514 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Aug. 13, 



convenience in preparing them for winter. This is done by 

 having a long box made of portable sides and ends, fastened 

 together by means of iron rods, something like the sides and 

 ends of a wagon-box are held together, excepting that these 

 winter boxes have an extra iron rod in the center to prevent 

 spreading when packed. The front side of this winter box is 

 about 8 inches higher than the rear, and then a short-board 

 roof is put on. Within, it is packed with straw, hay or leaves, 

 preferably the latter, which are used over and over. The 

 packing is put all around the hives, to the depth of about 6 

 inches, except between them, which is, as before mentioned, 

 about .3 inches. 



A winter entrance is made by putting say half-inch 

 cleats across the ends of a board the length of the hive en- 

 trance, and about 6 inches wide. This is then inverted 

 and pushed up to the hive at the entrance, when the bees 

 can easily pass out under it, as the cleats raise it sufficiently. 

 The front side of the long packing box rests right down on 

 the cleated entrance-board, and thus does not interferve with 

 the bees passing out and in. 



I should say, further, that before putting the leaves into 

 the outer box, a Hill's device is put over the brood-frames of 

 of each colony, then a 10-inch super in which is a chaff- 

 cushion. 



Mrs. Stow finds the above a very successful and conven- 

 ient way to winter bees. 



Towards evening Mr. and Mrs. Stow took us out riding, 

 showing us the various points of interest in the town, among 

 them the Illinois Girls' Industrial School, where are found 

 about 100 orphan children, cared for by State appropriation ; 

 also two of the finest school buildings in the State, each cost- 

 ing S45,000. One was built last year, and the other, which 

 we explored, just being completed. They certainly are the 

 most beautiful and commodious school buildings I ever saw, or 

 expect to see. Mr. Stow is President of their school board, 

 as well as one of the 14 aldermen of the city of Evanston. 



Before leaving, and " on the quiet," I succeeded in get- 

 ting Mrs. Stow's photograph, with which to give her a little 

 surprise. You have seen the picture on the previous page. 

 Mr. Stow, a few days afterward, kindly furnished the follow- 

 ing notes concerning his "better half," for which "kindness" 

 Mrs. Stow will now no doubt " settle with him :" 



Mb. York : — I hardly know what would be of interest to 

 your readers regarding Mrs. Stow's history, so I must leave 

 you to say what seems best regarding her bee-industry. She 

 was born in Milford, Conn., her family from good puritan 

 stock ; educated in the best schools there, married, and came 

 to Chicago in 1863, coming to Evanston in 1872. We moved 

 to our present home in the spring of 1867. 



Being naturally a lover of Nature, she has always given 

 much care and attention to the cultivation of flowers. Twelve 

 years ago she became interested in the study of bees and their 

 habits. She sent for Root's " A B C of Bee-Culture," which, 

 with other publications in this line, gave her a very complete 

 idea of what could be accomplished with bees when rightly 

 and scientifically handled ; and believing it was one of the in- 

 dustries in which women can engage with honor and profit, 

 she decided not only to study, but put her knowledge into 

 practice with two colonies, for which she paid $10 each. 



She increased from year to year, sending to several points 

 for the best imported Italian queens, and adopting the most 

 modern appliances. She has never worked for extracted 

 honey, but for comb honey exclusively, which has mostly been 

 taken by local grocers at from 18 to 20 cents per pound. She 

 gets this price because great care is used in cleaning all sec- 

 tions of every particle of propolis, and making it very attrac- 

 tive in appearance. 



Mrs. Stow has given the subject of bees attention not so 

 much for the profit as for the pleasure she has always derived 

 from the study of these wonderful objects as a part of God's 

 wonderful creation. 



From 40 colonies, last year, the product was about 900 

 pounds, mostly fall honey, but of very fine quality. It is a 

 little early to estimate for this year, but the prospect is good 

 for a fair crop. N. L. Stow. 



Mr. and Mrs. Stow have five children — three daughters 

 and two sons, one son and two daughters being at home. 



After having tea, Mr. and Mrs. Stow drove to the station 

 with us, and soon we were at home again, after having spent 

 a very delightful afternoon with one of the most extensive 

 lady bee-keepers near Chicago. 



^ 



Golden Italian Bees— More Experience. 



BY A. NORTON. 



On page 387, Mr. Edwin Bevins stings away at the repu- 

 tation of the golden Italians with almost hybrid viciousness ; 

 and any one reading his vigorous assault, and the facts where- 

 on he bases it, may well be tempted to wonder whether Mr. 

 Bevins never had but one colony of golden Italians, or whether 

 he never had but one colony of any kind of bees to winter- 

 kill—which ? 



In the very same article he tells us naively how, among 

 his prosperous colonies, he has sundry poor ones that he has 

 been feeding because of light stores ; and, in one case, he was 

 too late, as the bees had already perished of starvation. Were 

 these bees " golden beauties ?" I opine not; for if they had 

 been, doubtless he would not have mentioned it so briefly. 

 And the protected colony that died with plenty of stores 

 furnished a parallel case to that of his golden Italians. He 

 charitably supposes that the colony went into winter quarters 

 without a queen ; but he does not say whether the golden 

 colony might perhaps have had the same trouble. 



Well, I do not advance my own experience with golden, 

 or 5-band, Italians as at all conclusive ; because I have tried 

 only a few of them, as yet. But, since my experience is sev- 

 eral times as extensive as that of Mr. Bevins, and as it is in- 

 comparably more favorable, I will now set it forth for the 

 sake of "helping out the other side." 



I have some 5-band stock from Duvall, and some from 

 Laws ; both strains prove about equally good in all respects. 

 One colony of ihe latter strain, however, chances to have had 

 an exactly even chance with a colony of the 3-band stock ; 

 and I therefore quote it more particularly. I had two colonies 

 of black bees, obtained from bee-trees, which were so nearly 

 even in numbers, combs, stores and young brood, that it was 

 hardly possible to distinguish any difference. I gave one a 5- 

 band queen from Laws, and the other a leather-colored queen 

 from another reliable Eastern breeder, both being tested 

 queens. 



The queens commenced laying within 24 hours of each 

 other; and the transition from black to yellow kept about 

 even pace in the two colonies. During the fall, which is gen- 

 erally a barren season here with merely a few nectar-yielding 

 flowers, the golden Italians rather gained on the others in the 

 quantity of honey laid by, though both were necessarily rather 

 poor. Through the winter (a drier and colder one than the 

 average Californian winter) the goldens held their own better 

 than the leather-colored ones. Toward February the goldens 

 had the more honey and covered the more frames of the two. 

 There was no doubt about their coming through, while, with 

 the 3-banders it began to be almost hopeless without feeding, 

 which I began to do. However, the month of February was 

 the warmest known for years; and mauzanlta and ceanothus 

 blooms gave them a chance to recuperate. 



To cut the account short, the 5-banders have led all 

 through the present season. The 3-banders revived and bred 

 up into a pretty good colony, however ; but they took the 

 swarming-fever before filling their hive with either brood or 

 honey. I have obtained some section honey from them, and 

 rather more from the golden colony. This has been a dry 

 year in California ; but my golden Italians of both strains are 

 holding their own right through it remarkably well. 



Now, while they have done better than the leather-colored 



