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Indianapolis, Iiid., Jan. 1, 18TS. 

 " I havcoT colonies wintering in and ont 

 of doors. Tiiey are winterinji well. I iiave 

 a good pasture of meliiot clover, and about 

 40 acres of alsil^e. I tind no trouble to sell 

 ail tlie lioney I can get. I have kept bees 

 for .55 years, and have not for 45 years be(;n 

 out of honey, and never sold a pound that 

 was not pure. I am fjhul tiie Jouiinal got 

 into such good hands. 1 prize it very 

 highly." W. A. Schofield. 



Henry, 111.. Jan. 8, 1878. 

 "I have 40 colonies prepared for winter, 

 on their summer stands, with quilts and 

 chaff on the top, under the cap. I never 

 tried wintering in tiie cellar till last winter, 

 and that was not a success. In the cellar I 

 lost 4 out of 8; out of 30 on their summer 

 stands I lost but 1, and got 2 queenless. I 

 got about 1,.50U lbs. of comb honey. I use 4 

 lb. boxes ami sections. I got about as much 

 honey In the sections as by extracting. — 

 We had no honey after Aug. "1st." 



John Roberts. 



Appleton, Wis., Dec. 37, 1877. 

 "A backward spring and an early drouth 

 cut short our honey crop. In a few locali- 

 ties there were considerable comb honey 

 and increase of stocks, but in (uir vicinity 

 liardly any increase. We run 00 colonies 

 for the extractor, and about 40 for comb- 

 honey, and got 5.0U0 lbs. of extracted, and 

 only about 400 lbs. of imjterfectly filled 

 combs. Our fall crop was light, although 

 there was quite an amount of jjuckwheat. — 

 yickness prevented my giving thein the 

 attention I should have, Init on Dec. 1st. 

 they were all in good condition." 



A. 11. Hart. 



Ripon, Wis.. Dec. 17, 1877. 

 "Our bees went into winter quarters 

 strong, with plenty of honey. Honey is 

 slow sale, and prices low here; small boxes 

 of l)ure basswood and clover bring only 13 

 and 15 cts. per lb. The market for good 

 honey is kept down by forcing the poor 

 grades on the shop-keepers at any price; 

 so few people are judges of honey, that our 

 best grades of honey will take its chances 

 with the poorest kind of l)uokwlieat. At 

 ])resent, our part of the state is over-stocked 

 with bees, but old bee-keepers have found 

 that hard winters and poor summers will 

 soon change this state or things." 



K. Dart. 



Independence, Mo., Dec. 33, 1877. 

 " Bees have not done well in this section. 

 We had too much wet weather through the 

 summer. Linn blossomed, very full, but 

 (lid not yield any honey. Our surplus was 

 all gatliered from white clover an<l Spanish 

 ]ieedl(!. 1 had 18 colonies in the spring, (13 

 in fair condition, and very weak). 1 let a 

 luMghbor run them on shares; he doubleil 

 them, and got l.oOO lbs. of surplus honey; 

 (350 lbs. of extracted, the balance in small 

 boxes), and all the hives are very heavy. — 

 We have about 000 colonies in this town. — 

 The advent of lialdwin Bros, to this place, 

 3 years ago, gave the bee business a new 

 life. Prior to that, bee men used the " log 

 gum," and told us about "the king bee," 

 but we are progressing. Now, almost all 

 are using improved hives and have Italian 

 queens." C. M. Crandall. 



Lodi, Wis, Jan.. 11, 1878. 

 "I have 31 good colonies in Langstrotli 

 hives and winter in cellar. J. M. Pruyn. 



Dundee, 111., Jan. 7, 1878. 

 "The binder was duly received. It is 

 indeed a very desirable article. I now have 

 my last vear's Joijrnai-s nicely bound. I 

 ]irepare(l my bees for winter on Thanks- 

 giving day, and have 19 strong coloTiies, with 

 plenty of iioney in the cellar. The temper- 

 ature is about 45 degrees. We hope they 

 will come out all right in the spring." 



Fayette Perry. 



Lawson, Mo., Dec. 10, 1877. 

 "Last spring 1 had 75 colonies in fair 

 condition; increased to 105; extracted 5,000 

 lbs., and got 1,300 lbs. of box and frame 

 honey. Hives are all full of golden-rod 

 honey to winter on. 1 have 3,000 lbs. of 

 extracted honey on hand, yet, that 1 would 

 like to get 15 cts. per lb. for. This is my 

 first trial with Italians, and I don't like 

 them to extract from, as they are too hard 

 to brush off the combs. 1 bought an Italian 

 queen from T. G. McGaw, Monmouth, 111., 

 and raised some 35 queens from her. She 

 gave good satisfaction. My bees gathered 

 most of their honey from white clover and 

 golden-rod. 1 am wintering my bees on 

 their summer stands. Success to The 

 American Bee Journal." 



J. L. Smith. 



Boone Co., Ky., Dec. 31, 1877. 

 " The weather has continued warmer for 

 a longer period than we ever saw it in win- 

 ter. My 50 colonies seem to be wintering 

 ])erfectly. If the business increases every- 

 where as it does in Boone Co., the sugar 

 panic will be eclipsed shortly. The bee- 

 keeper, who does not take the American 

 Bee Journal neglects his own interests 

 sadly. I am always anxious to get it, to see 

 what the " big boys " are doing, and to keep 

 up with the fraternity generally. I have 

 read my back volumes often, and yet they 

 ai'e so useful for reference that 1 would not 

 part with them for twice their cost. 1 like 

 to see a friendly and brotherly spirit among 

 bee-keepers, and honor and credit given to 

 wliom it is due. How shameful for a 

 would-be-somebody to hop up at the tail 

 end <»f a convention and attempt to deny an 

 honorable and true veteran of his well- 

 earned laurels. Success to the American 

 Bee Journal." Jno. T. Connley. 



Freeman, Mo.. Jan. 1, 1878. 

 "The honey harvest in this locality has 

 been about one-fourth of a crop— the spring 

 being too cold and wet. In June, 1 had to 

 feed some, xnitil basswood bloomed. I have 

 had about 3,000 lbs. of honey. About half 

 each, of extracted and comb. I have sold 

 extracted honey at 15 cts. and comb honey 

 at 30 cts. per "lb. I have 148 colonies in 

 good condition for winter, on their summer 

 stands, with llax straw packed around 

 them; two stakes driven into the ground 

 eacli side, inches from the hives, also on 

 the back, with thin pieces of boards put 

 between the hives and stakes, then the nax 

 straw packed in, the front being left open. 

 The hives are in rows, (» feet apart each 

 way, fronts to the south. IMy reserved 

 queens I keep in a room when cold, and 

 when warm, 1 carry them out to cleanse 

 them." Paul Dunken. 



