examined both again. No. 2 had a new 

 ([ueen; No. 1 iiad destroyed the cell again. 

 1 then examined and found, to my surjnise, 

 that the wingless queen was in No. 1, and 

 laying. She was tlien but II days old, and I 

 liad tried tlie fertilizing fixture on the No. 2 

 micleus from the 5tli day of her age to tiie 

 day that I missed lier. Tiiis (jueen became 

 a No. 1 layer, but died the next winter. — 

 The question is: Did slie fertilize in the 

 cage or wliile slie was out? If, wliile out, 

 drones must have found iier on the ground 

 or on a bush, and in returning, she got into 

 tlie wrong nucleus. 11. M. AuGo. 



Lowell, Ky., Jan. 4, 18T8. 



For tne American Bee .Tonrnal, 



Wintering— Shading Hives. 



We are having, so far. tlie warmest win- 

 ter within the memory of the oldest inhabi- 

 tant. During this month there has been 

 less cold weather than we sometimes have 

 in April. A soft maple tree, that stands in 

 front of my study window, is nearly in full 

 bloom, the flowers having opened yesterday. 

 If it were not that the niorni)ig is clontly 

 and dark, with a little rain, the bees would 

 be busy among the blossoms. Surely, the 

 like was never known before. 



A gentleman from Indianapolis inform- 

 ed me, last night, that at that place straw- 

 berries are in bloom in the open ground. 



Bees on the summer stands are wintering 

 exceedingly well. They have certainly 

 been better out of doors than they could 

 have been in cellar or bee house, during 

 this warm weather. 



I see that some writers recommend the 

 shading of hives during winter. I am 

 satisfied that this is bad advice. In a very 

 cold winter, the hives in my apiary tha't 

 wintered best were those that were most 

 fully exjiosed to tlie sun, and that fronted 

 the south, so that the sun shone full on the 

 entrance of the hive; and those suffered 

 most that were most shaded. M. Mahin. 



Logansport, Ind., Dec. 22, 1877. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



The Season in Minnesota. 



I think much of the Bee Journal. I 

 am an old man, have practiced dentisti-y for 

 40 years, my eyes and iny nerves have failed 

 me for that, and I find bee-keeping just the 

 thing for me. I have kejit a few for .5 years 

 past. Have now 4o colonies, 10 of them 

 Italians. They did very fairly the last 

 season. June and July were the best 

 honey months I have ever known, for white 

 clover and basswood; but August was drj-, 

 and September was cold, so they were light 

 in the fall. Had to feed some. I have best 

 success wintering on summer stands. I 

 pack straw, about one foot thick, ai-ound 

 the hive, except the front end, which is 

 double, with half an inch space. I use a 

 packing of straw over the bees, in place of 

 a honey board. My hives are of the Lang- 

 stroth style, but 12 inches deep. Have pro- 

 duced comb honey principally. The last 

 season, I used section boxes. Find a home 

 markefi for all I can produce, at 25 cts., 

 though plenty of honey is brought in buck- 

 ets, pans, etc., at from 12 to 20 cts. 



My locality is not the best. Lake Pepin 

 is on one side of me, 3 miles wide, witli 

 timber on the opposite shore, and many 

 bees are lost in crossing. In the opposite 

 directfon, the bluffs are about l}i miles 

 from me, and are 100 feet above the lake, 

 which is the prairie level. These bluffs 

 are cut with ravines, in which is timber, 

 with some basswood among it. So my 

 bees, for some of their stores, go some 3 or 4 

 miles. Between the lake and bluffs there 

 is white clover in abundance, when not too 

 dry. Also have garden bloom, such as 

 currant, raspberry, plum. ai)ple and buck- 

 wheat. It was so dry here in August that 

 I got nothing from buckwheat. 1 sowed 

 the spaces between the railroad track and 

 the fences, last year, to uiustard. I design 

 to try some mignonnette next year. Mj^ 

 hives averaged about 40 lbs. surplus, the 

 last season. . D. 11. Bouteli.e. 



Lake city, Minn. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Bee-keeping as an Avocation. 



I began bee-keeping from a desire to have 

 an avocation that should be suited to my 

 temperament and my pi-ofession. My expe- 

 rience has been delightful. It seems as if 

 notliing could have been more in accord- 

 ance with my desire. 



1. In the first place, the bees themselves 

 are most interesting objects of study, so 

 that one who has become weary in his 

 usual duties turns to them with a hearty 

 zest, and becomes so absorbed in observing 

 their structure and habits that his mind has 

 the best kind of recreation,— recreation that 

 comes from a different and attractive 

 occupation. 



2. To keep bees according to modern 

 methods, in movable-comb hives, and Avitli 

 the aid of the honey-extractor, comb-foun- 

 dation, artificial queen-rearing, and nucleus 

 swarming, is an art that requires careful 

 tiiought and close observation. It is an art 

 so full of interest and pleasure that I think 

 very few thoughtful people, who once enter 

 u|)on it, will fail to find it very absorbing 

 indeed. To perform all the oiierations in 

 bee-keei)ing in the most successful way, 

 requires a skill and delicacy of manipulation 

 that will most surely call one's mind away 

 from the cares of his regular vocation. 



3. The labor of making hives and frames, 

 and of getting every part to fit with the 

 nicest accuracy, so that every hive and 

 every frame is perfect in the most minute 

 points, is calculated, also, to give the mind 

 a beautiful change from its ordinary pur- 

 suits. It is a labor, that, when successfully 

 accomplished, gives a satisfaction that can 

 be a])preciated only by those who have 

 experienced it. 



4. The larger part of the work in bee- 

 keeping must be done in the open air. For 

 all whose usual work keeps them nnich in- 

 doors, this is a most important point. This 

 open-air work is done in pleasant weather, 

 and under the most favorable conditions as 

 to health, the mind being so fully taken up 

 with the work tiiat there is no thought of 

 laboring for the sake of exercise. 



5. While one is thus getting rest and 

 pleasure in the care of his bees, the product 

 of his bees will richly repay him for all his 

 labor. Many persons think they cannot 



