bright, excepting a few. The weather con- 

 tinued warm, and in their eagerness to 

 commence their season's worlt, tliey gave 

 me trouble by robbing; and then there 

 would be sneak-thieves, of my own or my 

 neighbors, that would commence to fly 

 about a strong swarm, and in a short time 

 they would alight upon and enter in force. 

 After protecting that one, they would go to 

 the next one, but by close watching I 

 managed to keep even with them until the 

 weather cooled down. 1 have lost 2 out of 

 the 40 colonies, owing to mismanagement 

 last fall; they went into winter quarters 

 with poor queens, or none at all. Please 

 answer through your columns the following 

 questions: 1. Will bees cluster and com- 

 mence work in section boxes as readily, 

 and with as good results where the division 

 tins are used as they will when they are 

 not ? 2. Are section boxes with glass on 

 either side preferred to them without glass, 

 in the market? 3. Is tobacco smoke inju- 

 rious to bees if used moderately while 

 handling them ?" Oscar Courtney. 



[1. Yes: just as readily. 



2. They were last year — what may be 

 demanded this year, is not yet determined. 

 The Prize boxes may be glassed or not, as 

 the market may demand, before shipping. 



3, No; if used in moderation. Kag or 

 punk smoke is better.— Ed.] 



East Pharsalia, N. Y., March 14, 1878. 

 "1 started last spring with 3 swarms; 

 increased, by artificial swarming, to 9, and 

 took about 75 fts. of comb honey. 1 have 

 now 9 strong colonies. Bees are busy at 

 work on the sugar maple, where the farmers 

 have tapped the trees. I use the Lang- 

 stroth hive, and winter out of doors; made 

 boxes 6 inches larger than the hives, every 

 way, and packed space with chaff; they 

 came out clean ana bright this spring.— 

 Have taken the chaff out, but will leave the 

 hives in the boxes until about May 15. We 

 have strong winds here through April and 

 the first of May, and the boxes will keep 

 the wind from blowing heat away from the 

 hives. I intend to buy 5 more colonies, and 

 then increase to 50. I experimented last 

 year on comb foundation, and it was a per- 

 fect success; the bees accepted it, and drew 

 out the cells quickly." 



Frank Robinson. 



Oneida, 111., Feb. 20, 1878. 

 " I believe I have made a valuable discov- 

 ery ; and that is to use wire cloth instead of 

 canvas to pack absorbent around the frames 

 in the hive ; chaff, dry leaves, or saw-dust, 

 may be used. Make a box 3 inches larger 

 one way than the hive inside, and 2 frames 

 high. To use the Langstroth frames, the 

 hive should be 18% inches by 21%, and 22 

 inches high. Make a frame of (common 

 plastering lath) thin stuff, 13^ inches, to go 

 into the hive ; lath should be edgewise, 

 with lath posts, about 6 inches apart ; nail 

 or tack the wire cloth on the inside of the 

 frame, and pack the absorbent between the 

 liive and the wire cloth. By this plan, the 

 chaff is next to the bees. The chaff cover, 

 made of wire cloth, will rest on the comb 



frames and be 3 or 4 inches thick. For hot 

 weather, take out the absorbent, and the 

 hive will be thoroughly ventilated. Take 

 out the inside frame, and put the comb 

 frames cross-wise and the hive will hold 8 

 more frames. We want more room in sum- 

 mer than winter ; let the side of the comb 

 frame run down %, to rest on the bottom, 

 and the top frame rest on the under one. I 

 have kept bees 10 years; have set one hive 

 over the other with comb frames, in the 

 past 7 or 8 years, and like the plan first- 

 rate." A. Reynolds. 



Mount Pleasant, Iowa, March 13, 1878. 



"Bees have wintered well. I have win- 

 tered .55 colonies on their summer stands, 

 with the loss of but 1, which was queenless. 

 My largest yield of extracted honey, last 

 season, from 1 colony, was 394 lbs., in a 

 double-story, Quinby hive. Please answer 

 the following questions in the next Jour- 

 nal : 1. In using close-fitting, section 

 frames, how can you tell when the inner 

 frames are filled and ready to take off, with- 

 out tearing them all up? 2. What holds 

 the sections in place while on the hive? 3. 

 Are the outside sections to be glassed? 4. — 

 I intend using sections with close-fitting 

 ends and 14 inch top bar, covering the same 

 with cloth; so by folding back the cloth, 

 you can see down through, to know when 

 they are filled. Is the idea a good one?" 

 John. A. Thomas. 



[1. You can tell only upon examination, 

 but that can be easily done without damage. 



2, and 3. Answers to these will be found 

 on page 156. 



4. If you don't intend to glass them, your 

 plan will do.— Ed. J 



Harrisville, Pa., March 16, 1878. 



1. Is it best to hang the Prize Boxes in a 

 case, or glass each outside one and fill the 

 hive? 2. Are wooden separators as good 

 as tin? They would be cheaper. 3. Is Jl' 

 inch enough space for bees, as that appears 

 to be all the room there is. with the separa- 

 tors?" Jacob Patterson. 



[ 1. Either plan is good. See description 

 in full on page 156. 



2. Wooden separators have been tried, 

 and abandoned by many. Bees will fasten 

 comb to them, sometimes, and the capping 

 will then be broken when removed. 



, .3. The i4 inch space between two boxes 

 is supplemented by the thickness of the 

 tin, giving them space enough to pass.— 

 Ed.] 



Kewaskum, Wis., Feb. 12, 1878. 

 " The past season was a good one in this 

 section. I had 30 colonies that made 4,300 

 lbs., (an average of 325 lbs. to the hive). I 

 have sold all at from 10 to 12 cts. My 

 neighbor, Mr. G. Kuck, had 3 colonies of 

 Italians; one was so weak last spring that 

 not more than a pint of bees was left ; I 

 took them in hand, and through May they 

 increased very fast, and on the 1st of June 

 one gave a large swarm. Wlieu tlie other 



