THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



101 



same plan, and filled in the open space 

 arouncf the hives with thrashed oats, as I 

 had done with the sawdust; only I filled in 

 under the hive, 2 in. deep, with oats to ab- 

 sorb the moisture. The box I put on posts 

 about S ft. high, to protect against mice. In 

 this way I can keep out the mice, equalize 

 the temperature, and only let them go out 

 when there is a surety of their returning. 

 Thousands of good hives are lost during 

 winter by letting them go out at will, when 

 they should have been kept in-doors, for 

 safety." J. M. Porter. 



Audrain Co., Mo., Feb. 3, 1877.—" So far 

 most of our bees are standing the extreme 

 cold winter as good as I could expect, 

 though some colonies have lost many bees, 

 and t fear will come out weak in the spring. 

 My 3 old stands, packed in hay, are doing 

 finely, with scarcely a dead bee. I bought 

 10 hives in Dec; they are on their sunaner 

 stands; some of them have lost heavily, but 

 I think I will get them through." 



P. P. Collier. 



Waukesha Co., Wis., Feb. 5, 1877.—"! 

 keep about 10 stocks outside, in double 

 hives, made of 1 inch stuff, with 1 inch 

 vspace filled with sawdust; tliey do better 

 than those in the house or cellar, besides 

 the advantage of giving them a fly when 

 warm enougii. 1 take off the cap, honey- 

 board and quilt, and let the sun shine on 

 them, which they seem to enjoj'. It gives 

 them a good chance to fly and void their ex- 

 crement. After that they seem quiet, even 

 if it should come ofl: warm. Mine are all 

 doing well." H. S. Harrison. 



Lansing, Mich.. Jan. 20, 1877.— "Mr. L. C. 

 Root has sent me one of the imj)roved 

 Quinby smokers. As I stated that this was 

 a ijatented article in the "Manual of the 

 Apiary," I wish to make the correction. I 

 believe Mr. Quinby generously gave all his 

 inventions to the apiarian public. This 

 smoker I have used for two years. I paid 

 f 1..50 for it, and would have been pleased at 

 double the cost. I consider it a very valu- 

 able aid in the apiary. After two years, the 

 leather bursted, but this was mended at an 

 expense of 2.5 cents and one hour's time. 

 Mr. Bingham, of this State, has for sale two 

 forms, essentiallj^ the same, though perhaps 

 a little stronger in material and draft, yet 

 costing 50 cents more. I believe Mr. Koot 

 has achieved what he aimed at— to make 

 the smoker so cheap and well, as to fore- 

 stall competition." A. J. Cook. 



Los Angeles Co., Cal., Jan. 11, 1877.—" So 

 far, we have had no rain in this section of 

 California. If it does not come soon our 

 honey crop, as well as our purses, will be 

 light. We have had delightful weather all 

 the winter — sunshnie all the time. Some of 

 my hives have now 3 frames of capped 

 brood, and larvse in different stages. I got 

 an imported Italian queen from Mr. Dadant, 

 last tall, and I expect to Italianize my 

 whole apiary, which consists of 100 colonies 

 of blacks. Last spring I had 4.5 and in- 

 creased to 100, besides getting 10,000 lbs. of 

 extracted honey. I use the Langstroth 

 hive, lengthened to take 17 frames. They 

 are all painted white, except the fronts 

 which are of different colors. They are in 

 rows 6 feet apart each way." 



J. E. Pleasants. 



Marshall Co., 111.. Feb. 9, 1877.— "My bees 

 look well. I have 7 kinds of hives. Finn's 

 porous double-walled bee-hive winters the 

 best on summer stands. I have had 12 of 

 them in use for two winters. On Feb. 1st, 

 I noticed some Italian bees in front of a 

 Finn hive; on the 7th I opened one of them 

 and found brood and plenty of honey. AH 

 my bees are in fair condition, but those in 

 the Finn hives are the best. I purchased 

 .'$7..50 worth of comb foundation from Mr. 

 Perrine; the last lot being too thin, it broke 

 too easily for surplus boxes. I like it well; 

 for heavy swarms I take a strip of comb, 1 

 inch wide, and fasten to 3 or 4 frames, to 

 secure straight comb building. My yellow 

 bands can keep up with any black bees on 

 their summer stands. The Bee Journal 

 is a welcome visitor." C. M. Halbleb. 



South Pendleton. O., Jan. 7, 1877.—" By 

 the January number of the A. B. J., I learn 

 Mr. W. J. Andrews is the president of the 

 N. B. K. Association, and I judge from his 

 remarks that he intends to try and stir bee- 

 keepers up to the importance of having a 

 National Society that will make itself felt 

 at home and abroad. It is a great pity that 

 at the Centennial a better opportunity was 

 not afforded of letting the world see our 

 success and improvements in apiculture. 

 His suggestion to have some beneficiary 

 idea in connection with the Society, strikes 

 me as something that would hold the 

 Society together, and meets my hearty ap- 

 proval, and I shall use my influence to or- 

 ganize a society here." " WM: Stump. 



Montclair, N. J., Jan. 17, 1877.—" I was 

 deeply interested in the address of our 

 worthy president, in the January number 

 of the Journal, regarding our National 

 Society; and trust that every bee-keeper in 

 the land will give good heed to his stirring 

 appeal. A few months ago the early disso- 

 lution of the Society seemed imminent; but 

 the increasing interest in the subject leads 

 us to hope that such a calamity will be 

 averted, and that within the present year 

 we shall see it established on a broad and 

 permanent foundation. Very much depends 

 upon the success ot the next meeting. If it 

 is composed of a large delegation of earnest, 

 wide-awake bee-keepers from all parts of 

 the country, success will be almost certain. 

 I would suggest that an effort be made to 

 have a large display of apiarian supplies 

 and products. As "Committee of Arrange- 

 ments," I will see that ample space is pro- 

 vided for the proper display of all articles 

 that may be sent. May we not hope that 

 each State will be represented by a large 

 and well-filled space; and each strive to be 

 the ' Banner State.' It is to be hoped that 

 many suggestions bearing upon the subject 

 will be made through the columns of the 

 Journal." J. S. Coe. 



Wakefield, Quebec, Dec. 26, 1876.—" King 

 birds are an enemy to bees in some places, 

 but our bee enemies are fish. My bee gar- 

 den is close to a mill pond; and the first 2 

 years I kept bees, it was impossible to get 

 them strong enough to swarm during the 

 whole summer. I saw them on the surface 

 of the water and the fish enjoying their 

 feast. Last year I removed them a con- 

 siderable distance, and they did better, but 

 it is inconvenient to have them so far from 

 my house." John Edmonds. 



