THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



207 



Brillion, Wis., May 7. 1877.—" In May, 

 1870,1 had 4 swarms; 1 in a niovable-fianie 

 hive. 1 tiansferreil tlui otiu'r o swaiins. In 

 tiie fall I liad 11 kooiI swarms, ami j;ot KiO 

 lbs. of honey. The last of the season was 

 cold and wet. I bou<;lit 25 swarms for ^225, 

 mostly hybrids, in movable-frame hives. I 

 also bought 14 swarms of liyi)ri(ls in Lan<;s- 

 trotli hives for ^125. When I i)ut them in 

 the cellar I observed frost in the hives. I 

 set them on frames 23^ft. hij;h; took off 

 the covers and pnt on blaidcets, also cleats 

 with wire-cloth over the entrance holes, 

 and over a 1)^ in. hole near the top for air. 

 On the last of Jan. I was surpi ised to find 

 that rats had knawed the blankets and 

 eaten the comb from under the top of the 

 frames. I suppose the rats wanted a bed in 

 the winter and honey to eat, but it meant 

 death to the bees. Tlie next day I built up 

 the frames and cleaned out the bees— more 

 than a 3i bushel of dead bees. 1 put 8 

 swarms out to tiy on Feb. 6. The last few 

 days they were in the cellar they hatl 

 dysentery; it was too cold out, and too 

 warm in the cellar, for the sick bees. I set 

 them out on April 6 or 7. I have now in all 

 19 swarms and have 9 swarms more on 

 shares. I liope soon to have my em))ty 

 hives tilled with bees and make use of the 

 comb again." O. E. Clakk. 



De Vall's Bluff, Ark., April 26, 1877.— 

 "The Bingham smoker was duly received, 

 at once yiven a trial, and fouiul to be a 

 decided success. Not only is there a suffi- 

 cient volume of smoke to readily subdue 

 the bees, but it remains ijiuited and ready 

 for use when not constantly operated. 1 

 even stopped for dinner, and found it in 

 order wlien ready to resume my work 

 amons the bees. Though it is the most 

 perfect implement of its kind I have yet 

 seen, it is not without its defects. In the 

 first place my fingers were burned by com- 

 ing ill contact with the heated tube or fur- 

 nace. I then wondered why this part was 

 not concealed by a piece of zinc, with a 

 small air space between that and the tube. 

 Zinc not being accessible, I made a cover 

 from a small piece of wood, }4 in- thick, and 

 the length of the bellows. I left about 3-16 

 in. space between this cover and the tube, 

 for an airspace; and lined the cover with 

 tin to prevent its burning. Instead of leav- 

 ing it square at the top, I took off the 

 corners, leaving it rounded. To secure it in 

 place, I fastened a strip at the bottom, on 

 each side, reaching to tlie edge of the bel- 

 low's platform; and fastened them to the 

 platform by means of small screws. Having 

 pointed it, t'le whole has a very neat ap- 

 pearance, and is not bulky or inconvenient. 

 On the contrary, it is more convenient than 

 before, for you do not have to avoid getting 

 your fingers against the heated tube. And 

 it seems to me that if the tube which comes 

 off' was made of zinc instead of tin, it would 

 be easier to remove for the purpose of re- 

 newing the fire. 



"1 also found that when it had burned low, 

 sparks would be occasionally emitted; and 

 fearing to ignite the sawdust with which 

 the grounds of my apiary are covered, I set 

 about remedying this difficulty. I took a 

 piece of perforated tin— perhaps wire-cloth 

 would be uetter— and cut it round, to fit in- 

 to the base of the tube which is taken off. 

 To secure it in place I used the device 

 which secures in place the false bottom of 



the smoker proper. I find this to answer 

 the purpose ijerfectly; and not only that, 

 but it serves to distriinite the smoke better, 

 making it come in a more continous volume 

 as it were. And this does not interfere 

 with the free passage of the smoke. 



"1 will close here, or you will think I am 

 preparing to apply for a patent. In its 

 pn sent shape I regard my smoker as a real 

 luxury in the apiarv." 



W. W. HiPOLlTE, M.D. 



Henry Co., O., May 7, 1877.—" I had eight 

 colonies last ^all, all Italians. I put them 

 into winter quarters on Nov. 24th; all came 

 out safe on April 1st. Lost one queen on 

 April 1.5th, the balance all right at this date 

 and doing fine. I wintered in a iiouse 16x 

 20, walls 7 in. thick, 4 in. of packed sawdust 

 between ceiling and sidings. I kept the 

 thermometer from 40' to 45% by artificial 

 heat with stove in adjoining room. I had 

 top box on and filled with oat straw, and 

 blanket next to the bees on top of racks in 

 lower story. Mortality has been very great 

 all over this county; four-lifths have lost all 

 their bees, and the balance have lost one- 

 half. Some have lost 200 colonies out of 

 2:W, so that I can safely say that .'54,000 

 would not make the loss good. Poor honey 

 was the principal reason. The Journal 

 is a very welcome visitor, and is carefully 

 read and re-read.'- D. Bartgis. 



Irving, Kan., May .3, 1877.— "My 18 stands 

 of bees wintered nicely, and are storing 

 some honey from fruit blossoms. There is 

 a fair ])roiuiseof a good fruit season tiiis 

 year. And so far as our littlw pets are con- 

 cerned, we may say that we have good 

 reason to hope well for them, if thegrass- 

 lioppers are Jiot too troublesome. But there 

 is no telling what may become of the 'hop- 

 pers; they are ordinarily very vigorous and 

 seem to e-ndure both rain and frost without 

 injury. The birds are making great havoc 

 with them as they hatch out. In many 

 localities they do not seem to hatch well. 

 The eggs appear to be addled or eaten by 

 grubs." C. E. Gaylord. 



Cass Co., Mo., April 21, 1877.— "My bees 

 are all right, I did not loose a colony last 

 winter; nor have I one that is queenless. I 

 think I am entitled to the blue ribbon. I 

 had 15 bu. of rye ground for them to work 

 on. I commenced to feed in Feb., and about 

 April 10 they had gathered all the fine meal 

 that was in the rye, as there was not much 

 for them to get elsewhere. They went 

 down to Johnson's mill and took possession 

 of it for a few days. He was feeding his 

 cattle ground corn in troughs; they took 

 possession of the troughs and the cattle 

 finally concluded that the ground corn was 

 not wholesome. My pets are now very 

 busy; the peach and plum trees are in full 

 bloom. Last fall I had 120 colonies, and 

 have that number yet. So any one can 

 judge whether I take care of bees or not." 

 Paul Duxken. 



Charles City, Iowa, April 16, 1877.— "I put 

 15 colonies in the cellar about Nov. 1.5th, 

 and 1 put them on their suumier stands on 

 April 6th, all in fine condition. They are 

 working on rye fiour and starting brood 

 nicely. I have 8 Italian and 7 hybrid 

 swarms. I have been very successful in 



