Coopersburg, Pa., March 7, 1879. 

 The last season was a poor one for bee 

 keepers generally, giving much increase but 

 little honey and they have wintered badly. 

 I lost 4 colonies by dysentery, and several of 

 my neighbors have lost a great many in box 

 hives, with plenty of honey. Is the honey 

 of such colonies of any use ? How can 

 it be cleansed ? Preston J. Kline. 



[These questions were answered in March 

 number, page 97.— Ed.] 



Wyoming, Iowa, March 13, 1879. 

 I removed my 99 colonies of hees from 

 the cellar on the 4th inst. All in good con- 

 dition. They are at work on rye meal 

 nicely. There has been considerable loss by 

 those who wintered out of doors in this 

 locality. I think that the requirements for 

 successful wintering are a well ventilated 

 cellar with an even temperature of about 40°. 

 My bees have come through 4 winters with- 

 out the loss of a colony. J. E. Hunter. 



New Boston, 111., Feb. 20, 1879. 

 What is honey ? Webster says it is a 

 sweet fluid gathered by bees from the flowers 

 of plants. Honey is the nectar of flowers. 

 And that which is not nectar is not honey. 

 Then honey-dew is not honey, but is the 

 secretion of plant lice. Bees gather it and 

 deposit it in the hive and many of us have 

 sold it for honey. If we get such a law 

 passed as we wish, will we dare to sell 

 honey dew under the name of honey ? 

 Will it pass by the analyzer for honey ? 

 Will someone who has some honey-dew, get 

 it analyzed and report to American Bee 

 Journal. D. D. Palmer. 



Carson City, Mich., March 21, 1879. 

 Bees have wintered poorly in this locality. 

 The old-fashioned bee disease, called dysen- 

 tery, has thinned them out again. The 12 

 colonies that I wintered in the new hive, 

 " the winter protector," have wintered 

 splendidly, as also those in the. cellar. 



Hiram Koop. 



Lynn, Ind., March 21, 1879. 

 This has been a very severe winter on 

 bees in this locality. Of those wintered on 

 summer stands without protection, about % 

 have died. My bees are in excellent con- 

 dition, having been packed and surrounded 

 by chaff 6 inches in thickness. 



E. Jas. Hinshaw. 



Parkham. Maine, Feb. 27, 1879. 

 1 started last winter with 30 colonies, 20 

 packed in chaff and 10 in cellar. Those in 

 chaff (Feb. 2(>) are pure and more populous 

 than when put away ; are breeding now, I 

 think they will come through strong ; those 

 in cellar are not doing so well. 1 have made 

 a saw like the one described by Mr. M. 8. 

 Baker, in Vol. XIV., No. 6, of American 

 Bee Journal. 1 like it very much; it works 

 nice. I have the " boss" roof for hives ; it 

 beats everything for keeping the rain out of 

 the hive, it looks nice and tidy. It is made 

 of slats, I have them in two pieces ; I cut a 

 groove in the ridge pole and slip the slats 

 in ; one board makes one side; the roof is 

 square; the gable ends are pine boards. 



W. H. Green. 



Indianola, Iowa, Feb. 5, 1879. 

 For dysentery we take a small broom and 

 spray the bees with a syrup made of loaf 

 sugar; three applications will cure the worst 

 cases we have seen. Morris & Eno. 



Palmyra, Mo., Feb. 22, 1879. 

 I have 90 colonies, and have lost none this 

 winter. They are in good condition, and 

 strong. I have a tight board fence on the 

 North and West of my bees, which I believe 

 is a good protection. I have a substantial 

 honey house, and I think I am as well fixed 

 for the business as any one in the State. 

 M. E. McMasters. 



Bloomington, 111., Feb. 26, 1879. 

 We are wintering 115 colonies of bees on 

 their summer stands. They are all right 

 but 2, which froze with plenty of honey in 

 the hive. They were protected with cush- 

 ions at top and sides and put away in good 

 condition. We are much pleased with the 

 Journal ; could not do without it. It 

 seems to improve with age. May it live a 

 thousand years. J. L. Wolcott. 



Carlinville, 111., March 11, 1879. 

 We put our bees out on March 7. We 

 have 128 colonies. We called the roll, every 

 one answering to the call. We looked them 

 all through, found one queenless. There 

 are a few weak ; were not strong in the fall. 

 We would have united them but wanted to 

 keep the queens over. Take them 

 altogether, they are in splendid condition — 

 the best we ever had them in the spring. A 

 great many colonies, left on the summer 

 stands, have died. Valentine & Son. 



Oregon City, Oregon, Feb. 13, 1879. 

 This has been the coldest winter Oregon 

 has had for 4 years ; and we have had more 

 cold weather the past winter than was ever 

 known here before. My bees wintered on 

 their summer stands and are in good con- 

 dition ; they did not consume over 10 lbs. 

 of honey. Thermometer to-day stood at 60°. 

 Bees are gathering considerable pollen from 

 the catkins of the hazel and alder. There 

 are a good many flowers in bloom, but they 

 do not produce any honey yet. Frogs are 

 singing, bees rejoicing, and we have every 

 indication of a good spring for our honey 

 gatherers. A. W. Steers. 



Old Rocky Hill, Ky., March 7, 1879. 

 I read the American Bee Journal with 

 pleasure. I use the "Golden Bee Hive." It 

 differs from all other hives in construction. 

 When anyone wishes to examine the colony, 

 he has only to move the feed board in front 

 of the hive, where the combs and bees in 

 the brood chamber can be seen, and can 

 also ascertain if the bees are making comb, 

 or honey in the surplus apartments, with- 

 out disturbing the bees. The feed board 

 can also be reversed front to rear, so that the 

 bees may be fed by the use of the vacuum 

 feeder immediately over the bees and brood 

 to prevent their passing through empty 

 combs and chilling them. It is so con- 

 structed that complete ventilation can be 

 had, during both winter and summer. 

 Honey can be taken from the top of the 

 hive without coming in contact with the 

 bees, if desired. E. L. Owens. 



