each year for much less per pound, because 

 he is not posted. Such are the men wlio 

 glut our market with honey, put up in 

 inferior order, selling for what they are 

 offered or can get, keeping the price of 

 honey down. 



We have just made 9 gallons crab apple 

 jelly with honey, as directed in your work 

 on " Honey as Food and Medicine," and 

 find it equally as good as tliat made with 

 sugar, and ligiiter in color. The honey 

 flavor would be desired by those who like 

 that flavor. We exhibited a sample of each 

 at our Convention, and all thought the honey 

 jelly best. 



HOW TO GET BEES OVf OF A HONEY HOUSE 



and not let any in. This we have long 

 wished for : a window or door that will ven- 

 tillate the room, allow ligiit to enter, allow 

 no bees to come in, but without our assist- 

 ance will pass all out that may follow us in, 

 or that may be on the honey which we bring 

 in. Take out your sash of glass, and put 

 wire screen on "the casing outside, nail fast 

 at bottom and sides, at top leave an opening 

 of M 01" % i'lch, by placing in strips of that 

 thickness every 6 inches, through which to 

 nail ; have your wire cloth extend above 

 the window about 12 inches, and secured 

 against the building the same as top of win- 

 dow. Bees from inside will light against 

 the screen of wire cloth, and immediately 

 climb up, up and up (as it is the same light 

 to them from without), and they are free. 

 But those bees which wish to gain admit- 

 tance will not try to find an opening against 

 the building, where they can neither see 

 through nor even get a smell, but will try to 

 gain admittance at the window. The door 

 may be made by making a frame of 3 inches 

 wide, bottom and sides, top piece 12 inches 

 •wide, on this tack wire cloth within 1 inch 

 of top of door. Try it and improve upon it, 

 and let us know through the American 

 Bee Journal, the result. 

 New Boston, 111. D. D. Palmer. 



[It seems to us the questions were exceed- 

 ingly plain— thus : " Number of pounds of 

 comb honey produced thus far this season." 

 Some few estimated to the end of the season, 

 and those amounts were marked with a * and 

 it was so stated in a foot note. The average 

 of 32 lbs. for " thus far, this season " is 

 small when it is taken into account that the 

 reports are those of scientific bee-keepers. 

 Had it been a promiscuous table, it would 

 have been an exceedingly good showing. 

 Friend Palmer seems to agree pretty well 

 ■with us for he says : " This has been a poor 

 season with us"— wherein then did we do an 

 Injustice ?— Ed.] 



The Annual Convention of the Northwes- 

 tern Illinois Bee-keepers' Association will 

 be held at Shirland, Winnebago County, on 

 Dec. 17, 1878. Jas. E. Fehr, Sec. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



How I Tamed a Stubbo.n Colony. 



On Oct. 1st, I straightened up the combs 

 in one of my bee hives preparatory to 

 Italianizing the colony. Over half of the 

 bees left for parts unknown, but the queen 

 remained. Oct. .5th, I united the bees tiiat 

 remained with another colony. Caught and 

 caged both black queens, and afterwards 

 killed them. On the evening of Oct. 10th, I 

 hung a cage containing an Italian queen in 

 the hive. On the marning of the 12tli, I 

 opened the hive to release her Italian 

 majesty. No queen cells had been built 

 after I killed the two black queens; but I 

 found freshly laid eggs— also larvae, so I 

 searched for another queen and 1 found her 

 and soon had iier beheaded. I then removed 

 the cork from one end of the cage and tied a 

 piece of paper over that end. supposing it 

 would all work right. I closed the hive and 

 did not examine it again for some days. 

 When I did, I found everything just as I had 

 left it. bhe had not been liberated, but the 

 bees had started a number of queen cells. 

 I tore them down and daubed the queen cage 

 with them, then opened the cage, without 

 removing it from the hive, thinking she 

 would walk out. Some of the bees went in 

 and seemed not to molest her ; so 1 left 

 them to tliemsel ves for an hour or so. When 

 I went back I was not at all supprised to 

 find queen still in her cage. I tried to smoke 

 her out gently, but when she did come she 

 came in a hurry and ran rapidily down the 

 combs, out of the hive, and tried to fly ; but 

 I was too quick for her, I caught her and 

 clipped her wing, ran her in at the bottom of 

 hive; she remained about a quarter of a 

 minute, and then came out again. I caught 

 and put her in the top of hive and adminis- 

 tered smoke. Next morning I found her on 

 the bottom board. I gave them smoke to 

 my entire satisfaction, and the queen is now 

 all right, laying nicely. W. E. McBride. 



Belleville, 111. 



» > ■ ^m ■ ■ » 



For the American Bee JournaL 



Secrets of Bee-Keepers. 



I have been much interested in the reports 

 in the Oct. .Journal. Some of them to say 

 the least, have a mysterious look but 1 pre- 

 sume they can be satisfactorily explained. 

 At this time I will direct attention to only 

 two : B. R. Stephens, of DeKalb Co., 111., 

 bought 80 colonies of bees in the spring. 

 By purchase and otherwise they increased 

 to 102. Mr. S. claims to have secured from 

 this apiary 1,000 lbs. comb honey ; 8,000 lbs. 

 extracted, and 80 lbs. wax. The wax was 

 probably secured from the cappinusof the 

 extracted honey — being one pound of wax 

 to 100 lbs. of honey. This indicates that 

 much of the honey was thrown out of the 

 combs before they were sealed. 



The next report I have selected is from 

 the Messrs. Oatman of Kane Co., Illinois. 

 They claim to have gone into winter 

 quarters with 185 colonies and to have bet;un 

 the present season with 175. This shows 

 a loss by sales and otheiwise, ot only 10 

 colonies, a very flattering result. Their 



