120 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[For the American Bee Journal. 



Successful Practice. 



[For the American Bee Journal.^ 



Cominoii Bees and Italians 



Mr. Editor : — I wish to give your readers, 

 through tlic Bee Jourual, my practice and ex- 

 perience witli bees during the last five months. 

 I live in the district of country where the bee 

 disease prevailed last year ; consequently I had 

 no bees this spring. 



On the 17th of May last I received from Mr. 

 Grimm, Wisconsin, a small colony of Italian 

 bees. They were received in prime condition, 

 with every comb entire. 



Now for my practice. 



A few days after I received them, I took out 

 five frames with the adhering bees and put them 

 in another hive, leaving three frames and the 

 queen in the old hive. This I left where it was, 

 and put in a division board. The other I filled 

 up with empty frames. On the 10th day, I took 

 a frame from No. '2 and placed it with a queen 

 cell and adhering bees, in an empty hive, insert- 

 ing a division board, just leaviua: room for the 

 bees to pass around the comb. I shut them in 

 until the queen was hatched. They threw off a 

 small swarm. I now had four colonies. On 

 examining No. 2, a day or two after it had 

 swarmed, I found it had no queen. I gave it a 

 frame of comb out of No. 1, and gave No. 1 a 

 frame of comb from No. 3. 



I now felt that 1 would be fully satisfied if they 

 made honey enough to winter on. I gave No. 

 3 two or three frames of combs out of the other 

 stands, and took out the division boards. They 

 all increased finely in bees and stores. 



On the 17th of August No. 2 threw off a very 

 large swarm. A few days later two others 

 swarmed at the same time, and clustered to 

 gether. It was now so near the last of August 

 that I should have returned them to the parent 

 hive if they had settled separately. But ti.ere 

 w^ere so many bees that it seemed as if with a 

 hive full of combs there would not be room for 

 them, so I placed them in an empty hive. It is 

 now full of comb. A fcAV days later the other 

 swarmed. This I returned to the parent hive. 

 It came out only the one time. 



A few days previous to this, I put on the honey 

 boxes. I took them off again two days ago, and 

 got about fifty pounds of beautiful honey. 



If any of your readers have done better than 

 this, I hope they will report, through the Bee 

 Journal, just how they effected it. My increase 

 is six from one, all full frames of combs and 

 honey, and aboui fifty pounds of honey in boxes. 



This is the second year that I have had Italian 

 bees, and every swarm that came out beiore 

 July, swarmed again in August. 



My bees swarming late in August last year, 

 and having young bees very late, convinces me 

 that the old age theory will not account for the 

 bee disease. 



A. DUNLAP. 



Terre Haute, Ijsd., Oct. 9, 1869. 



! Mr. Editor : — I saw an article in the October 

 number of the Journal, headed, " The Italian 

 Fling." I am not interested in selling Italian 

 \ queens or honey-emptying machines, and I state 

 matters as they are. 

 On the first of last June, I had one hundred 

 j and eight colonies of bees, and Mr. Marvin had 

 about the same number. His were all Italians. 

 One-half of mine were black bees, and the other 

 I half were crossed with Italians — some of them 

 i the second time. J^ow, I have two hundred and 

 : thirty colonies, all of which will winter ; and 

 have obtained from one thousand to fifteen hun- 

 dred pounds more honey than Mr. Marvin has. 

 Mr. Marvin used the emptying machine. I took 

 off my honey in boxes His is worth twenty 

 cents per pound, mine thirty cents. 



Now I do not wish to say anything against 

 Italian bees. I think it a great improvement on 

 the black bees to cross them. The black bees 

 will make as much honey as the Italian, if they 

 receive the same attention. 



I have been in an Italian apiary not less than 



' ten times the last summer, and watched the move- 



i ments of the Italians. I have no axe to grind 



in the matter, and state the matter as I see it. I 



! think Mr. M. had better defend his own case, 



and then we shall get the fiicts. Mr. Baldridge 



has been very wild in his statements, and I think 



he will be willing to correct them. 



S. Way. 



Batavia, Ills. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Wintering Bees. 



Bees may live sometime without pollen or 

 water, but hardly a day without honey or a suit- 

 able substitute. 



Mr. Editor : — As it is not yet settled which 

 is the best plan for wintering bees, I will give the 

 way I have wintered mine the last three winters 

 with good success ; and I do not think a better 

 has been proposed for this latitude, (41 '^ north.) 

 [I pack them with straw, shavings, sawdust, car- 

 peting, woolen rags, &c., bottom, top, side, back, 

 and front, putting a strip of board, as wide as the 

 alighting board at the entrance raised three- 

 eigTiths of an inch, to keep the entrance open. 

 In packing the top of the hive, I first cover the 

 frames \rith paper to keep the honey clean ; then 

 put on a frame of boaixls, one to six inches deep, 

 and fill it with sawdust, shavings, chaff or straw. 

 If the top is movable, it does not need a frame. 

 If the hives are near together, fill in bottom with 

 straw, &c. If they stand alone, I sometimes 

 make a rough case and put it over the hive, with 

 an entrance cut for the bees ; and between the 

 hive and the case a board with an entrance cut 

 in the lower side, to keep the packing from the 

 passage way. I sometimies leave the case on all 

 summer. In that case I have an entrance at the 

 back, to let air in when necessary. In very cold 

 weather, I contract the entrance. When it is 

 warm the bees fly without opening doors, as No- 

 vice proposes. 



John Winpield. 



Canfield. Ohio. 



