48 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



they can get rich quickly in it. Some like 

 extractors; others do not. The fact is, any 

 one who goes into a business siiould first 

 learn it, then they will knoiv for them- 

 selves what is or is not best, or calculated 

 to pay."' C. FoLLETT. 



[Of course it must be learned like any 

 other business; though all are not adapted 

 to the care of bees, neither can every person 

 make a good musician, carpenter or printer. 

 -Ed.] 



Chatauqua Co., N. Y.— "Foul brood has 

 made its appearance in this section. Is 

 there any remedy for it?" A. Tefft. 



[Salicylic acid has been used successfully 

 as a remedy for foul brood. See article on 

 pages 17 and 151 of A. B. J. for 1876. You 

 will there find all the information you de- 

 sire.— Ed.] 



Miami Co., Ind., Dec. 15, 1876.— '"As I was 

 standing by one of my hives, the las, o' 

 October, I observed the queen on the top of 

 the hive. I caught her in my hand and she 

 flew away, returning again in a few min- 

 utes. It is often asserted that the queen 

 never leaves the hive; how then do you ac- 

 count for this?" F. M. Moody. 



[It may have been a young queen, which 

 always leaves the hive at least once before 

 laying; or it may have been a queen from 

 another hive.— Ed.] 



Pike Co., 111., Jan. 11, 1877.— -'We have no 

 fall pasturage for bees in this section, ex- 

 cept cultivated crops. 1 have 25 stands and 

 want to sow melilot clover for them in the 

 spring. How many acres would be requir- 

 ed for them, and how many pounds of seed 

 will it take to the acre? Please give par- 

 ticulars in the Bee Journal,. 



W. H. PiAFTERY. 



[Three acres would be sufficient for 25 

 colonies. It requires 4 lbs. pf seed to the 

 acre. Sow it in April or May, with any 

 kind of grain or in any soil. It does not 

 bloom till the second season, generally from 

 July 1st to 10th. It blooms 60 to 90 days. 

 For box honey late in the fall, when it 

 begins to bloom cut it back to about six 

 inches in height. 'Fall frosts will not injure 

 it. Bees sometimes work on it as late as 

 Oct. 1st. Any bee-keeper who has tested it, 

 would not be witliout it.— Ed. J 



Bremer Co., Iowa.— "I put 136 colonies in- 

 to the cellar on Dec. 1st. The hives were 

 very frosty; the cellar walls are new and 

 full of frost, and water stands on a part of 

 the cellar bottom. Will they winter in it? 

 Which end up should box-hives be placed? 

 Please answer througii the Bee Journal." 

 J. M. Bennett. 



[ The prospect is not very flattering, al- 

 though bees have wintered under like cir- 

 cumstances. Place the box-hives upside 

 down. We are inclined to think the worst 

 feature in the case is that the hives were so 



frosty when put into the cellar. If there is 

 any way of having a stove in the cellar it 

 might be well to gradually thaw out the 

 frost; or, if that is not practicable, perhaps 

 a door may be kept open from the cellar to 

 a room up-stairs where a hot fire is kept, 

 and hot stones, or jugs of hot water corked 

 tight, might at the same time be placed in 

 the cellar. We shall be glad to hear how 

 you get them through the winter. — Ed.] 



Middlesex Co., Mass., Dec. 6, 1876.—" I 

 followed Quinby in the preparation of my 

 hives for wintering in the cellar, which is 

 warm, dry and dark. 1 boxed a corner con- 

 taining the hives and put a chimney in it 

 for ventilation. Sometimes during the day 

 they can be heard a little. What is the 

 trouble? The cellar is not much over 40 

 deg.; is that too hot? Will it answer to 

 conflne them thus all winter? Can they get 

 rid of the dead bees, every means of egress 

 being cut off, by the entrances being cover- 

 ed with wire-cloth? They are box-hives. I 

 intend to transfer them to movable comb 

 hives next summer. I intend to change 

 their places next summer. If I let them 

 have a fly, would it be well to change places 

 then?" A. P. Wyman. 



[ The temperature seems to be about 

 right. They will do well if put into the 

 cellar the next day after a warm spell, hav- 

 ing then had a fly and voided their foeces. 

 Box hives are well enough bottom up. 

 Leave the wire-cloth on, it prevents intrud- 

 ers. The bees will clean out their dead iu 

 the spring. If you should give them an 

 airing, put them on the same stands they 

 occupied last summer, else some may be 

 chilled. If you wish, they could be changed 

 in the spring; put a small slanting board at 

 the entrance; it being strange, they will 

 notice it, and thus mark their new location, 

 to find their way back. They will not suffer 

 for being in a cellar 6 months, if they are in 

 proper condition.— Ed.] 



" Something ought to be doue by the pa- 

 pers to prevent the wholesale robbery that 

 IS going on by patent-hive and motti-trap 

 vendors! We hear of one who has sold 

 $5,000 to $8,000 worth of territory in a use- 

 less " clap-trap," in this section, and has 

 plenty more of territory for sale yet. He 

 expects to try it in my neighborhood next 

 season, but will find his 'little game' nipped 

 in the bud." 



So writes one of our correspondents. One 

 such wide-awake and well posted man iu a 

 community is worth his weight in gold to 

 it. His knowledge is " like a city set upon 

 a hill; it cannot be hidden." Bee-keepers 

 should take a paper devoted to their inter- 

 ests, and thus not only derive much more 

 than the paltry two dollars' worth, in valu- 

 able knowledge, but save hundreds of times 

 that sum in not being victimized by " clap- 

 trap" and useless "fixings'* venders.— Ed.] 



