244 



On March 25tli, I noticed, wliile insipecting 

 a hive, some tioo or three bees evidently 

 hostile to the queen. I i)icked tlieni out 

 and killed them and hoped all the rest were 

 loyal, seeing nothing else to the contrary; 

 but the next morning, lo! there at the door 

 was the queen dead. I cannot tell you how 

 it distressed me. It was only about midday, 

 and I could not think what either myself or 

 the poor queen had done to anger the bees. 



The colony that was trying to swarm the 

 middle of the month made it out, I think, 

 though 1 did not see them, but on the 35th I 

 saw a young queen in that hive which had 

 just emerged from lier cell. I suppose I 

 must have overlooked that cell when 1 cut 

 out the rest. I forgot to notice when I saw 

 the first drones, but there are lots now in 

 some of the hives. The honey coming in 

 now is delicious. Anna Saundeks. 



Clyde, Iowa, June 13, 1878. 

 " In answer to many questions—' What 

 killed the bees ?' I will say : Improper 

 stores. During the winters of 1877-8, I lost 

 75 per cent.— cause, poor honey. A large 

 proportion of those lost were blacks, while 

 a large ])er cent, of those left was Italians. 

 Does tliis not prove that the latter are more 

 hardy, and that they procure better stores ? 

 They are more gentle, and for this reason 

 alone I prefer them to the blacks." 



R. ECKLESS. 



Elizabethtown, Ind., June 15, 1878. 

 Fbiend Newman:— "I see by last 

 month's Journal that you report 'univer- 

 sal cold and wet.' "With us, it has been so ; 

 even now, June 15, we are having very cool 

 nights, for this time of the year ; and to 

 make matters worse, it rains almost every 

 day. White clover has been in bloom for 

 several weeks, and lias furnished but little 

 honey. Bees are in nice condition, how- 

 ever, to work in boxes, if it only turns 

 warm and dry. As the queens have had 

 things all their own way, filling the combs 

 full of brood from top to bottom, and bees 

 are strong in numbers, they will have to 

 store in boxes if there is any honey to 

 gather." Joseph M. Brooks. 



Sherwood, Wis., June 7, 1878. 



"Editor Journal :— I send you a small 

 twig from a willow covered with aphides, 

 or lice. I also enclose some of the leaves 

 with the 'honey dew' adhering thereto.— 

 From close observation made by Mr. W. K. 

 Bishop where these parasites were congre- 

 gated in large numbers, we are satisfied 

 that Mr. Clias. Sonne is correct in his asser- 

 tions on ' honey dew,' in the June number 

 ol the American Bee Journal. When 

 they were disturbed, the liquid could be 

 plainly seen ejected by them, and with suf- 

 ficient force to be distinctly felt upon the 

 hand. The upper side of the leaves were 

 completely covered with ' honey dew,' and 

 the bees had been working quite vigorously 

 ilpon them. We thought we would send 

 you some of the genuine article for examin- 

 ation, if you should desire to do so and 

 report." L- Potter. 



r Thanks, friend Potter, for the samples. 

 They prove, pretty conclusively, that you 

 are correct.— Ed.] 



LaPorte City, Iowa, May 16, 1878. 

 "Bees wintered well, consuming but 

 little honey. They commenced breeding 

 very early. On Sunday, April '2S, 1 had a 

 large Italian swarm. The Sunday follow- 

 ing, a second swarm, and I don't know how 

 many more would have issued if I had not 

 removed the queens and cells. This is a 

 good proof that the Italians are ahead of 

 the blacks. Bee-keepers of Iowa, now^ let 

 us hear who got the first swarm, and 

 whether it was a black or an Italian swarm. 

 I think that not more than 5 per cent, of all 

 that were wintered in cellars have died. — 

 With splendid prospects, bee-keepers are 

 happy. May the Journal ever prosper, 

 and help the bee-keepers to solve the many 

 mysteries yet hidden." L. L. Triem. 



Great Bend, Pa., June 24, 1878. 

 "Dear Editor :— Your very kind letter 

 is received. We are happy to report favor- 

 ably of the foundation machine you sent us. 

 We liave made a batch of very nice comb 

 foundation. We made some wooden dipping 

 plates, and like them much better than the 

 metal ones. We use nothing but water and 

 have no trouble about the wax sticking to 

 the plates. We think we shall be more 

 pleased with the machine as we become 

 accustomed to its use. Our bees are doing 

 nicely and drawing out the foundation in a 

 beautiful shape. We are extracting some 

 very nice honey." Squires Bros. 



Boone Co., N. Y., June 7, 1878, 

 " I am much pleased with the Bee Jour- 

 nal. Many thanks for its enlarged size.— 

 It is the largest and best bee paper pub- 

 lished in the world. I never had any of 

 tiiose remarkably large yields of honey, 

 &c., to report, that some do. My bees are 

 doing as well as I can expect. The weather 

 is very cold and summer backward. I 

 should be much pleased if we could have 

 a correct likeness, in the Journal, of T. 

 G. Newman & Son. I think it would give 

 much satisfaction. It seems to be natural, 

 when we read the Journal to want to 

 know how the Editors look." 



D. L. Franklin. 

 [Thanks, friend Franklin, for your good 

 words and wishes. Our aim is to make the 

 Journal impartial as well as impersonal, 

 and fear it would be considered by some 

 rather pretentious for us to parade our 

 physical appearance in it. It is the mind 

 that makes the man, yen know.— Ed.] 



O'Fallon, 111., May 13, 1878. 

 " Friend Newman :— You abridged my 

 article in the May No. so much that any 

 one would think I had only 23 Adair hives, 

 all told, when I really have 65. The brood 

 I spoke of was in Langstroth frames. I 

 had a big swarm on April 30th, with 15 

 queen cells started in the old hive. I have 

 had none since ; it has been so cold, with 

 occasional frosts, ever since." 



C. T. Smith. 



[ We are sorry if by abreviating we con- 

 veyed a wrong idea, friend Smith, and 

 cheerfully correct it. With all our enlarged 



