THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



123 



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Oneida. 111., March 2, 1877.— "My bees are 

 doing tip-top, up to the ))resent time." 



Wm. M. Kp:llogg. 



Moultrie Co., 111., Feb. 20, 1877.—" Bees all 

 right in this section, that were properly 

 cared for. Nearly all others froze, or died 

 with dysentery." A. P. Gkeen. 



Keokuk Co., Iowa, Feb. 19, 1877.— " Bees 

 are wintering nicely; had ours out of the 

 cellar a few days ago, let them have two 

 days' fly; they enjoyed it very much and 

 are now very quiet." S. L. Vail. 



Allegan, Mich., March 1, 1877.— "Our bees 

 seem to be doing well. They are flying al- 

 most daily and working in meal for pollen." 

 Julius Tomlinson. 



Traverse County, Mich, March 6, 1877.— 

 "Please give, in next Journal, Mrs. Adam 

 Grimm's address." S. P. T. 



[It is Jefferson, "Wis.— Eu.] 



Henry Co., O., March 5, 1877.—" I put 11 

 colonies in the house and set 34 within a 

 foot of the fence, and in. apart. 1 packed 

 straw between and at the back of the hives. 

 In some I put chaff in the top story, and 

 only lost one, which was queenless. AH 

 the rest are in good condition." 



Geo. a. Van Horn. 



Vernon Co., Mo., Feb. 26, 1877.— "My bees 

 have wintered better than usual; are breed- 

 ing finely and have been so since January. 

 I wintered on sinnmer stands; have been 

 feeding African spring wheat flour since 

 the warm days eonnnenced; they like it 

 better than any feed I ever found; and, by 

 the way, it is one of the best crops to raise I 

 ever knew. It yields abundautly and 

 makes good food for man or beast." 



Geo. H. Mobley. 



Sauk Co.. Wis., March 7, 1877.—" I took 

 out of my out-door cellar 60 swarms (2 dead) 

 on Washington's birthday. I then went to 

 the woods and found a swarm of bees in a 

 tree. This is pretty good, for 40 miles 

 north of Madison, Wis. W. Porter. 



Portage Co., O., March S, 1877.—" I com- 

 menced 4 years ago with one swarm. I now 

 have 20 colonies in good condition. I win- 

 ter in a dry cellar, with a little lower venti- 

 lation. Bees did well here last year. The 

 Journal is always welcome." 



F. P. Clark. 



Wayne Co., Mich., March 21, 1877.— "Two 

 years ago I began with 3 colonies; last fall 

 1 had 12, besides all the honey we could 

 use. Lost 3 swarms in the fall, before pre- 

 paring for winter. 1 use the Thomas hive. 

 Is it as good as any, all things considered?" 

 Wm. Mookhouse. 



[Opinions differ as to hives. Any hive 

 that you are accustomed to,and can manipu- 

 late, will do. More depends on proper care 

 than any particular style of hive.— Ed.] 



Vernon Co., Mo., March 6, 1877.—" I put 

 .3.5 stands into winter quarters. From 20 

 colonies last year, I extracted about 1,600 

 lbs., besides getting 300 to 400 lbs. of box 

 honey." Le Roy Gates. 



Abronia, Mich., March 11, 1877.— "I see in 

 the report of the North-Eastern B. K. Asso- 

 ciation that my article in the A. B. J. was 

 denounced by L. C. Root and others. I 

 have read the report of that honorable body 

 for something 'iiew and valuable,' but am 

 compelled to conclude that it is another 

 stdrtUmj proof of the statement called un- 

 true, and endorsed by the convention. The 

 convention repeats the substance of my 

 article on comb foundation, published more 

 than a year ago in the A. B. J., and en- 

 dorses it. Why do they not bring out their 

 'new and valuable matter,' instead of de- 

 nouncing what others write ?" 



T. F. Bingham. 



Oneida. 111., March 7, 1877.— "In reply to 

 M's question, I would say that I have not 

 had my microscope long enough to be able 

 to answer. Perhaps some of the older 

 heads will answer. The month of Feb. was 

 very mild and pleasant, bees could fly a 

 good share of the time, but every day of 

 March, so far, has been cold and disagree- 

 able. On the 4th, the mercury went down 

 to 4 deg. below zero, with nearly a foot of 

 snow on the ground. It is well our bees are 

 packed so snugly. On Feb. 21, 1 visited the 

 bee cave at the river and found it the best 

 place for wintering bees I ever saw. It is 

 dug out of a sand bank; it is 48 ft. long, 13 

 ft. wide and 7 or 8 ft. high; plank walls and 

 floor overhead, covered with one foot of 

 sawdust, and the sawdust protected by a 

 roof; double doors in the north end; about 

 6 ft. space between. It has a sand floor and 

 a ventilating tube in the south end. It con- 

 tains at present something over 200 stocks, 

 which seem to be in fine condition, though 

 we roused them up some while putting in 

 things from the burning house, which 

 caught fire and burned down while we were 

 there." Will M. Kellogg. 



New Orleans. Feb. 13th, 1877.—" Friend 

 Newman: Moon's World is non est. It 

 seems that the demand for a bee journal in 

 the South is not snfticient to support one 

 yet there are three in the North, and none 

 in the South. Southern bee-keepers object 

 to the Northern journals, because six 

 months out of the year nearly one-half is 

 taken up with wintering. This is true, and 

 yet with all that is written, many loose 

 heavily. Mr. Benton, in his essay to the B 

 K. Association of Mich., does not give mucli 

 credit to bee-culture in the South. He 

 should not call Tenn. the "Sunny South" 

 for there is as nuich difference between 

 Tenn. and La., as between Tenn. and 

 Mich., an:t more. The thermometer passed 

 the freezing point here only five times this 

 winter. In Dec. twice, 29 deg.; in Jan 

 three times, 29, 24. 27 deg.; 27 deg. above 

 zero was the lowest for 40 vears until 1877 

 I can speak of the quality of honey only in 

 La. We nave white clover, same in every 

 respect as in the North; swamp flowers 

 yield a heavy honey, of a golden tinge and 

 finely flavored; corn gives much honey and 

 plenty of the very best pollen, color same as 

 swamp, which is much lighter than buck- 

 wheat, similar to poplar in Eastern Ohio 



