'rmm MMSRICfCK SMB J&UMfiSJL. 



713 



^At^A^AmjtmMS 





Now. the same philosophy I ajjply 

 to the packing of my bees for wiutor, 

 viz.: 



1. Have the hive near the ground, 

 ami protecteit from the cold winds. 



2. Leave enough of the entrance 

 open for ventilation. This is even 

 more important in winter than in sum- 

 mer, because in warm weather the bees 

 jirovide air by " fanning," but in cold 

 weather they are semi-dormant. 



3. Have an abundance of good 

 honey (not .sjuHip) in the hive — much 

 more than you think they will need, 

 and provide passage-ways from one 

 side to the other of the brood-nest, on 

 top. The best thing for this, that I 

 have tried, is the following : 



Saw laths in lengths to reach across 

 the brood-nest to within an inch or 

 more on each side ; nail the pieces, 

 two by two, together so as to form a 

 trough, and lay three (or more) on top 

 of the brood-nest, equal distances 

 apart ; then put on top a piece of good 

 burlap (never enamel-cloth, oil-cloth 

 or heavy duck) cut large enough to be 

 fastened down all around, so that the 

 bees cannot get out into the top pack- 

 ing. 



4. Pack with leaves, chaft' or fine 

 pine shavings, from about four to ten 

 inches on top, and put on the cover — 

 not forgetting to have at each end of 

 the cover an inch anger - hole cov- 

 ered with wire-cloth, for the escape of 

 moisture. 



5. Do not unpack, frequently dis- 

 turb, or manipulate too early in the 

 spring ; but watch them closely, all 

 the same. 



6. A good que' .i in February and 

 March means a good working colony, 

 and surplus when clover blooms. When 

 I say in February and March, I of 

 course mean that the bee-keeper should 

 see to it that each colony has a good 

 queen when packed for winter, or 

 when this, for any reason, cannot be, 

 provide one not later than February or 

 March, by doubling. 



When I want to unite or transfer, I 

 take both hives into a warm room, or 

 into the cellar, for the purpose ; and 

 after a few days I put the strengthened 

 and queened colony back to its stand. 



The foregoing is my "system" of 

 wintering bees. I think thatthei-e has 

 been, and is, too much written and 

 said by- leading men in the bee-busi- 

 ness, about '-cellar wintering,'''' "6ee- 

 diarrliea,''" "spring dtoin(lli7ig" etc., to 

 the confusion and dismay of "greeli 

 beginners." 



Much depends upon the kind of hive 

 used ; but more depends upon the kind 

 of management applied. 



Lawrence, Kansas. 



Subscribers who do not receive this paper 

 promptly, will plea.se notify us at once. 



I.IFK'iKi KUBBI..K!«. 



1)V EfC.KNK SECOR. 



A troldcn-haired boy siit alone on the floor. 



Witli a basin of suds beside him ; 

 From a new clay-pipe he tried o'er and o'er 

 To malte fairy worlds u'er-ride him. 

 With patience and skill 

 He labored, until 

 His globe assumed shape on the pipe-rim. 



With delicate grace it floats in the air. 



In beauty excelling the rainbow ; 

 With bright, eager c.^•cs he follows the fair 

 Creation before iiini, when, lo, 

 A breath from somewhere. 

 Somehow entered there. 

 And his fairy-world vanished in to-to. 



A few floetingyearsand this golden-haired boy 



Has led tt) the altar a maiden : 

 The litv lliiil now is, seems his to enjoy ; 

 And with love and sweet duty to aid in 

 The voyage of bliss. 

 With what more than this 

 Doth the " barque of lite " need to be laden ? 



A woman as fair as the daughters of Job, 



And as pure as the breath of heaven ; 

 Had a seraph descended in spotless robe. 

 No holier wife had heengiven. 

 Hut, sudden and soon. 

 Before her life s noon. 

 On mortalities rock the barque was driven. 



Alone in the world, he in sadness awhile 



Doth ])onder the prgblems of sorrow ; 

 But Time, the great healer, doth ever beguile 

 The heart to think well of to-morrow ; 

 And grief is assuaged 

 When the mind is engaged. 

 And hope from the future dot"h borrow. 



The goddess of wealth now allures him to toil. 



With the promise of plenty and pleasure. 

 Assuring the honors from which no recoil 

 Should come in his moments of leisure. 

 And riches did come 

 In generous sum, 

 When solely intent on earth's treasure. 



As apples of Sodom to ashes are turned. 

 When pressed to the lips of the finder. 

 So, false and deceptive, at last he has learned 

 That wealth is a phantom reminder 

 Of treasures where rust 

 Corrodes not, nor dust 

 Shall mar the sweet peace of the finder. 



'Tis thus we're reminded, as time and again 

 Our hopes in things earthly are shattered. 

 That Solomon said, all things are but vain. 

 No matter how much they have flattered ; 

 One certain, pure joy. 

 Content without alloy. 

 Shall come when ambitions are scattered. 

 Forest City, Iowa. 



BEE-DISEASE. 



Resuiti of the §ca§oii — Market- 

 ins tlici Honey Crop. 



TFi-Jtfoi /or Oie American Bee Journal 

 BY 0. THEILMANN. 



On page 635, Mr. Skinner asks me 

 for further explanation regarding the 

 "nameless bee-disease," but does not 

 say what I should explain, so I am in 

 the dark. I will with pleasure explain 

 anything that I know about this dis- 

 ease, which is not explicit in my arti- 

 cle on page 58-1. 



I believe that bees should have ac- 

 cess to salt, where creeks and rivers 

 are far away f.'oni the apiary ; but I 

 do not think it a necessity where they 

 are near, and where lots of cattle and 

 other stock have watering-places, 

 where the bees find all the salt they 



need to carry on their household. I 

 know that tliey like this kind of salt 

 better than our common cooking-salt. ■ 



In past years I tritnl to feed mj' bees 

 salt and water in troughs, but the)- 

 would never touch it, because they got 

 all they wanted at the watering-places, 

 which apparently suited them better ; 

 so now I do not put out salt for them. 

 I cannot believe that the want of salt 

 causes the "nameless bee-disease." 



In addition to my article on page 

 584, I would s.ay, that in Olcanings, 

 page 740, the black, hairless shiny- 

 bees are spoken of by " Amateur Ex- 

 pert," who writes that the disease is 

 known as " bacilli depletus." Accord- 

 ing to my observations, this seems to 

 be nearer right, than that the lack of 

 salt is the cause of the disease, though 

 salt will check the disease ; but whether 

 it is " bacilli depletus," or parasites, 

 who knows ? The actions of the bees 

 look as if they had the itch or scrofula. 



Keport for tlie JSeatson. 



I commenced the spring of 1889 

 with 185 colonies. The weather up to 

 the forepart of June was unfavorable, 

 and I had to feed about 1,500 pounds 

 of honej' and sugar to save my bees ; 

 but from the middle of June until 

 Sept. 1, we had a continual flow of 

 nectar, with the exception of a few 

 days. Linden was in bloom for 21 

 daj's, on account of the cool weather 

 while it was in bloom ; this was the 

 longest time I have ever seen linden in 

 bloom. It generally lasts from (5 to 10 

 days ; once only in 20 years it lasted 

 for 14 days. 



My crop is 3,000 pounds of extracted, 

 and about 22.000 pounds of comb 

 honey, of excellent (piality, one-half of 

 it being white. I have sold about half 

 of the lot at 12i cents per pound here ; 

 that is, I deliver it on board the cars. 



neaXing 'with CoiiiiiiiS!«ion Men. 



A good deal has been written lately 

 about commission men. There are just 

 as good and honest commission men 

 as there are among other classes, and 

 also some bad ones, from whom I have 

 had to learn dear lessons. I like to 

 sell my honey for cash, even if I get a 

 cent or two less for it ; but I cannot 

 always do this, and then I do the best 

 I can. Even last year I sold all but 

 about 1,500 pounds, which was sent on 

 commission to a man who was quoted 

 from !S;40.000 to ^50,000 in Dunn's Mer- 

 cantile Agency ; when I got my re- 

 turns this fall, the statements showed 

 12.V cents per pound for the same 

 hoiiey that I sold and got my money 

 for last fall at 17 and 18 cents per 

 pound. We shouUl all try to sell our 

 honej' for (uish. 



Theilmanton, Minn. 



