1890 



gi.p:anin(;s in bep: ( TLTriiE. 



289 



tion box, only the slot waa made about r% deep, so 

 that the top-bar was somethinjr like this, and li in. 



thick. I notice we have fewer brace-combs on these 

 bars than any I have used; but I don't like the fixed 

 distances. J. H. Skider. 



Salt Lake City, Utah, Mar. IX 



I am well aware, friend S., that you have 

 excellent hay from sweet clover in the vi- 

 cinity of Salt Lake City ; but is not the 

 clover somewhat different there, on account 

 of the alkaline nature of the soil, from what 

 it is with us? We are very glad indeed to 

 get your testimony ; and I will try this year 

 to cut some sweet clover while in blossom. 

 My experiments heretofore have been with 

 the plant long before blossoming. I do not 

 believe, however, that sweet clover can be 

 made to flourish here as it does with you. — 

 I am inclined to think that 99 bee-keepers 

 out of every 100 will say as you do, that they 

 do not like fixed distances for frames. 



DYSENTERY AND SOURED HONEY IN BOX HIVES. 



I received your ABC some time ago, and have 

 perused it well. I wonder, after reading it, how 

 any man who has but a few colonies can get along 

 without it. I was reading this morning on "Dis- 

 eases of Bens."* I have lost some from bee-dysen- 

 tery. I have the old-fasbioned box hives. 1 took 

 the honey out after the bees were all dead, and I 

 found, by examination, that half the combs were 

 not capped over, and the cold weather had frozen 

 ice over the combs. The steam caused by the bees' 

 breath occasioned this. A warm spell set in and 

 melted the ice, and it ran into those uncapped cells 

 and soured the honey and gave the bees the dysen- 

 tery. This is my opinion. 



I am glad you have lived down all the saloons 

 near you. May God speed the day when there will 

 not be left in this fair land of ours one rum-shop to 

 sell this liquid damnation. 



Very affectionately your co-worker in Christ, 



Asbury, Pa., Mar. 8. Eli Robbins. 



I think your deductions are correct, friend 

 R., and we had much the same state of af- 

 fairs when we used to be troubled with dys- 

 entery. For some reason, however, we have 

 seen very little of it of late years. 



CUSTOMERS, AND T-TO-THE-FOOT SECTIONS. 



It has for some time been a question in my mind 

 as to what is the best width of section to use. I be- 

 lieve we have straighter combs built when we use 

 those 7 to the foot, open all around; but the trouble 

 is, the customers seem to be under the impression 

 that, when they buy a section of honey, they are to 

 have a pound ; and they are so often called a pound 

 section, that, while we may not say there is a full 

 weight, I fear some may think they are being de- 

 ceived. I should like to hear what sized section 

 our leading bee-keepers think is best to use. 



ALFALFA, AND NECESSARY CONDITIONS FOR 

 GROWTH AND HONEY. 



I should like to have any one who is contemplat- 

 ing sowing alfalfa for bee-pasture consider the fact 

 that it is necessary to have very hot sunny weather 

 to bring out the honey. I kuowof but one small 

 patch; and the man who has this says the bees do 

 not work on it much. Although I have not tried it, 

 I believe alsike is much better in this latitude, as 



the bees work on It a great deal. Much of the time 

 my field seems to be just alive with bees. 



Linn, Kan., Feb. iO. .7. T. Van Petten. 



Friend Y., I do not think that anybody 

 can consistently complain because sections 

 do not weigh a full pound, when they are 

 sold by the pound and not by the piece. This 

 matter has been pretty thoroughly discussed 

 at conventions, and the general verdict 

 seemed to be that the great world at large is 

 better pleased with less than a pound than 

 with more. For instance : A customer asks 

 the price of honey. You tell him 18 cts. per 

 lb. Now, if the one-pound section handed 

 out to him costs less than 18 cts. he will not 

 stop to ask questions, nor will he complain. 

 If you tell him honey is 18 cents per pound, 

 and he takes a pound section and is charged 

 20 cents, it retjuires a good deal more talk to 

 make him feel satisfied than the other way. 



RACES OF BEES ; HOW FAR APART TO KEEP PURE. 



How far apart must the different races of bees 

 be kept to be sure of the queens mating purely? 

 One bee-keeper and queen-raiser with whom I have 

 had some dealing, says they will not mix if 80 rods 

 apart, which I think is a grave mistake, if one is in 

 the queen-business. G. S. Wheeler. 



New Ipswich, N. H., Feb. 21. 



Friend W., the talk about " rods '' in the 

 matter mentioned is an absurdity. To pre- 

 vent bees from mixing they must be separat- 

 ed nearly twice the bees' flight — that is, if 

 you want to be absolutely certain about it, 

 and that would mean not less than live or 

 six miles. Most queen-breeders, however, 

 manage in a much cheaper way than mov- 

 ing the bees to such a locality. If there are 

 black drones within half a mile of you, 

 raise so many Italian drones that you have 

 a hundred to one of the black ones, and you 

 will not have much trouble with hybrids. 



spreading brood IN the SPRING A SUCCESS. 



On page 93, Feb. 1, Mrs. L. Harrison takes Mr. 

 Doolittle to task tor his advice to spread the brood 

 in the spring for the purpose of producing strong 

 stocks, and Mrs. H. tells us that it proved to be a 

 total loss, and she therein owns up that she did not 

 strictly adhere to the Doolittle method. Now, 

 right here I wish to go on record as saying that 

 there is no let-alone method or any other method 

 in practical use at the present day, or ever has 

 been, that will produce the working force or 

 strength of colony that the Doolittle contracting 

 and gradual expanding method does. I have tried 

 it faithfully since 1878, making 13 seasons, and not 

 with a few picked colonies, but I have used dozens, 

 and in the same yards with the let-alone method, 

 and the Doolittle method is sure and wins every 

 time. The time that I begin spreading brood 

 varies from the 13th to the 20th of March, and there 

 are dozens of persons who can vouch for the rea- 

 son why I often have bees working in the sections 

 on Decoration day. May 30, building comb. I defy 

 any man to obtain the same strength of colony by 

 any other method ; and it pays, too, because I have 

 two good strong colonies to run full blast on the 

 basswood and sumac. Doolittle has very often cau- 

 tioned against spreading the brood too fast. I ad- 

 vise all to start early, contract close, and let the 

 first lot of brood replace the old wintered bees, be- 

 cause, if you count on the use of the old bees for 



