262 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAl.. 



them out, so on Jan. 311 did so. Kind 

 Providence sent us a most beautiful day 

 on Feb. 1, and the bees came out and 

 filled the air like a monster swarm. To- 

 day I put them back into the cellar, 

 quiet and contented. This taking them 

 out and in is quite a job, but I would do 

 anything to save my bees, as I antici- 

 pate a great honey-flow the corning sea- 

 son, especially as there is a good stand 

 of white clover. We have had no nice 

 honey for two years, but I am not dis- 

 couraged in the least, if the bees will 

 only go through the Winter safely. I 

 used my last year's crop of honey-dew to 

 make vinegar — and prime white vinegar 

 it is making. W. P. Odexdahl. 



Moline, Ills. 



Size of Brood-Nest in Wintering. 



My bees are not wintering very well. 

 They are in boxes on the summer stands, 

 packed in forest leaves. I think that I 

 will lose 35 per cent. I would like to 

 know if the brood-nest of my hives is too 

 large for successful production of comb- 

 honey. It is 10}^xl93^, inside meas- 

 ure, and 8 frames to the hive. 



Thomas Rehoret. 



Eden, Wis., Feb. 11, 1892. 



[The size of the frames has "nothing 

 to do with the case." Any trouble from 

 the weather is also out of the question. 

 The food, either the quality or quantity, 

 is responsible for any unfavorable con- 

 dition of the bees at this, time. It is 

 either insufficient, and the bees are 

 starving, or its quality is detrimental, 

 such as honey-dew, sour, etc. — Ed.] 



The Mating of dueens. 



On page 160, Mr. John D. A. Fisher 

 says he is puzzled about the mating of 

 his Italian drones with his neighbor's 

 black queens, a mile or more away, 

 while he thinks that all but two of his 

 own Italian queens mated with Italian 

 drones, although there were plenty of 

 black drones only a half mile from his 

 apiary, and one colony of black bees in 

 his own. I have no doubt but what a 

 large part of his seemingly purely- 

 mated queens, showing the usual marks 

 of the thre(! bands are nothing but 

 hybrids, and if lie should try to rear 

 pure stock from those same young 

 queens, and put them where none but 

 Italian drones were within ten miles, 

 yet he would get only mongrels, or at 



least a very small percentage of pure 

 bees. In my opinion, the first cross 

 from pure light -colored Italian queens 

 with black drones will produce bees that 

 pass for pure Italians. If he will refer 

 to the article on page 160, "Ascertain- 

 ing the Purity of Italian Bees," he will, 

 I think, get an annwer, in part at least, 

 to his query. Geo. S. Wheeler. 



New Ipswich, N. H. 



Gable Roofs for Hives. 



On page 197, you say that after tip- 

 ping the flat cover, the excuse for gable 

 roofs to hives are done away with. I 

 have both in my yards, and prefer the 

 gable roof. I know the flat covers are 

 handy to stack up in moving, and that 

 is all the advantage they are for me. I 

 can put the bee-feeder under the gable 

 roofs ; keep caged queens on cool nights; 

 and store my lunch there when I go to 

 out-apiaries, secure from ants. In hot 

 weather I take off the quilts, and the 

 bees can cluster on the top of the frames 

 when moving. I find a great many 

 other advantages too numerous to men- 

 tion, and I have a bee-wagon that takes 

 24 hives without stacking up, and that 

 is load enough. 



Mrs. Jennie Atchi.ey. 



Floyd, Tex., Feb. 9, 1892. 



[Well done, Sister Jennie ; you have 

 found quite a number of recommenda- 

 tions for gable roofs for hives, including 

 a cupboard for your lunch ! When it 

 comes to pure, native genius — commend 

 us to the well-developed, fertile brain of 

 a lady. Your enumeration is proof of 

 your full appreciation of the small 

 things which make ours a successful 

 pursuit. — Ed.] 



Season Below the Average. 



The past season was a good deal below 

 the average with us. In 1890 we ob- 

 tained 60 pounds of honey per colony, 

 Spring count, while last Summer we 

 only secured 40 pounds per colony. 

 Spring count. However, I have good 

 hopes of the coming season, as my bees 

 seem to be wintering well. They have 

 plenty of stores, and are populous. My 

 bees are wintering in a bee-house, 

 doubhvwalled, aiul filled between with 

 sawdust, also a foot of sawdust ov<t- 

 hoad. They are all in single-walled 

 hives, and are mostly black bees, I pur- 



