Letter from Bohemia, Austria. 



Herr R. Maj^erhoeffer, editor of the 

 Bienenvater, in Prague, Austria, in a 

 recent letter remarks as follows: 



" It gave me great i)leasure to read 

 the Proceedings^: of the National Con- 

 vention of Bee-keepers, held in New 

 York, last fall, as reported in The 

 American Bee Journal. I shall 

 translate many of the speeches for the 

 Bienenv<tter. I follow with^great inter- 

 est the progress of American apicul- 

 ture, and endeavor to make its details 

 advantageous to our German bee-keep- 

 ers, and I am sure that they fully 

 appreciate my endeavors. 



" In 1^79, the Congress of German 

 and Austrian Bee-keepers will be lield 

 at Prague. At this early day, I invite 

 you in tlie kindest and most cordial 

 manner not to fail to make us a visit at 

 that time, and take [part in our deliber- 

 ations.'''' 



Brother Mayerhceffer will please 

 accept our thanks for the cordial invi- 

 tation. If it comes within the range of 

 possibilities, we shall be most happy 

 to avail ourselves of the pleasure of 

 such a treat, but fear it will not be 

 possible to leave our duties so long. — 

 Perliaps the National Convention, 

 when it meets this fall, may conclude 

 to send a delegate to the German and 

 Austrian Congress; if so, the same will 

 be stated in its Report. 



Honey Prospect in California. 



Our readers will be interested in the 

 following letter from friend J. S. Har- 

 bison, in relation to the prospects for 

 a honey crop there this year: 



We have 6.02 in. rain for this season, 

 to date. In the bee range the quantity 

 is, perhaps, 1 inch greater in some 

 localities, a little less in others. It has 

 fallen in gentle showers and all counts 

 for good. Should we have a further 

 addition of, say, 4 or 5 inches, we can 

 safely count on a good, average bee 

 season. I think, however, in no event 

 can there be as large an aggregate crop 

 of honey as was produced in 1876. 



Two reasons may be given for this 

 conclusion. 1st. Bees are mostly weak 

 in numbers ; not, in my opinion, being 

 as numerous, collectively, as in the 

 spring of 1876. 2nd. Some of the 

 "■ semi-shmbs,''- heretofore relied on for 



honey, are seriously injured, or totally 

 Mlled by the drought, and can only be 

 restored from seed, — re(|uiring from 1 

 to 2 years' growth before affording 

 bloom. In short, it will require one 

 good season to fetch the vegetation to 

 a normal condition. 



The season is late ; bees are only now 

 commencing brood, and as I have left 

 them, as far as possible, in quiet, thiis 

 far, I cannot give any correct idea as to 

 the number living, or the condition 

 they are in. 



We will commence active work as 

 soon as the weather clears and gets 

 warm. J. S. Harbison. 



San Diego, Cal., Jan, 19, 1878. 



Friend F. C. Hazen, Anaheim, Cal., 

 under date of Jan. 10, 1878, writes: 



" So far, it has been dry here, and 

 bids fair to be a dry year; if so, but 

 very little honey will be produced this 

 season. About one-third of all the 

 bees here died last year, and if we get 

 rain, we shall only harvest one-third of 

 a crop." 



On February 15, a severe storm and 

 heavy rains were reported from San 

 Francisco, doing an immense amount 

 of damage. So, between a severe 

 drouth last year and too much water 

 'this year, the outlook in California is 

 anything but encouraging. 



The Roberts Hive. — We have just 

 added to our Museum a hive, manufac- 

 tured by John Roberts, Henry, 111. It 

 is a moditication of the Langstroth, 

 with division boards, portable portico^ 

 slanting alighting board, loose bottom 

 board and several other items of 

 change. It is well made, and nicely 

 painted ; and its construction shows 

 that friend Roberts is thoroughly 

 familiar with the habits of the bee, 

 having kept bees for 20 years. He has 

 had experience with the Langstroth, 

 Quinby, American and Cottage hives, 

 but considers this an improvement on 

 them all. He uses it to winter on 

 sunnuer stands, shielding only from 

 the north and Avest winds, contracting 

 by division boards to a few frames, and 

 packing chaff or straw, as well as 

 having a chaff-box on top so filled. — 

 For out-door wintering, it is doubtless 

 a good hive. 



