times, a difficulty in getting out the frames 

 witliout injuring tlie comb and bees, and 

 the probability of killing bees in examina- 

 tion, &c., particularly in putting on the top 

 or upper story, and the cover. Can you 

 point to any hive with all the advantages of 

 the Langstroth hive, with the additional 

 advantages alluded to ?" 



Albert L. Rust. 



[Yes ; the new Langstroth with manipu- 

 lating side, described elsewhere in this 

 number of the Journal, "fills the bill," 

 exactly. There is no necessity of killing a 

 bee ; and no good bee-keeper will consent 

 to use a hive whose general character may 

 be summed up by being called a " bee- 

 killer."— Ed.] 



Farmington, Minn., May 4, 1878. 

 "My bees, .51 swarms, wintered safely, 

 and the season being early they are unusu- 

 ally strong for this "time of the year. I am 

 glad tlie reputation of the black bee is grad- 

 ually taking its proper place. When I read 

 in the Journal friend Alley's and others' 

 glowing description of the merits of the 

 Italians, I think there must be one of two 

 things: either they have ditferent Italian 

 bees, or I have a better race of black bees. 

 In poor seasons for honey, the black bees 

 always do the best." L. E. Day. 



Jonesboro, Ills., May 3, 1878. 

 "I began the season with 12 colonies, 

 bought 6, transferred all but 3, and increased 

 to 24 by natural swarming. My first 2 

 swarms came off a little over 3 weeks ago; 

 they were very large. I put them in 2-story 

 Simplicity hives. One swarm has filled both 

 upper and lower story, in all 18 frames, 8 of 

 which are filled with honey, which is being 

 capped over. The honey is obtained from 

 the tulip trees, white clover and raspberry. 

 The two latter are just in their prime. The 

 other colonies are doing equally well, ac- 

 cording to their size. Is that not an en- 

 couraging prospect for a beginner? This is 

 my first season of bee keeping for profit." 



W. J. WiLLARD. 



[Yes, it is quite a flattering report. All 

 beginners cannot expect to do as well.— Ed.] 



Louisville, Kansas, May 21, 1878. 

 "I commenced the season with 3 colonies, 

 (hybrids), have increased by natural swarm- 

 ing to 8 colonies. The first swarm came off 

 on the 25tli of March, and without cere- 

 mony left for the woods. The season here, 

 so far, has been very good ; bees are now 

 carrying in honey and pollen from the 

 raspberry, which is plentiful here ; when 

 that fails, I suppose they will take a rest, 

 as forage is scarce during the month of 

 June, and presume they will dwindle con- 

 siderable until the prairie flowers come into 

 bloom. I hived a second swarm 10 days 

 ago. This morning I found the queen out- 

 side the hive, dead, with no eggs or brood 

 in any of the cells, and very few bees, 

 although, when hived there was not less 

 than 3 quarts. I see hundreds of dead 

 workers, and some drones around some of 

 my other hives, and cannot account for 



their rapid dwindling, unless it was these 

 bees trying to incorporate themselves with 

 other colonies, and have been destroyed. — 

 And again, how is it that there were no 

 eggs in any of the cells, presuming the 

 young queen that led off the swarm was 

 fertile ? What little knowledge I have of 

 bee-keeping, I owe to that most excellent 

 publication, the American Bee Jour- 

 nal." Jas. D. Chadwick. 



Delaware Co., Pa., May 16, 1878. 

 " I have 41 colonies of bees, and my 

 brother 8 ; thej' are all in very fine condi- 

 tion. I have 30 in Dr. Worrail's Centennial 

 hive. I have 4 different hives in my apiary, 

 but prefer his. I have the old and new 

 American, but think they do not winter as 

 well as in Centennial hives. I like my ex- 

 tractor very much, and thank friend Muth 

 for introducing such a valuable machine. — 

 I think every bee-keeper should have one. 

 I had one colony commence to rob the other, 

 the 28th of April. The colony that was 

 robbed did not try to resist the robbers. 

 Both colonies were very strong. The 

 weather has been very unfavorable for this 

 last week, that is, from the 8th to the 16th 

 of May ; if I had not fed some strong colo- 

 nies, they would have peinshed. But they 

 were carrying honey from white clover, for 

 the first, to-day. Will give you full report 

 of bees and honey crop this fall." 



J. Halbert Williamson. 



Delhi, Jersey Co., 111., April 15, 1878. 

 "With the spring again returns active 

 interest in our bees. Those who keep their 

 bees principally for the money they make 

 out of them, are beginning to try "to peer 

 into the future, wanting to know what the 

 summer will bring fortli, what the prospect 

 is for a good honey crop, and the profit they 

 will propably realize on their bees. They, 

 like tlieir bees, are getting ready for the 

 gathering of the harvest. Everything is 

 done that should be done at this season of 

 the year. New hives are made and well 

 painted. Honey boxes are stored in a con- 

 venient place, to be ready when needed, 

 and all the hives have been examined, to 

 ascertain if any were queenless. The busy 

 time is now just about beginning, both 

 with bees and bee-keepers. Already we 

 have many young bees hatched and flying, 

 and drones hatched and many more capped. 

 Our queens are fast filling their combs with 

 brood, and if the remarkably early spring 

 continues we shall soon start nuclei. We 

 have wintered our bees on the summer 

 stands, and in opening them, this spring, 

 was very much surprised to see how little 

 honey they had consumed, owing partly, 

 we think, to the very mild winter, and 

 partly to the hive we use. And right here, 

 as you have the advertisement in your 

 Journal, I would say a word in favor of 

 this hive : Armstrong's Centennial, I 

 believe, is the best hive in use. It is per- 

 fectly adapted for all purposes. In using 

 it, there is no need ot nucleus hives, as they 

 are very easily converted into nucleus 

 hives, and if necessary, two can dwell in 

 one of them, separated by means of a divi- 

 sion board. By means of side sections, 

 bees are almost forced to make box honey ; 



