236 



TMW MMBMICMH MMW J@iPMlfMIU. 



root of a hickory tree, about four iucbes 

 below the surface of the ground, which 

 was covered with leaves, aud frozen hard. 

 When first seen, the only evidence of life 

 in the bee was a slight movement of the 

 legs. I took it in my hands and blew my 

 breath upon it for some time, but could 

 not make it able to walk. It had a sad and 

 forlorn appearance. Around its body, or 

 in the indentation around its waist were 

 several small brown lice, all of which were 

 lively. JI}- greatest curiosity is to under- 

 stand how this poor bee survived a cold 

 winter in this ic3' and desolate cell without 

 any food. Is a bumble-bee warm blooded? 

 If Prof. Cook will kindly answer this, I 

 shall feel greatly obliged. 



F. B. Pakker. 

 St. Joseph, Mo., March 24, 1890. 



[This is nothing new or strange. The 

 queen bumble-bee lives over winter in some 

 cell or crevice. She truly hibernates, as 

 she eats not and moves not. Many insects 

 are infested by lice and mites. I have had 

 ten students studying in my laboratory all 

 winter during our long three-months' vaca- 

 tion. It has been so warm that they have 

 been able to collect most of the time. They 

 got their insects in the earth, rotten-wood, 

 and under leaves. Many of the insects 

 harbored vermin, lice or mites. — A. J. 

 Cook.] 



Results ol'tiie L<ast !^eason. 



I commenced the season of 1889 with -17 

 colonies, aud increased them to 70, which 

 are all in good condition now. They are 

 packed in chaff on the summer stands. I 

 took 2,900 pounds of comb honey in one- 

 pound sections, and 250 pounds of ex- 

 tracted honey, last year. A. W. Fisher. 



Ganges, Mich., March 24, 1890. 



Unfavorable YVeather. 



The American Bee Jourxai, comes to me 

 regularly, and I am much pleased with it — 

 in fact, I would not be without it for many 

 times its cost. The month of March has 

 been bad for the bees — rainy and stormy, 

 with no prospect of fair weather yet. My 

 colonies are yet strong in bees, but if the 

 unfavorable weather continues much longer, 

 I am fearful that our honey crop, which is 

 never ver}" large in this "localit5', will be 

 quite small, as our best honey-ttow com- 

 mences early in April. J. L. Guthrie. 



Juliet, Miss., March 22, 1890. 



XranslerriiiK— AlsiUe Clover. 



An Illinois lady writes to know how to 

 transfer bees from an old-fashioned 

 '•Palace bee-hive" to frame hives; also, 

 how to divide the bees, as there are enough 

 for three strong colonies; and what to do 

 with the bees when fastening the pieces of 

 combs in the frames. I would smoke aud 

 drive the bees into some box, to have them 

 out of the way ; and after the combs are 

 transferred and divided as wanted, I 

 would introduce queens to the two queen- 

 less colonies at once, if the queens are 

 handy, and if there are no queens to be 

 used, give ripe queen-cells two days later, 

 which can be had at swarming time. As 

 soon as the transferring is done, the bees in 

 the box are to be divided among the 3 

 colonies, and allowed to run in at the 

 entrance. 



As the time of the year for sowing clover 

 will soon Yte at hand, I will give my experi- 

 ence with it. I have been sowing Alsike 

 in a small way for the last three years, and 



am well pleased with it. When I sow for 

 hay, I have about }g Alsike and -g red 

 clover, which makes a very nice quality of 

 hay. I think that it is not necessary to 

 mix the seed one half, as the Alsike is very 

 fine, and goes a great ways when sowed, 

 which does not ma];e it such a dear seed, 

 after all. Now as the basswood trees are 

 mostly cut down for logs and other uses, 

 bee-keepers ought to provide as much 

 Alsike clover and buckwheat pasture for 

 the bees as possible — the more the better, 

 if we are keeping l:>ees for profit; but if we 

 are keeping bees for fun only, we can build 

 up a large apiary in almost any farming 

 country. As for myself, I keep bees for the 

 money there is in the business, as well as 

 pleasure. 



The bees had a fine flight to-day, and 

 carried in a lot of fiour that I give for pol- 

 len. There were also plenty of bright, 

 young bees taking their first flight in front 

 of the strongest colonies, which are indica- 

 tions of rapid breeding. With a few 

 exceptions, the bees have come though so 

 far in fine condition. C. A. Bunch. 



Nye, Ind., March 20, 1890. 



Preparing- lor a Oood Season. 



My bees are wintering thus far without 

 loss. I increased, last season, from 37 to 

 73 colonies, and took 1,600 pounds of 

 white honey, for which I received 15 cents 

 per pound in my home market. I am pre- 

 paring for a good year. I have my hives 

 nearly fiuished for doubling my apiary the 

 coming season. L. D. O'Dell. 



Protection, N. Y., March 26, 1890. 



Oast Skins of the Ilacon-Ueetle. 



I send you a small box containing a piece 

 of comb cut from some brood-frame combs 

 which I purchased from a neighbor who has 

 lost nearly all his bees (about 80 colonies). 

 You will find in the comb shells of a worm 

 covered with long hairs like webs, which 

 would seem to me to be proof against an 

 attack by bees. The worm hatches under 

 a web, and then coats itself with a web 

 (the same as the wax-moth). I think it 

 lives on the brood. Will Prof. Cook please 

 state in the Bee Journal what it is ? 



Niles, Mich. Cuas. B. Fritts. 



[The cast skins are of the larva or grub of 

 the bacon-beetle — Dcrmestes lardariut!. 

 This beetle is described and Illustrated in 

 my last edition of the " Bee-Keepers' 

 Guide," on page 414. As I state there, I 

 do not think that it feeds on anything but 

 the dead bees. It is a serious pest in 

 Museums, and especially in insect cabinets. 

 I have never seen these about combs, except 

 when they were stored with dead bees or 

 brood in them. They may gnaw the comb 

 to get to the bees. — A. J. Cook.] 



the cellar as I think necessary, so that the 

 mice cannot get on it. I then put the hives 

 on, and I take poison of some kind that will 

 be sure to kill if mice eat it, and mix it with 

 corn-meal or flour, and put it into pans on 

 the bottom of the cellar, so that if mice or 

 rats do get into the cellar, they will be 

 very apt to get some of the poisort 



I would like to ask a question, viz : If the 

 drone and queen trap is used on hives to 

 catch the queen, will it not hinder the work- 

 ers from carrying in pollen, as the perfora- 

 tions seem too small to admit of the bees 

 getting the loads of pollen through? I have 

 never used the traps, and would like to 

 know. D. B. Cassady. 



Litchfield, Minn. 



[We refer this question to Mr. Alley, for 

 answer. — Ed.] 



Mice in Bee-Cellars, etc. 



When putting bees into the cellar for 

 winter, I will give the plan I use to keep 

 the mice from the bees, viz : I first put 

 posts in the bottom of the bee-house, or 

 cellar, so that when in place they are about 

 18 inches or 2 feet above the bottom of the 

 cellar. Then put on top of the posts old 

 joints of stove-pipe, cut open and pressed 

 out flat, or sheets of tin 1^.1 feet or 2 feet 

 broad, so that if mice do climb up the posts, 

 they cannot get up over the edges of the 

 metal sheets. Then I take a good, one-inch 

 board, as wide as I can find, and lay it on 

 top of the posts over the metal sheets, 

 keeping the board as far from the walls of 



Early Pollen. 



Our bees were never in better condition 

 at this season of the year. It is not very 

 different from what it was last September. 

 We have Italians that are ahead of any 

 strain of Italian bees in the world. They 

 are just such a colony of bees as we have 

 tried for nearly 30 years to develop. They 

 possess every desiraltle quality that even 

 the most timid person could desire. This 

 colony carried in pollen from the pussy- 

 willow on March 13; three days earlier 

 than I ever before knew it to be done here in 

 New England. Henry Alley. 



Wenham, Mass. 



HONEY AND BEESWAX MARKET. 



MILWAUKEE. March i:i.— The demand for 

 honey is vei-y g'ood, aud the supi>ly is fair. We 

 quote: White l-lbs.,12fi i:ic— and it absolutely 

 iierfect, sometimes 14c. ; choice, white 2-lbs., 

 l'2(g;12!io.: dark 1-lbs., 10@llc.; old 1-lbs., 

 SSjiSc. Extracted, white, in barrels and half- 

 barrels, 7!3@8c. ; in pails and tin, 8(a!8i4c. ; 

 dark, in barrels and halt-barrels, 6@6!4c. 

 Beeswax, 22@25c. 



A. V. BISHOP, 142 W. Water St. 



DENVER, March 8.— 1-lb. sections, 1.3@1.5c. ; 

 Extracted, 7@8c. Thece is sufficient comb 

 honey to supply the market till the new crop 

 arrives. Beeswax, 20@2oc. 



. J. M. CLAKK COM. CO,, 1517 Blake St. 



DETROIT, March 7.— Comb honey is quoted 

 at IKuilSc. Supply not large, but sales slow. 

 Extracted, 7@8c. Beeswax, firm at 24®25c. 

 M. H, HUNT, Bell Branch, Mich. 



CHICAGO, Mar. 13.— We quote: White clo- 

 ver in active demand aud quick sales, on arri- 

 val ; 1-lbs., 13@14c.; 2-Uis., 12®12'/2C. Bass- 

 wood 1-lbs., 12@13c, Buckwheat 1-lbs., 8® 

 9c. Extracted, 6 V4@7 He. Beeswax — bright, 

 2o@2Uc.; dark, 23@24c. 



S. T. FISH & CO., 189 S. Water St. 



BOSTON, March 22.— Fancy 1-Ibs., 16c. Any- 

 thing off-grade sells considerably below 16c. 

 The market is bare of fancy, 1-lb. white honey. 

 Extracted, 7'/4@8'/2C. No beeswax on hand. 

 BLAKE & KIFLEY, 57 Chatham St. 



CINCINNATI, March 7.— Good demand for. 

 extracted honev, especially from manufactu- 

 rers at .5@8c. Comb honey, 12(Hil.")C. for best. 

 Demand fair. 



Beeswax is in good demand at 20@25c. for 

 good to choice yellow. C. F. MUTH & SON, 

 Corner Freeman & Central Aves. 



NEW YORK, March 22.— The market is well 

 stocked with extracted honey. We quote: 

 White clover, basswood and California, 7®7H 

 per lb. ; Southern, 70@'7. 5 cts. per g.allon. No 

 demand for comb hone.v, except for fancy 

 stock, at from 12®13c per lb. Beeswax, 27c, 

 HILDRETH BROS. & SEGELKEN, 



28-30 Broadway, near Duane St, 



