l8fe 



(;lI":anin(;s In i\ki: cuLtuUlv 



off 2 feet from rip, so I fiiii cut the widest iKtard | 

 without touching- the rip. I have one in my shop 

 that I have made ;?0 Simplicity 8-frame hives from 

 this spring-, with frames and separators and section 

 boxes, and I would not exchang-e it for the liest 

 table in market. r,— E. Sugg. 10 -1:5. 



Box Spring:, *o Yell Co., Ark., May 25. 188.5. 



Friend 8., we thank you for your sugges- 

 tion in regard to extemporizing a buzz-saw 

 table from a gin-stand ; but as these tilings j 

 are not familiar to us Northern folks, we I 

 shall have to confess that we do not quite j 

 understand it, but 1 presume our Southern 

 readers will know all about it.— Are you 

 sure, friend S., tliat you fully utilized all the i 

 honev that has l)een gathered in vour vicini- 

 ty V ■ 



WINTERING BEES. 



How Friend Hard "Wintered Hi 

 Others Failed. 



Bee.s When 



so SOMK F.\CTS ON TOP VENTII..\TION F()l{ CVH- 

 ING DVSEXTERY. 



STARTED two years ago this fall wilh ai colo- 

 nies, all blacks; lost two in wintei-ing-. My e.x- 

 cess was 54 last year, making me 87 colonics. 

 1 bought 5 Italian (queens a year ago of J. S. 

 Harvey, for which 1 paid him .*ll.O(l. I reared 

 25 nice queens last year from them, and had the 

 old ones left, making me 'M in all, pure Italian 

 (jucens. I went iiUo winter quarters with my bees 

 in fine condition, as I thought, and I guess tlTey 

 were. I got thi-ougli the winter with 5:) colonies, all 

 on their wintei- stands. My hives are made of oak, 

 '^i of an inch thick, and I used no wind-break, no 

 cushion, nor any thing of the kind, and my bees 

 went through the winter better than any others 

 through this country. Nearly all the bees through 

 this section are dead. How is this, that mine went 

 through in these light hives without protection'/ 

 I will tell you. At one time during the winter 

 1 fonn<l that my bees had dysentery', and I immedi- 

 ately made top ventilatioTi in my hive so the air 

 could pass through the hive from the bottom to the 

 top and pass out; the bees were all right in a few 

 days. Mr. Edward Voung, a bee-num, was here when 

 I was fixing the ventilator, and he said it was a grand 

 idea, and fixed his bees the same way, and he came 

 through all right. Mr. Root, 1 should like to have 

 your opinion on this ventilation at the top, so the 

 fresh air can pass through the hive, in case of dys- 

 entery, to carry the filthy smell awaj-. Uon't you 

 think it a good thing? Itsa\ed my bees this win- 

 ter, I am satisfied. Uciusseau Hurd. 

 Mt. Erie, HI., .lune IS, iss.',. 

 Friend II., it is a fact, as a great many re- 

 ports scattered tlirough our jotinials" for 

 years past will show, that al)undaut ventila- 

 tion through a hive will save tluMu where 

 other stocks not so ventilated die. Hives 

 split open, tipped over, or left by accident so 

 tiie wind whistles right through them, will 

 winter during a disastrous season, when all 

 the others die. This has been proven over 

 and over again ; anil our directions fdr win- 

 tering, as given in the A B (' book, are all 

 based on this point; viz., letiving the en- 

 trance wide open, and hlling the upper story 

 with loose chaff in a sack of coarse bagging. 



DOOLITTLE'S NEW MODE OF FOEM- 

 ING NUCLEI. 



Doolittle now, the ivoi Id must saj-. 



Is tiiily an honestmian; 

 But in all his dealings with the bees. 



Has a most laborious plan . 



But when I want to fool about 



A lion's secret lair, 

 I always make a point to know 



The lion is not there. 



Just how it is; or comes about, 



I do not wish to say ; 

 But the lion and I are always there 



.\t a different tin\e of day . 



So I'll say nothing: about him now. 



But leave till another day 

 The funny thinjrs I'll show you— 



1 When the lioU"is a^vay) . 



But 1 can make a side remark. 



And have just time to say 

 (While the lion Is otherwise engaged 



And looking another way) , 



That I went to work to make a swarm 



As Doolittle told us to do; 

 And I tcxik a box and wire screens, 



And 1 took a funnel too. 

 So I shook the bees into the box. 



And got the queen in her cage. 

 And so I w-as '• arracfd, all cap-a-pie," 



.\s directed by the sage. 



Ard here he says to jar them well- 

 To knock them up and down 



(May be I've got it a little mixed i, 

 And kick them round the town. 



Then roll them down your cellar staii-s. 



For they need a little rest; 

 And dark and cold let the cellar be,— 

 -Twill suit the bees the best. 



And when three hours have passed away. 

 As thr.-e hours sometimes will, 



Why, jerk them out and jar them more, 

 Or roll them down the iiill. 



Now you must ope .vour little door, 



.\na let the queen run in; 

 .\nd now to roll about and jar, 



In earnest you begin. 

 1 had no cellar that was dark and cold, 



But I had a mountain cave. 

 And I thought 1 would jar them all at once 



And thus much labor save. 



So I climbed with them the mountain-side, 



When every thing was still; 

 And, hoping they would reach the cave, 



1 dashe<l them down the hill. 



From rock to ro<-k they bounded on— 



Kiom brake to bush they ran; 

 Such a jai-rin^, no bees ever got 



Since this wicked world began. 



I bounded down the mountain-side, 

 I shouted out with glee,— 

 ' This is the way to make a swarm— 

 Doolittle's the boy for me I" 



When I got down by the creek and cave. 



There was neither of them there; 

 For 1 saw naught but a rushing cloud, 



.\nd a roaring in the air. 

 But a thousand spears dashed in my face, 



.\nd into my arms to boot ; 

 oh how I yearned, just then, to see 



Uoolitcle or Amos Root: 



Why didn't you warn us, once for all, 



O sage of the hive and pen. 

 Not to take them up on a mountain high, 



.\nd daah them down again! 



When you wish to make a colony, 

 And thus increase your stand.s', 



Uon't fool with boxes and wire screens. 

 Funnels, and old tin pans. 



But take two combs of brood and bees. 



Or you may take but one. 

 And a larva-cumb, not three days old , 

 • .\nd your job is nearly done. 



So now you can K<> to other hives, 



.\nd take three combs or more. 

 And cari-y them t.j your nucleus hive, 



And shake theni at the door. 

 The b.aby-bcex will all run in; 



They have no wish to roam, 

 While the others that are old and gray 



May scatter and break for hon\e. 

 You may give them now a virgin queen, 



the 



Why didn't you warn us, once for all, 



O sage of the hive and pen , 

 Not to take them up on a mountain high, 



.\nd dash them down again! 

 San Dieguito, Cal. J, P. IssaeI., 



