98 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



weather throughout the Northern States 

 has been cold; for a large part of that time 

 it has been very cold. A good manj- bee- 

 keepers will bring their bees through with 

 slight loss; a good many will probably suf- 

 fer serious losses. A clear statement of the 

 condition of the hives in the fall, and of the 

 method pursued in wintering, both by the 

 successful and the unsuccessful ones, will 

 be of great value to the bee-keeping indus- 

 try. The American Bee Jouknai. can- 

 not better serve its readers than by publish- 

 ing clear and full reports upon this subject 

 from as many quarters as possible. 



1. All reporters should state the kind of 

 hive, the size and number of frames, the 

 quantity and age of bees, the amount and 

 quality of stores, the amount of stores con- 

 sumed, the kind and amount of ventilation 

 in hives, the number and kind of passages 

 through the combs, the time when bees had 

 their last flight in the fall, and the times of 

 the earliest flights afterwards. Then give 

 the success, good or bad. 



2. Many bt't'-k(n'i)ers have wintered on 

 the summer stands, without any protection. 

 Let such state, in addition to the above, the 

 location of the hives as to exposure to the 

 wind and sun. and the range of the ther- 

 mometer, .state fully the length and sever- 

 ity of the long spells of cold weather, and 

 any great and sudden changes. 



3. Some apiarists, last fall, left their bees 

 on the summer stands, giving them protec- 

 tion in some shape. Let each state the 

 kind and amount of the protection. Let us 

 have especially a full record of methods and 

 of success or failure from those who have 

 packed their hives in chaff, chaff-cushions, 

 straw, shavings, or other material. Give in 

 full the expense of such methods. 



4. Some have put their bees in rooms, 

 clamps, and various receptacles other than 

 cellars. State the character of receptacle, 

 its dryness, ventilation, temperature, con- 

 dition of lu'es when put in and at any other 

 exaiuiiuvtious; give expense. 



5. Doubtless a large number have their 

 bees in cellars. Many are looking in this 

 direction for a satisfactory solution of the 

 problem. State chai'acter of cellar, dryness, 

 highest and lowest temperature, average 

 teniptnature, height of cellar from floor to 

 ceiling, ventilation, height of hives above 

 floor, distance of hives beneath ceiling, dif- 

 ference, if any, in condition of hives near 

 floor and those near ceiling, condition of 

 entrances to hives, condition of bees at dif- 

 ferent examinations. 



Reports from dift'erent sections of the 

 country, embracing accurate statements on 

 the points sugges.ted, an.d on any other 



foints that may occur to practical men, will 

 e of incalculable value to the guild of bee- 

 keejjers. O. Clute. 



Keokuk, Iowa, Jan. 26, 1877. 



The Honey Bee. 



The honey bee iz an inflamible bug, sud- 

 den in his impresshuns and liasty m hiz 

 conclusions, or end. 



His natral disposishun iz a warm cross 

 between red-pepper in the pod and fusil oil, 

 and hiz moral bias iz, "git out ov mi way." 



They hav a long boddy, divided in the 

 middle bi a waist spot, but their phisikal 

 importance lays at the terminus of their 

 subburb, in the shape ov a javelin. 



This javelin iz alwas loaded, and stands 

 reddy to unload at a minit's warning, and 

 enters az still az thought, spry az litening, 

 and as full oph melankolly az the toothake. 



Bees never argy a case; they settle awl 

 ov their differences ov opinyun bi letting 

 their javelin fly, and are az certain tew hit 

 az a mule iz. 



This testy kritter lives in congregations 

 numbering about 20,000 souls, but whether 

 they are male and female, or conservative, 

 or matched in bonds of wedlock, or whether 

 they klub together and keep one wife tew 

 save expense, i don't kno nor don't kare. I 

 never examined their habits mutch, i never 

 considered it helthy, for what would it 

 profit a man tew kill 99 bees and hav the 1 

 hundreth one hit him with hiz javelin ? 



The drones seem alwas bizzy, but what 

 they are about the lor' only knows. They 

 don't la,y up enny honey, they seem tew be 

 bizzy only gist for the sake ov eating all the 

 time, they are alwas in az much ov a hurry 

 az tho they was going for a dockter. I sup- 

 pose this uneasy world would grind around 

 on its axle-tree oust in 34 hours, even if 

 there want enny dones, but drones must be 

 good for something, but i kant think now 

 what it iz. Thare haint been a bug made in 

 vain, nor one that want a good job; there iz 

 ever lots ov human drones loafing around 

 blacksmith shops, and cider mills, all over 

 the country, that don't seem tew be neces- 

 sary tor enny thing but tew beg plug 

 tobacco and swear, and steal water-melons, 

 but you let the cholera break out once, and 

 then you will see the wisdum ov having jist 

 sich laying around loose, they help kount. 



Bees are not long-lived — i kant state jist 

 how long their lives are, but i kno, from in- 

 stinkt and observashun, that enny kritter, 

 be he bug or be he divil who is mad all the 

 time and stings every good chance he kan 

 git, generally dies early. 



The only way tew git the exact fiteing 

 weight ov the bee, is tew touch him, let him 

 hit you with his javelin, and you will be 

 willing tew testify in court that sumboddy 

 run a one-tined pitch-fork inter yer; and az 

 for grit, i will state for the informashun ov 

 those who havn't had a chance tew lay in 

 their vermin wisdum as freely az i hav, that 

 one single bee who feels well will break up 

 a large camp meeting ! 



What the bees do for amusement iz 

 another question i kant answer, but some 

 ov the best read and heavyest thinkers 

 amung naturalists say that they hav target 

 excurssions and heave their javelins at the 

 mark; but i don't imbibe this assurshun 

 raw, for i never knu enny boddy, so bitter 

 at heart as the bees are, to waste a blow. 



There is one thing that a bee does, i will 

 give him credit for on mi books — he alwas 

 attends tew his own bizzness, and wont al- 

 low any boddy else tew attend tew it, and 

 what he duz he duz well, you never see him 

 altering enny thing, if they make enny mis- 

 takes it iz after dark and it aint seen. 



If bees made haff as menny blunders az 

 the men do, even with their javelins, every- 

 boddy would laff at them. 



In ending oph this essa, i will cum tew a 

 stop by concluding, that if the bees waz a 

 little more pensive, and not so darned per- 

 eratory with their javelins, they might be 

 guilty of less wisdum, but more charity. 

 But you kant alter bug nature without 

 spileing it, enny more than you kan alter an 

 elephant's egg. Josh Billings. 



