Sliawano, Wis., March 16, 1878. 

 " I have 22 colonies in Lanfrstrotli hives, 

 (8 frames,) made of straw, by myself. I 

 nave wintered out doors for 2 years without 

 loss." H. Klosterman. 



Garden Plain, 111., March 12, 1878. 

 "My bees are out of house and are all 

 alive and breeding rapidly— most of them 

 have young bees, hatching— fully as fast as 

 some years in May. If the season is favor- 

 able for the secretion of honey, I expect a 

 large yield from my 100 colonies." 



R. R. Murphy. 



Waveland, Ind., March 16, 1878. 

 " I placed in the cellar last fall 44 colonies, 

 and took out 40 this spring. Four lost their 

 queens after being put out. I set them out 

 the first vpeek in March. Most of them had 

 brood. Bees gather natural pollen every 

 pleasant day, and, of course, pay little atten- 

 tion to flour feed. The prospect is good 

 for all kinds of fruit, and an early honey 

 season." Isaac Sharp. 



Perry Co., Mo., Jan. 21, 1878. 

 " I commenced with 1 colony, in box hive, 

 in 1863; I got a colony of Italians in a Lang- 

 stroth hive in 1869, and subscribed for the 

 American Bee Journal,. Some of my 

 neighbors, who keep a few be«s in box 

 hives, made fun of me at first, and pre- 

 dicted a failure— but now they don't seem 

 so 'funny.' Last year was a good season 

 for bees, while the two years previous were 

 the worst I ever knew." M. 11. Milster. 



White Co., Ark., March 4, 1878. 

 "I commenced last spring with 2 colo- 

 nies ; these produced 85 lbs. of nice, white, 

 comb honey each, which I sold at 18 cts. per 

 lb. I paid $10 each for them. They were 

 in movable, comb hives, but were black 

 bees. In July I bought an Italian queen. — 

 I introduced fier into a hive ; it was my first 

 attempt at Italianizing. In September last, 

 to my great joy, I found that I had a full 

 colony of Italians. I bought, in June, 14 

 colonies of bees in common hives, and 

 transferred them to movable-comb hives.— 

 The 13 colonies are strong, and have plenty 

 of honey. I saved, while transferring, 

 about 100 lbs. of nice honey, which I have 

 had for table use." D. I. Beecher. 



Brecksville, O., March 18, 1878. 

 "Bees came through in splendid order- 

 no loss whatever. Thanks to instructions 

 in the old and reliable American Bee 

 Journal,. I put 25 colonies in the cellar, 

 leaving the balance on summer stands, 

 packed in chaff. After a careful examina- 

 tion of bees and stores, I am satisfied that 

 those in the cellar wintei'ed with the small- 

 est loss of bees, and consumed from }4 to X 

 less honey, notwithstanding the winter has 

 been one of extraordinary mildness. No 

 further argument is needed, in my case, to 

 show the econoTTiy of wintering in cellars, 

 if proper conditions are observed. Very 

 few losses in wintering have been reported 

 in tills vicinity, and unless the season 

 should prove a very poor one, it is safe to 

 predict a large yield from Northern Ohio 

 the coming season." Chas. S. Burt. 



Ridgeley, Mo., Feb. 22, 1878. 

 " My bees have wintered w^ell— using but 

 little honey. They are strong in numbers. 

 I wintered on summer stands, packed in 

 boxes, with hay." John Scheerer. 



Milan, 111., March 30, 1878. 

 " I have been 12 years in the bee business. 

 Commenced with 1 swarm, and now have 

 112. Don't know anything yet about bees, 

 but expect to learn somethimg from each 

 copy of the Journal. My bees are in fine 

 condition, and the prospects are first rate." 



C. H. DiBBERN. 



Milledgeville, 111., March 27, 1878. 

 "The Barnes' saw arrived on Saturday, 

 in good condition. It ia a good saw. My 

 bees are now on their summer stands.- 

 They are in excellent condition. Did not 

 lose a colonj in wintering. I have received 

 one of Novice's smokers. It is much infe- 

 rior to Bingham's. The latter is the cheap- 

 est, and far more convenient." 



F. A. Snell. 



Riverton, Iowa, Feb. 8, 1878. 

 "Our great drawback, in the bee busi- 

 ness, is that we have no bloom that affords 

 honey in June. A great many bees, kept 

 upon the old principle, died last June of 

 starvation. I had 42 colonies; they cost me 

 $1 per day for food. Our fall flow of honey 

 was good. During the season of 1877 we 

 had but little increase, but plenty of honey. 

 About 10 tons in this county. I tried 3 

 dollar queens last season, and they were as 



food as any warranted ones 1 ever had, and 

 have paid as high as $8 for a queen." 



Ed. Wellington. 



Clarks, O., March 8, 1878. 

 "Bees have been gathering pollen and 

 honey since March 1st. They are in good 

 condition and breeding finely. Of 22 colo- 

 nies, I have lost none; winter on summer 

 stands. Some boys stole 3 frames, a few 

 days ago, from a colony, taking about 15 lbs. 

 of honey, the queen and about one half of 

 the bees. I united what was left with 

 another colony. I am using the adjustable 

 bee-hive, and like it. We get our honey in 

 section frames, and use the extractor. I 

 shall try fertilization of queens in confine- 

 ment, by a method I have long had in con- 

 templation; will let you know how I 

 succeed. Success to the American Bee 

 Journal." J. A. Bucklew. 



Marathon, N. Y., March 18, 1878. 

 "I like the American Bee Journal 

 very much, and the better I become 

 acguainted with its management, the more I 



Erize it. Last Nov., I put 40 swarms of 

 lack bees in a house with a wall 8 inches 

 thick, filled with sawdust on all sides, top 

 and bottom; lined the walls with building 

 paper on the inside, gave ventilation at top, 

 and in center, at the bottom. Owing to the 

 mild winter, it was hard to keep the tem- 

 perature low enough to keep them quiet. I 

 placed them on their summer stands the 

 last of December for a flight, (the weather 

 being warm); put them back dry and nice, 

 where they remained until March. They 

 are strong in numbers, and combs are 



