Columbia, Term., Jan. 7, 1879. 



1. Will bees feed upon sorghum ? If so, 

 how would it do to thin the best article with 

 water, and feed in combs, to sustain life 

 during winter, and to stimulate to early 

 breeding in the spring ? I do not propose 

 to feed for storing, but slightly to stimulate, 

 and for sustenance when honey is scarce. 

 Would it be detrimental to the bees ? 



2. I have observed that bees have a great 

 fondness for apple cider. They flock to the 

 cider-mill in such numbers, that 1 have to 

 grind and press at night, to prevent their de- 

 struction. Do they gather honey from the 

 cider ; if not, what is the attraction ? Is 

 the cider beneficial or detrimental ? They 

 seem, also, to be greatly attracted by ripe 

 and decaying peaches. What benefit, or 

 detriment, do they get from them ? 



John Fox. 



[1. The sorghum prepared as you propose, 

 might do for food to sustain life in the 

 spring, but we would not advise its use in 

 winter, nor for stimulating. 



2. We fear that all such juices of fruits 

 are of little or no value, and may be the 

 cause of death in many cases — Ed.] 



Napa, Cal., Jan. 4, 1879. 

 In the fall of 1877 I had 3 colonies of black 

 bees and 3 of weak Italians. By purchases, 

 in the spring of 1878, 1 had 15 colonies of 

 blacks and 3 of Italians, in box hives. I 

 Italianized all, and increased to 45 ; 4 being 

 in improved Harbison hives ; 6 in Quinby 

 hives with closed ends ; and 35 in Lang- 

 stroths ; all in good condition. I increased 

 from 75 to 500 frames of good worker comb- 

 equal to a gain of 71 lbs. of beeswax, allow- 

 ing 6 frames to a pound. I have raised about 

 100 queens. J. D. Enos. 



Oak Park, 111., Dec. 17, 1878. 

 I have read the Journal for two years 

 and have been much benefitted by it. I 

 have now in the cellar and out-house 24 

 colonies apparently in good order. The 

 lightest I put in the cellar to enable me to 

 see to them during the winter and spring. 

 For division boards 1 use frames covered 

 with a piece of hardware paper. Cut a strip 

 as wide as the frame, the long way ; lay 

 paper on the floor ; commence at the bottom, 

 lay the frame on the paper, turning the bot- 

 tom end of the paper over the bottom bar of 

 frame ; tack it to the edge ; take the top of 

 the paper and double it down over top bar 

 to the bottom, and tack that ; then with a 

 pair of shears cut off the paper a little 

 longer than the frame, so that that the edge 

 will rest on the bottom board of the hive. 

 Now utilize any old flannel shirt, sheet, coat, 

 pants, &c, that you may have, by facing the 

 one side of the frame with the cloth ; using 

 strips, &c, the paper should be clipped 

 under the top bar to give a little as the 

 frame is pushed down in the hive, but will 

 touch the ends and bottom, making all tight. 

 Try it, and see what a light, nice and warm 

 division board it makes. It will be useful 

 while making a breeding chamber in the 

 spring. C W. Brown. 



Acme, Mich., Jan. 11, 1879. 

 Bees do not discharge their fasces except 

 on the wing, when in health. The queen 

 flies but once, to meet the drone. Two 

 statements which I have never seen contra- 

 dicted, and which lead to the following con- 

 clusion, viz : The queen never discharges 

 any fseces. How is this ? S. P. Tracy. 



[Bees do discharge their fasces within the 

 hive, when in health ; it being then simply 

 a small pellet of dry sediment, and hardly 

 noticeable. At least such is the opinion of 

 some of our closest observers. Many laws 

 governing the males and neuters have no in- 

 fluence upon the queen. — Ed.] 



Malcom, Iowa, Jan. 9, 1879. 

 We have had a month of severly cold 

 weather with hardly any let up. Thousands 

 of colonies of bees have died in this and 

 adjoining counties in box hives, on their 

 summer stands. Congealed masses of frost 

 and ice filled many of the hives. I heard 

 this evening of 60 colonies out of 100 that 

 had died in one apiary. A few days ago I 

 examined 40 colonies in my double-walled 

 hives and every one was dry and in the best 

 possible condition. I opened a smaller 

 colony to-day, only about one quart, and 

 they were lively and nice. When will bee- 

 keepers learn to arrange their bees in a 

 comfortable hive that they may not lose 

 from one-half to two-thirds of them every 

 winter ? Wm. Clements. 



Liberty Centre, O., Dec. 20, 1878. 

 I have been to Linn county, Iowa, staying 

 with Mr. Hunt, at Center Point, some 7 

 weeks. He has 272colonies, but an accident, 

 breaking one of his limbs, prevented him 

 from attending to his bees. 1 found them 

 filled with honey, which I extracted, though 

 it was Oct. 22d when 1 got there. The report 

 of Mr. Hunt, in the statistical table in the 

 Journal for Oct., was what he had obtained 

 at the close of basswood bloom. He ran 108 

 colonies for box honey, which averaged 

 about 50 lbs., making a total of over 5,000 

 lbs. That table gave Mr. Hunt 1,140 lbs. of 

 extracted honey ; since then I have extract- 

 ed about 2 tons more. That is one of the 

 best localities I ever saw for honey produc- 

 tion. Mr. Hunt winters in the cellar suc- 

 cessfully. D. Clifton. 



Columbia, Tenn., Jan. 6, 1879. 

 I propose to run about 25 colonies during 

 the coming season— not for honey, but for 

 increase. Apiarists appear to ayree that the 

 best method is that of division. Taking 

 one or two frames of maturing brood, with 

 the adhering bees, and with these make the 

 new colony ; supplying the place of the 

 removed brood combs, by empty frames, or 

 with empty combs, if you have them. This 

 seems to be the method taught by Prof. 

 Cook, in his book. This was the plan 1 had 

 determined on, as a matter of safety and 

 convenience, not having time to remain by 

 the bees and watch them, during swarming 

 time. In the January number of Journal 

 page 11, G. M. Doolittle, says : "If empty 

 frames are supplied in the place of combs of 



