AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



197 



also got 20 gallons of fine white honey, 

 the most of which was basswood. I also 

 caught a runaway swarm in the meadow. 

 I started mowing in the morning, but, 

 before I got around the lot, I mowed 

 through a swarm of bees. I went home 

 immediately, got a hive and drawn 

 combs, and set it, without a bottom, over 

 the swarm, which had again settled in 

 the grass. In the course of 15 minutes 

 they were all in the hive. I then took 

 them home, and they did well. Thus I 

 have 11 colonies in the cellar in good 

 condition. On Aug. 21, 1891, I secured 

 a pure Italian queen, and she has reared 

 about five frames of brood, with which 

 I am well satisfied. I also received 

 another Italian queen about Oct. 10, 

 but as it was so late she reared no brood. 

 By next Fall I intend to have all Italian 

 bees, as I am best pleased with them. 

 Daniel Gerber. 

 Oakwood, Wis., Jan. 10, 1892. 



Not an Average Honey Season. 



The past season has not been an aver- 

 age honey season in this locality. The 

 first blossoms from which the bees 

 gather surplus in my locality were 

 locust, and they did very well on them. 

 Then comes the poplar, and this was an 

 extra good year for it. Closely following 

 poplar, the white and red clover blos- 

 somed, and they only gathered about 

 half of an average crop. My 50 colo- 

 nies gave me above 2,100 pounds of 

 surplus up to June 25 ; then they com- 

 menced on honey-dew, and gathered 25 

 pounds per colony. By Sept. 1, most of 

 the hives had very little honey or honey- 

 dew ; the golden-rod and asters com- 

 menced to bloom, and from this source 

 they gathered sufficient to winter on. I 

 find that the black bees do not gather 

 honey from asters like the Italians. 



H. P. Faucett. 



Dilworthtown, Pa., Jan. 18, 1892. 



Bee-Keeping in Texas. 



Bees did fairly well here the past sea- 

 son. I had 30 colonies. Spring count, 

 increased them to 60, and obtained 

 2,500 pounds of honey, all extracted 

 except about 200 pounds which was in 

 one-pound sections. The extracted- 

 honey I sold for 10 cents per pound, 

 and that in one-pound sections for 15 

 cents per pound. My bees would have 

 done better if I had transferred them 

 earlier. They were in box-hives, and I 

 transferred them into movable-frame 

 hives. I had some colones that gath- 



ered over 100 pounds per colony. This 

 is a good country for bees and honey, 

 and I can sell at home all that I can pro- 

 duce. Bees are wintering well here, all 

 having gone into winter quarters with 

 plenty of stores. We do not have to put 

 our bees into cellars here — they all win- 

 ter on the summer stands. This has not 

 been a hard Winter yet — hardly any ice 

 so far. R. S. Creech. 



Ennis, Tex., Jan. 21, 1892. 



Gable Boofs for Hives. 



On page 104, the question is asked, 

 "Which is the most desirable for hives 

 — a flat cover or a gable roof ?" Nearly 

 all favor the flat roof, but they do not 

 state the reason why. I would like to 

 know why they prefer them. I am 

 using gable roofs, and like them very 

 much. John A. Rohn. 



Tippecanoe City, O. 



[Flat covers are more convenient for 

 handling, transporting or packing. 

 About the only reason for using gable 

 roofs for hives is, that the water 

 may quickly run off. By slightly tipping 

 the hives to the front, that can be 

 avoided, and the principal excuse for 

 having gable roofs to hives is done away 

 with. — Ed.] 



Honey-Dew for Winter Stores. 



My bees at present are in fair condi- 

 tion, on the summer stands, with no 

 protection except a wind-break of lum- 

 ber, and covered. They have plenty of 

 stores to winter on. Those that did not 

 have plenty in the Fall, I fed honey- 

 dew, of which I had an abundance ; and 

 that was about all the bees gathered 

 last year. However, I got some very 

 nice white honey in July. If bees winter 

 well here this Winter, it is not necessary 

 to fret hereafter about the kind of stores 

 they have to winter on. 



Lee Powelson. 



Batavia, Iowa, Jan. 22, 1892. 



Bees Need Protection. 



My bees are in winter quarters ; those 

 in 10-frame, 2-story simplicity hives 

 have the upper stories packed with 

 forest leaves ; the bees were in good 

 condition. Those in 8-frame 1-story 

 simplicity hives have dry goods boxes 

 for the outer shell, and are packed with 



