1885 



(iLEANlNHS IN 1?EE CULTURE, 



247 



open. Several bee-keepers here have lost their en- 

 tiro apiary in the last six weeks; others one-half. 

 Outlook seems to show very few live bees for 

 spring- in this locality. E, F. Wilcox. 



La Grange, O., Feb. 19, 188.5. 



Friend W., I should say it was the honey- 

 dew tliat killed them, witliout question ; but 

 I confess myself unable to give any explana- 

 tion as to why the bees in Simplicity hivos 

 should have fared better. Were their stores 

 exactly the same a,s tiie others"? We re- 

 member your locality as one where honey- 

 dew was plentiful. Tthink stores of sugar 

 syrup in place of the honey-dew would have 

 saved them. See tlie report from your 

 neighbor Dan White, in anotiier column. 



" Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and 

 shaved them, and cut off their garments in the 

 midst hard bv their buttocks, and sent them away." 

 —I. Chron. 19:4. 



That is just as we bee-keepers feel here in Harri- 

 rison Co., this spring, for the bees come up missing. 

 I will give you a report of .5 apiaries. Mr. Cavin, 60 

 in fall; spring, 0. Montear, TO in fall; 2 left. Shil- 

 ling, 28 in fall; 2 left. Hines, 50in fall; half gone, 

 last report. Self, 13 in fall ; 4 yet. 



So let the wide world wag as it will, 

 We'll hee gay and happy still. 



Jewett, O., Mar. 20, 1885. David Lucas. 



FROM 56 TO 76, AND 7(0.1 LBS. ()!■' HONEV. 



AST year was my first years experience \V^th 

 bees. The bees that I have got do not belong- 

 to me. 1 am working them on shares. Last 

 spring- 1 started with 56 colonies, which I in- 

 creased to 74. 1 extracted about 7C00 U)s. of 

 honey. We have very good indications of a good 

 iioney season this year. I saw drones in our apiary 

 on the 2d inst. Dees were gathering pollen very 

 rapidly on the 4th inst. Wo had some very hard 

 weather here lately. The snow fell Ji'i inches deep; 

 on the 12th inst. the wind was from the north-east, 

 consequently the snow blew in and blocked up the 

 entrances, but I cleaned tliem out. Would it have 

 hurt them to have loft tiiom alone until the snow 

 melted, which it did in about 48 hours'? My boos are 

 in Simplicity hives. F. S. Et.DER. 



Lake Village, Ark., Feb. 19, 1885. 



Friend E., the snow around the entrance 

 will do no harm, no matter liovv long it is 

 left. The snow is so loose and porous, tluit 

 the air always gets through in sullicient 

 (luantities. Disturbing or brushing the snow 

 away may slir I he bees up, and do harm. 

 Don't meddle with the snow. 



too much direct ventilation, by which one of our 

 most learned and scientific bee-men in this neigh- 

 borhood has lost heavily this winter. So far this 

 has been a hard winter on bees. I know of but two 

 who have not lost heavily. This is my first report. 

 Nokomis, 111., Mar. 6, 1885. E. Sandford. 



E. SANDFORD S REPORT. 



I went into winter quarters with 7;J colonies— 6 nu- 

 clei and 30 rather weak; all seem to have wintered 

 very well, with the usual amount of dead bees in 

 each colony. I wintered mostly on 10 frames, 

 whether weak or strong. I use the 10-frame Sim- 

 l)licity hive; and in fixing- for winter I took off the 

 enameled cloth and put on a very thin muslin, and 

 that so late that they could not wax or seal it before 

 cold weather. I then filled the top story with corn 

 silks, well pressed down, leaving the entrance 8x?8 

 open. The advantages this method of packing has 

 over cushions ai-e, there are no crevices, causing 



FRO.M 25 TO 40, AND 2770 LBS. OF HONEY. 



I must say a word for my bees. Last April, when 

 I returned from Florida, I found them all alive but 

 two colonies, 25 in all, generally in good condition. 

 Bee-men in general complained of the season being 

 very poor. As for myself, 1 have no reason to com- 

 plain. I extracted 1740 lbs.; comb honey, 1030 lbs., 

 which makes 111 lbs. and a fraction to the colony, 

 spring count. From one-half to two-thirds of my 

 honey the past season was made from red clover; 

 the rest from white clover, our only source of honey 

 in this part of the State. I have increased the past 

 season to 40 colonies, all strong, and full of honey at 

 this writing-. J. F. Miller. 



Millersburg-, Ky., Feb. 23, 1885. 



>iv report for 1884. 



We commenced the season with 6 colonies, and in- 

 creased to 18; sold 4 of them for $.50.00 before we ex- 

 tracted any, and from the 14 that were left we ex- 

 tracted a little over 1200 lbs., so we have now 14 to 

 commence with this year. How do you think this 

 will do for a beginner'? Mrs. P. H. Hall. 



Luling, Texas, March 16, 1885. 



Tiptop, my fri end. 



O.NLV ONE lost OUT OF 80. 



I have lost only one colony out of eighty. My 

 bees are in the best condition I ever had them at 

 this time of the season. M.\i) T.\lbert. 



Morrlstown, Ind., Mar. 9, 18a5. 



ONLY TWO lost OUT OF 7.5. 



Bees in this section are faring rather hard this 

 winter. I have lost only 2 out of 75, up to date, but 

 I hear that manj' around here have lost heavily, 

 while others have lost all. N. Case. 



Orangeville, O., March 9, 1885. 



a GOOD report FROM MISSOURI. 



To-day I examined four swarms of my bees to get 

 them to rearing drones; some are rearing brood, 

 and one had sealed brood. I never saw bees in finer 

 condition, nor stronger, so early in the spring. I 

 have 35 colonies, all are alive, and took a good Ily 

 today. Bees are packed In chaff, and no dead col- 

 onies. I shall run 100 nuclei for queens this sum- 

 mer, and more if needed. G. A. Beech. 



Quitman, Mo., Feb. 27, 1885. 



a QUESTION FOR FRIEND DOOLITTLE. 



N Gleanings, Feb., 1885, Mr. G. M. Doolittle, in 

 his article on comb honey, says he puts 5 or 6 

 frames of empty comb for a new swarm. What 

 does he do with the remainder of the space? 

 Does he put in the remainder of the frames 

 empty, or does he put in division-boards? An an- 

 swer would greatly oblige. I consider Feb. 1st No. 

 of Gleanings worth the price for a whole year. 

 Set me down as a life subscriber. E. W. James. 

 Summit Grove, Ind., March 9, 1885. 

 [Thank you, friend J. I presume friend D. meant 

 to use a division-board; but if the colony were large 

 enough, and needed more room, I think he would 

 put in more empty combs. Will he please answer?! 



