244 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



the damp ground, though my hives 

 run for extracted honey are only a 

 foot from the ground and have done 

 well. If an apiary is on very dry 

 soil and well elevated, hives may do 

 well enough set on the ground ; but 

 even then I should prefer to have 

 them elevated some. The reason for 

 this elevation is, that bees breed up 

 earlier in the spring in dry air and, 

 as they make comb in sections during 

 the night, we should keep them above 

 the damp chill of the ground. The 

 advantages of stimulative feeding in 

 early spring also varies according to 

 locaHty. 



I am situated ten miles from the 

 sea, and during early spring the east 

 wind begins to blow after a sunny 

 forenoon, chilling the bees which 

 have been tempted out by early feed- 

 ing. My bees have come out the 

 strongest in June when I have kept 

 them as quiet as possible during the 

 spring. The successful beekeeper 

 must study the peculiarities of his 

 own locality and adapt the principles 

 of this fascinating pursuit to his own 

 case. 



Georgetown, Mass. 



What can the trouble be ? I am not 

 sure, but I incline to the opinion that 

 it is a case of chilling. We have had 

 a remarkable year. In mid-summer 

 the season was excellent ; honey came 

 in by the gallon. The bees bred very 

 fast, and so the brood-chamber be- 

 came very full of brood. The last 

 of August the weather came very 

 cold ; the cluster of bees must be 

 compacted and so its size reduced. 

 Thus the bees chilled, the brood per- 

 ished, and young bees just coming 

 from the cells were so chilled, or so 

 pinched with the cold, that they could 

 never straighten out, and so were 

 cast out as unprofitable servants. In 

 some cases I have seen young worker 

 brood and nymphs — pupa — thrown 

 out of the hive in heaps. Many who 

 complain of the small, black, young 

 bees, which seem bereft of vitality, 

 also speak of the heaps of dead larvse. 

 One young beekeeper supposed he 

 had "foul brood" and came in great 

 haste for me. I found his bees in 

 admirable condition, yet much brood 

 and many pupa and young bees were 

 piled out in front. Yet the bees were 

 still strong and in good condition. 

 Lansmg, Mich. 



WHY THE BEES DIE. 



By Prof. A. J. Cook. 



I HAVE many complaints this fall 

 about bees dying. Several of these 

 dead bees have been sent to me by 

 different parties. The bees are small, 

 apparently young, very black ; yet a 

 close examination under the micro- 

 scope shows no organic disturbance. 



FEEDING BEES AND 

 FEEDERS. 



p. Jl. Russell. 



No. I. 

 Mr. Editor : If I could charge 

 a big gun with all I know about bees 

 and their management, and discharge 

 it full in the face of your numerous 

 readers, it would be altogether 



