

afford the time for exercise in tiie open air, 

 so tliey neglect it, and in a few years l)reiik 

 down. In bee-keepin.u the honey will pay 

 tliem for their time, and tlie <!;o()d liealtii 

 and pleasure will be so much clear gain, so 

 nmcli stock laid up to help them in their 

 customary work. If laborers, mechanics, 

 clerks, teacliers, clerjiymen, in country, 

 villajie or city, would keep a few swarms 

 of bees, they would obtain not only a 

 delitrhtfu! recreation, but also a delicious 

 article of food for their tables. 



6. I ])ass(*d my last vacation of two 

 mouths,— July and Au<j;ust,— at home, and 

 every pleasant day I was among my bees. — 

 Those were very happy hours that I spent 

 in the orchard, surrounded by my IJusy 

 little friends, attending to their wants, and 

 watching their progress. They seemed to 

 understand my interest in them, and to 

 repay it by increased industry. Many a 

 moon-lit night in the honey season, 1 sat for 

 hours under an apple tree near the hives to 

 listen to their roaring, and enjoy the view 

 of the fairy-like city, with its hundreds of 

 thousands of inhabitants, that had sjjrung 

 into existence under my guiding hand. — 

 Through all my work your little Jouknai- 

 was my "guide, i)hil()S(»pher, and friend." 

 I hope it may lead many more to an 

 avocation which I am sure' will give 

 them health and pleasure, and a fair profit 

 tor their labor. O. Clute. 



Keokuk, Iowa, Nov. 15, 1877. 



Wintering Bees. 



In the Couniry Ocntleman for Nov. 23d, 

 I notice some extracts from Mr. N. N. Bet- 

 singer's address, delivered before the Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, at its recent session in 

 New York. To those who know Mr. B., it 

 will be a matter of no surprise that he should 

 advocate a theory which differs so widely 

 from the experience of all others. I do not 

 doubt Mr. B.'s sincerity in his statements. 

 I have sometimes thought, from the influence 

 he, exerts over our conventions when address- 

 ing them, that bees, under his care, would 

 become changed in their nature, and make 

 success for him out of what would be failure 

 for others. That bees must have a sufficient 

 amount of empty combs to cluster on to form 

 a compact body, I had supposed, and yet 

 believe, to be an established fact. When 

 the cluster is formed in cold weather, a bee 

 occupies each cell within the given space 

 making the entire body of bees even smaller 

 than if the combs did not pass through the 

 cluster. This is from the fact that the 

 walls of the cells are very thin, and by fill- 

 ing them, the bees are arranged in more 

 perfect order than they could be otherwise. 



Had Mr. B. (lualiticd his statement by 

 saying that combs might be phiccd solid in 

 the center, full of honey, when wintered in a 

 warm place, it might not have seemed so 

 entirely erroneous; or had he said, that often 

 too much comb is supplied with the honey, 

 too far from the cluster in different 

 directions, I should have agreed with him 

 then. As bees naturally fill their combs 

 with honey, they connnence at the top: and 

 seal the cells there first. As the season 

 closes, the brood nest is limited to the 

 bottom and center of the hive, and the 

 spaces in the outside combs, at the top, rear, 

 and partially at the front of the center 



combs, will be filled with sealed honey. In 

 such hives, if the combs in the center are 

 sealed down too far to allow the bees to 

 cluster without coming between combs of 

 sealed honey, they will crowd even below 

 the bottom of the combs. If they are 

 obliged to cluster between combs so tilled in 

 very cold weather, they will be sure to be 

 fouiui frozen. I have noticed bees so frozen 

 in several hives this present month, even 

 before severe cold weather. 



The assertion has long been acknowledged 

 true that "hives so full of sealed honey that 

 bees have not room to cluster, without 

 remaining between combs so tilled are in 

 poor condition for the winter;" and I be- 

 lieve it to be a truth which corresponds 

 with the experience of every practical bee- 

 keeper, unless it be Mr. B. The object of 

 this article is to prevent the inexperienced 

 from losing bees by following the advice of 

 one whose experience differs so widely from 

 that of all reliable writers on the sul^ect. 



Mohawk, N. Y. L. C. Koot. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Honey-dew. 



The question what honey-dew is, and how 

 it is procured, appears to have been various- 

 ly answered. JSome contend that it is the 

 product, or secretion of the apliis, a small 

 insect— others that it falls, and is the pro- 

 duct of some atmospheric influence. I am 

 inclined to believe that neither of these 

 theories are true, and that the origin of 

 honey-dew is generally or entirely misun- 

 derstood. That it could be the secretion of 

 the aphis in whole, or in part, in the quantity 

 in which it is found in this country, is 

 absurd. It is frequently found in such 

 quantities as to drip, from the leaves of the 

 trees. There are certain facts connected 

 with it that indicate very clearly its origin 

 and nature. 



1. It is never found on all kinds of trees 

 and plants at the same time. 



2. It is never found on dead leaves, or 

 anything dry, except as it has fallen, or 

 been blown from some green vegetation. 



3. It is always found when vegetation is 

 in a healthy and growing state. 



Tliese facts show that it does not fall, or 

 is the product of the aphis. If it fell, it 

 would be found on all objects alike,— if the 

 secretion of the aphis, it would always be 

 found where they are, and on shrubs on 

 which they work. I have found it in 

 abundance where no insect could be dis- 

 covered with the microscope. 



Iloney-dew is generally, or always pro- 

 duced by . the exudation of saccharine 

 matter from the leaves of trees and plants. 

 It is the same substance that is found in 

 the flower. When the tree is in a very 

 growing state, more saccharine matter is 

 produced than is necessary tor the health of 

 the plant, or tree, and it is" thrown off in the 

 way of i)erspiration, through the pores of 

 the leaves. Honey-dew is probably more 

 abundant in this country than iii most 

 others. It is more generally found on the 

 hickory trees than on any others— always 

 when the tree is in a very growing state.— 

 It is generally fouiul at two seasons of the 

 year; in the spring, when the leaves are 

 full grown, and during our spring rains— 

 and in the fall, after the commencement of 



