lie by the use of this famous 

 iler. Itfrees setting hens from 

 e pests without harminp eggs 

 rliicks. A trial box 10c will 

 nve it. 100 oz.,byexpress, $1.00. 

 '■I'ocket Book Fointers" fret' 

 J. Lambert. 6oi 701. Apponaug, R I. 



SEND=TO = US 



for everything in Bee-Keepers' Supplies. 



We Have It 



at Factory Prices. Can ship Quick. We 

 are agent's of li. B. Lewis Co., Chas. Da- 

 dant & Sou, and other leading manu- 

 facturers. Wholesale and Retail. 



Louis Hanssen's Sons 



21J-:;i5W. Second Street, 

 DAVENPORT, - IOWA. 



Please mention the Bee Journal. 



WB ARE 



HEADQUARTERS FOR THE WEST 



for complete line of 



Bee-Keepers' Supplies. 



Send for our large illustrated Catalog. 

 Address, 



LEAHY MFG. GO., Dept. ft, 



1730 South 13th St.. OMAHA, Nebr. 



If you want the Bee-Book 



That covers the whole Apicultural Field more 



completely than any other published. 



Send $1.20 to 



Prof. A. J. Cook, Claremont, Cal., 



FOR HIS 



" Bee=Keeper's Guide." 



Liberal Discounts to the Trade. 



ITALIAN QUEERS, BEES AND NUCLEI 



Choice home-bred and 



Select Imported Stock. 



All Queens reared in full 



colonies. 



One Untested Queen $1.10 



" Tested Queen 1.50 



" Selected " 1.65 



" Breeder " 2.7S 



*' Comb Nucleus (no 



Queen) 1.40 



Tested Select Breed- 

 _ ers and Nuclei ready 



now ; Untested in May. Safe arrival 

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For prices on quantities and description of 

 each grade of Queens, send for free Prlce-List. 



J. L. STRONG. 

 204 East Logan Street, CLARINDA, IOWA. 



Here's Your Chance! 



3 L.frames sealed brood, well covered 

 with bees, and a good Queen, $2.50. 



3 pounds black bees and Queen, one 

 L,. frame brood and honey, $2.00. 



Q. W. GATES, Bartlett, Tenn. 



Queen-Clipping Device Free! 



The MoNBTTE Queen-Clipping 

 Device is a fine thing for use in 

 catching and clipping Queens' 

 wings. It is used by many bee- 

 keepers. Full printed directions 

 sent with each one. We mail it for 

 25cent6; or will send it FREE as 

 a premivim lor sending us One 

 1 Nevp subscriber to the Bee Journal 

 ifor a vi-'ar at $1.00; or for SI. 10 we 

 will mail the Bee Journal one year 

 and the ClippiriL' Device. Address, 

 nEOROH W. YORK & CO., 



- CHICAGO, ILL. 



lathed and plastered overhead and over the 

 briek sides. One window 12x.'10 inches, open- 

 ing to the north out under the kitchen, with 

 stone foundation, and another of like dimen- 

 sions open to the outside in the west with a 

 blanket hanging over it. A .'ixil toot door at 

 the north opening up into another room, all 

 open all the time. The temperature was 52 

 degrees most of the time, never below 4S de- 

 grees or above 55 degrees. 



The dead bees were swept up from the cel- 

 lar Hoor and weighed as follows: 



Put into the cellar Nov. IS. Deo. 18 

 weighed 4 pounds; Deo. 24, 3 pounds; .Jan. 

 33, 18 pounds ; Feb. 12, 7I4 pounds ; Feb. 25, 

 30 pounds ; March 18. 36 pounds ; March 28. 5 

 pounds; April 7, 6 pounds; April 33, 00 

 pounds. Total 159 pounds. (157 days). 



Owing to the crowded condition of the cel- 

 lar, it was hard to get at all the sweeping 

 space, and at times the job was done more 

 thoroughly than at others, hence the great 

 differences in amounts secured. The last 

 clean-up of 60 pounds was partly due to reach' 

 ing corners not accessible, and the great fatal- 

 ity during the last week's confinement. One 

 colony was dead Dec. 1, 3 on Jan. 1, and all 

 the rest were alive and apparently strong, ex- 

 cepting 8 or 10 colonies, up to April 15 or 29. 

 Several colonies that were yet uuly alive on 

 taking them from the cellar, were destitute of 

 stores, and revived (and are doing well) after 

 being ted. 



I concluded that cellar-wintering is the best 

 for this latitude, and not much less than 20 

 cubic feet of cellar-space, with some better 

 ventilating system'than merely doors and win- 

 dows. Also, that from 50 to 55 degrees is too 

 warm, and that the bees consume more honey 

 at the high temperature than at a slightly 

 too low a temperature. Also, that a 10-frame 

 hive should weigh not much less than 60 

 pounds with the bees and 9 frames of honey. 



Sioux Co., Iowa, May 1. F. W. Hall. 



CellaF-Wintepini: of Bees. 



I placed 62 colonies of bees in the cellar the 

 last week of November, and took them out 

 April 4 and .t — 60 colonies alive and 2 dead. 

 The temperature of the cellar was 'M degrees, 

 with no ventilation. The cellar was also very 

 dry. 



About 90 percent of the bees that were win- 

 tered out-of-doors are dead ; true, many of the 

 colonies are weak. 



My 20 acres of alsike clover is completely 

 winter-killed, also a strong 50 percent of all 

 white clover. Will Dr. Miller please tell us 

 where, or from what source, our big crop of 

 honey is going to comel J. W. Jounson. 



Stephenson Co., 111., May 5. 



Wintering Bees— Home-Made Hives. 



My bees came through the winter with some 

 loss, but better than I expected, considering 

 the long confinement — from Nov. 15, 1903, — 

 and their not having a flight until March 10, 

 1904. I have honey galore from those colo- 

 nies that died. The honey froze so hard and 

 the cold was so intense, and held on so long, 

 they could not move, and they starved with 

 all this rich store of honey in sight, and the 

 mercury playing around zero for 3 months. I 

 had my bees on the summer stands, with out- 

 side case, with chaff cushion on and well pro- 

 tected, and still the loss was great. 



Now, how am I to prepare for next winter? 

 That is the question that confronts me, as I 

 have no cellar under my house. The winter 

 problem of bees has knocked the wind out of 

 me. Now, fellow bee-keepers, what shall we 

 do to prevent this great loss of bees again? 



I have before me a statement in the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal of April 14, 1904, which 

 looks reasonable, as I know by experience. I 

 am a mechanic and I have made lots of hives 

 at a cost of §1.00 per hive. I have made and 

 sold them, and beat the manufacturer in 

 prices and durability. Whyisthis; I have 

 before me some half-dozen catalogs and they 

 tally to a cent in prices. A bee-keeper need 

 not look through glasses to know that it 

 means a combine or trust. I tor one shall 

 make my own hives and will produce chunk 

 honey and render it out, before I will pay 

 such prices for the sections and supplies. I 

 will take Mr. Hutchinson'sadvice : Make your 



