deal lower than they now are. 



5. This lower price will ci'eate a demand. 

 The consumption of honey will be very 

 largely increased. 



0. Although the producer will receive a 

 less price per pound, he can make much 

 larger profits than now. Suppose, now a 

 in-oducer sells one pound of superior comb 

 lioney for 20 cents, and makes, above afl 

 expense of production, ten cents. By and 

 by, improved methods of manacjement may 

 enable liim to pi'oduce comb honey at an 

 actual cost of eight cents per pound. If, 

 then, the demand increases so that he can 

 .sell a hundred pounds, at nine cents a 

 pound, where he now sells one pound at 20 

 cents a pound, he will be a large gainer; he 

 will gain 100 cents on the sale of 100 pounds, 

 just as easily as he now gains 10 cents by 

 "sale of one pound. 



It seems to me that bee-kepers nnist take 

 some such view of their business as the one 

 I have here sketched so briefly and imper- 

 fectly. It is nearly certain that a larger 

 amount of honey will be produced, and that 

 prices will be lower. To lament about this 

 is useless and foolish. Rational men will 

 turn their attention to lessening the cost of 

 production, and to increasing the demand 

 so largely, that, in spite of low prices, a 

 living income may be obtained. 



Keokuk, Iowa, Feb. 8, 1878. O. Clute. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Spring Dwindling of Italians. 



THE CAUSE AND THE KEMEDY. 



Mr. Editor: — My experience with Italian 

 bees has been somewhat limited, having 

 only introduced them into my apiary about 

 two years ago. But since that time I have 

 been a close observer of their habits, mark- 

 ing their merits and demerits in contrast 

 with our native black bees. From this 

 brief experience I am led to believe that if we 

 give the Italians the attention their nature 

 requires, we will find them nuich more 

 profitable to us than black bees. 



A few words with reference to the man- 

 ner in which I winter my bees will lead me 

 to tlie thoughts I wish to express altout 

 spring dwindling. 1 have now twenty colo- 

 nies of bees in my cellar; nineteen of tiiem 

 are Italians. At this time (Jan. 9th) they 

 are in good condition. My cellar is dry, 

 dark, well ventilated, and free from dis- 

 turbance. Each hive is also ventilated, by 

 leaving the entrance and honey-board open. 

 The tops are elevated at ofie end so that 

 there is a free circulation of air. AVith this 

 precaution no moisture collects in the hives, 

 and the combs come out clean and dry in the 

 spring. For the last four years I have win- 

 tered my bees in this manner without losing 

 a single colony, nor have I lost any (natives 

 or Italians) from dwindling away in the 

 spring. I think it is fair for me to attribute 

 my success alone to good management. 



Snring dwindling. 1 believe, comes from a 

 lack of good management. 



Italians are more energetic, more indus- 

 trious, more dnring, than black bees. They 

 will venture out when their owner will 

 shiver in his overcoat. My attention was 



first called to this fact one cool, chilly morn- 

 ing, a few years ago, on seeing about a dozen 

 Italians busily at work upon a little piece of 

 honey-comb that had been thrown into the 

 yard from the breakfast table. Here was 

 this tempting morsel not ten feet from my 

 colonies of black bees, and yet not one of 

 them had found it. A neighbor, a half mile 

 away, had one or two hives of Italians. 

 There were no others in the neighborhood. 

 I have noticed, at other times, tliat when a 

 honey-box has been emptied and left in an 

 out-house, the Italians will find it when it 

 is so cold that black bees will not venture 

 out. I conclude, therefore, that Italians will 

 often lose their lives by venturing out on 

 cold, chilly days in spring time. 



The remedy is confinement. Let them be 

 put away in a dry, dark cellar, as described 

 above, as soon as winter has fully set in, and 

 keep them there till spring, being careful to 

 return them to the identical spot they occu- 

 pied the sunnner before. This last precau- 

 tion is of great importance. In the evening, 

 after dark, is the proper time for carrying 

 your bees from the cellar; then they will be 

 quietly settled before morning. There is 

 not so much danger of a panic the following 

 day, if carried out in the evening. It is un- 

 safe to do this when there is much snow on 

 the ground, even if the day is warm, and 

 the snow melting rapidly. In their first 

 flight after confinement, they are almost 

 certain to take a rest before returning to 

 their hive, and those alighting on snow, or 

 on the cold, wet ground, will soon become 

 chilled and perish. It will not take long to 

 deplete a colony under such circumstances. 

 I neglected saying above tiiat every colony 

 should be sheltered from the sun, especially 

 at this trying season of the year. My apiary 

 i^ on a little hillside facing the north, and 

 so my bees are seldom enticed out by the 

 warm sun, when the air is too cold for them. 



Burlington, Iowa. I. P. Wilson. 



For the Amerlciin Bee Journal. 



Bibulous Bees. 



San Diego, Cal., .Ian. 21, 1878. 

 I notice in the Dec. number an article 

 coi>ied from the Los Angeles Herald, which 

 ((uotes the opinion of Clialmers Scott, Esq., 

 that bees do great injury to the fruit crop.— 

 Mr. Scott and I are intimate friends, and 

 we have frequentlj'^ discussed this subject, 

 and during the past year I have given it 

 careful study. It is true that where bees 

 are numerous tlifey do injure the grape crop, 

 and in this way: Bees cannot puncture the 

 skin of a sound grape, but, if it is cracked, 

 or any way defective, they soon suck it dry. 

 Grapes grow here very luxuriently, bunches 

 weighing from 1 to 4 pounds each. When 

 nearly ripe, a good many berries jiart a 

 little frrtm the stem, and, frequentljs birds 

 and some insects puncture them, and these 

 are destroyed by the bees. For sale, for 

 table use, they are much injured, as it 

 impairs the appearance of the bunches, but 

 for making wine, the loss is small; very 

 much less than is caused by birds, gophers, 

 rabbits, etc. The past year being one of 

 almost total failure of the honey crop, bees 

 were more troublesome than usual; but so 



