72 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



The Dying Year in Australia. 



-E. PEDLEY. 



Not in the Winter of life he dies. 



Chilled, and snowy, and old ; 

 In the glory of Summer the Old Year dies, 



When the midnight chime is tolled. 



Not in the sky is a hint of death— 



A sky of infinite blue— 

 Nor is there a sigh in the breezy breath 



That is playing the leaflets through. 



The cattle and birds to the shade retreat, 



In drowsy, still delight ; 

 And flowers have scented the noonday lieat ; 



Yet the Old Year dies to-night. 



And the air is filled with a sound of uees. 



The humming of Summer flies ; 

 And there's joy in the sound of the rustling 

 trees ; 



Yet to-night tlie Old Year dies. 



Not in the Winter of life he dies. 



But in his Summer's prime ; 

 His labors end, lie stricken dies. 



And swells the ranks of Time. 



Queries aiid Replies. 



Deal-Air Spaces in Hiyes, 



Query 801.— Are dead-air spaces in 

 hives an advantage ? — Iowa. 



Yes. — G. M. DooLiTTLE. 



I am not sure. — C. C. Miller. 



My observation'says, Yes. — M. Mahin. 



I never tried them. — Mrs. L. Harri- 

 son. 



I really do not know. — J. M. IIam- 



BAUGH. 



Yes ; if in the proper place. — H. D. 

 Cutting. 



Yes, in my opinion they are. — J. E. 

 Pond. 



The objections more than balance the 

 advantages. — C. H. Dibbern. 



I think their disadvantage ontweiglis 

 any advantage. — A. J. Cook. 



Yes, an advantage, but a greater dis- 

 advantage. — R. L. Taylor. 



They may be, l)ut I never thought so 

 /itW'tZ enough to try. Too expensive. — 

 Eugene Secor. 



Years ago I used to think they were ; 

 now I have my doubts about their 

 utility. — J. P. H. Brown. 



They ai-e of no advantage to the bees, 

 but are quite essential in the manipula- 

 tion of. hives and frames. — G. L. Tinker. 



No, nothing perceptible. I have tried 

 hundreds beside of solid walls. Do not 

 waste money and time on them. — James 

 Heddon. 



I believe they are. I have had one 

 season's experience with chaff hives, 

 and like them much. Every one so 

 protected did better than those not 

 protected. — A. B. Mason. 



Not in my locality. They are a 

 " dead " failure with me. I have tried 

 them, and have seen them tried. In 

 the Winter of 1886, Dr. Keene, who 

 lived just one mile from me, had 100 

 colonies in dead-air space hives ; he lost 

 all but 18 of them. My bees wintered 

 without any loss. They were in single- 

 walled hives, and the winter sunny days 

 warmed the bees so that they could get 

 at their stores.— G. W. Demaree. 



Hollow walls, with no packing," have 

 their advocates ; and it is asked if these 

 dead-air spaces are not equally as good 

 non-conductors of heat as those filled with 

 chaff. They are not. In the first place, 

 the air is not "dead" — it is conssantly 

 moving. The air next to the inside wall 

 becomes warm and rises ; that next the 

 outer wall cools and settles ; thus there 

 is a constant circulation that robs the 

 inner wall of its heat.— W. Z. Hutchin- 

 son. 



This is a disputed point, and one 

 which experience alone can decide. — 

 The Editor. 



The Convention Hand = Book 



is very convenient at Bee-Conventions. It 

 contains a simple Manual of Parliamentary 

 Law and Rules of Order for Local Bee- 

 Conventions; Constitution and By-Laws 

 for a Local Society ; Programme for a Con- 

 vention, with Subjects for Discussion. In 

 addition to this, there are about 50 blank 

 pages, to make notes upon, or to write out 

 questions, as they may qome to mind. 

 They are nicely bound in cloth, and are of 

 the right size for the pocket. We will 

 present a copy for one new subscription to 

 the BeeJouknai. (with $1.00 to pay for the 

 same), or 2 subscribers to the Homu Jouknal 

 may be sent instead of one for tlie Hkk 



JODTtNAL, 



