116 



ones, with results uniformly in favor of 

 the long hives by not allowing swarm- 

 ing, and dividing about Aug. 1st. 



A correspondent of the Journal 

 lately asserted that honey extracted 

 from the brood combs was not of good 

 flavor. I do not see any difference. I 

 extract from all that will pay for 

 handling. 



I notice that Mr. Baldridge criticises 

 Mr. Stephens' yield of wax, in Decem- 

 ber number. Now judging by my ex- 

 perience, 1 lb. of wax to 100 lbs. of 

 honey is about right. 



Poland Center, N. Y. 



» m ■ ^m ' * * 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Hives and Wintering Bees. 



BY JAMES HEDDON. 



In the last Journal, our old friend 

 G. M. Doolittle told us all about hives— 

 that they should contain Gallup frames 

 and boxes on the sides, &c. so that all 

 can have the pleasure of handling them 

 over a few extra times, &c, &c. 

 " Great minds run in the same channel " 

 'tis said, but they don't this time. 



Just allow me to predict that the 8 

 frame Langstroth hive will be about the 

 only one used by specialists in a few 

 years, where any frame hive is used. 

 Should bees succeed well in wintering, 

 for the next few years, I expect to see 

 the improved box hive come into use 

 quite extensively. We shall see that 

 those Germans are not so foolish yet. 



I quite agree with Mr. D., that small 

 hives give the best results, in the hands 

 of the careful bee-keeper. When I 

 said at our State Convention held at 

 Kalamazoo, four or five years ago, that 

 I could get just as much honey pro rata 

 from neucleus as from full colonies, 

 some laughed heartily. But that did 

 not change the fact. I have used sev- 

 eral kinds of side and top storing hives, 

 but just now I prefer the hive that 

 stores all on top, and I also prefer a 

 long narrow hive. It gives a suitable 

 amount of box room, where I think it 

 should be, and it also has fewer ranges 

 of combs and spaces, which I think to 

 be a great advantage in successful 

 wintering. 



' Mr. Dibbern very kindly tells vis how 

 to make a nailing-block for sections. 

 Now truly, I never could get any ad- 

 vantage out of nailing-blocks, for nail- 

 ing frames of any kind. The " wind " 

 in them is just what bothers most, and 

 that is what the block does not correct. 



I will next month give a description 

 of the Langstroth hive as I use it, also 

 my own peculiar method of applying 

 sections, which is I think, much the 



simplest and cheapest way. I meant to 

 do it in this article, but I find it will be 

 necessary to illustrate it more or less, to 

 make it intelligible to your readers. 



" That bee disease" is again on the 

 " war path," and many apiaries are rot- 

 ting down with it. I have no doubt but 

 that it is caused by the extremely cold 

 winter and long confinement. The 

 bees have been confined nearly 2| 

 months up to date, and a few years ago 

 they came through all right, after 4£ 

 months confinement. The extreme 

 cold weather which we had for about 

 two weeks (the rest of the winter has 

 been mild here), was such a dreadful 

 thing, that it too must have had 

 a hand in the death ; but it is curious 

 how this zero, could slip into our houses 

 and cellars, making them sick there too, 

 and do it so quietly. The thermometer 

 never knew how old cold was there, 

 quietly reclining at 38° to 42° above 

 zero. Strange, again, the chaff-packed 

 boxes have not got any more respect 

 for their sanguine owners than to let 

 the cholera walk right into them also. 

 But such, Mr. Editor, is the fact. 



So little is known about causes, pre- 

 ventatives and cures of this disease, 

 that I thought last fall, that having a 

 goodly number of colonies, I would 

 try and learn something about it by 

 experiment. Accordingly I spent $100. 

 in time and fixtures, and am every day 

 carefully noting effects. I am winter- 

 ing in eight different ways, and, so far, 

 it looks as though the greatest superi- 

 ority would in future be, in breeding 

 out this disease. It is not time to 

 whistle yet, as we are not out of the 

 woods. ' I will give you a detailed 

 account of the results for the June 

 Journal. We shall by that time be 

 pretty well settled in the matter. 



Dowagiac, Mich. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



About "Dollar Queens." 



BY J. W. PORTER. 



Friend Newman.— I know you are 

 down on the dollar queen business, but 

 I also know that you are fair enough to 

 give all sides a hearing on mooted 

 questions. 



In your article on. page 5, on " un- 

 tested queens " you quote with appa- 

 rent approval the statement or con- 

 fession of a breeder of queens. In that 

 he says : " If a colony be made queen- 

 less it will start 15 or 20 queen-cells : 

 but only three to five are ever designed 

 by the bees to be developed into queens." 

 Where is the proof of this V 



