use section boxes. I do not like the grooved 

 top, to hold foundation starters. It does not 

 fasten securely enough. I use K inch strips 

 of foundation and fasten it by pressing it 

 with a knife; if the weather is warm it is no 

 trouble; if not, I warm the knife a little. 

 Those who trusted to out-door wintering, in 

 this section, lost from one-half to all they 

 had. My sister who has been a successful 

 bee-keeper, has lost the use of her eyes by 

 using bee- veils, and very regrettingly quits 

 the field. Let all beware, of straining their 

 eyes and over-heating in the hot sunshine ! 

 May the Journal live long and its editors 

 be prosperous. Mary Yale. 



Ovid Centre, N. Y., April 17, 1879. 

 I wintered 60 colonies on their summer 

 stands ; have lost all but 6 or 7, one being 

 very weak. But few bees are left in this 

 vicinity. It is snowing to-day,Jmt summer 

 will come soon, no doubt. B. D. Scott. 



St. Charles, Mo., April 7, 1879. 

 I have 140 colonies, and lost only 2 during 

 the winter. They went into winter quarters 

 very strong in bees and heavy with honey- 

 but they are only in moderate condition 

 now. The past season has been hard on 

 bees in this section. A. T. Williams. 



Columbia, Tenn., April 21, 1879. 

 The past has been the most disastrous 

 winter I have ever experienced. My losses 

 were over 100 colonies. The complaints are 

 general. I have called a meeting of the 

 Maury Co. Bee Society for first Saturday in 

 May, when the matter will be fully discussed. 

 Wm. J. Andrews. 



Lodi, N. Y., April 18, 1879. 

 About 80 per cent, of the bees in this vi- 

 cinity have died — many have lost all, others 

 nearly all. 1 have lost 30 per cent.— have 46 

 colonies left. Geo. V. Lamoreaux. 



Pilot Point, Tex., March 26, 1879. 

 I have 15 colonies of bees, and they are all 

 doing well. I shall commence to make 

 artificial swarms in a few weeks. Clover is 

 in full blossom. Texas is a good climate for 

 bees; they can work 10 months in a year. 

 Bee-keeping is yet in its infancy here. 

 Honey sells for 22% cents per pound. 



E. Cook. 



Chattanooga, Tenn., April 1, 1879. 

 Mr. Norman can prevent his bees from 

 building comb in the frames from the bot- 

 tom upward (see April number, page 154 1 ), by 

 putting narrow strips of comb foundation, 

 say one inch wide, from the top to the bot- 

 tom of his frames, about equal distance 

 from each end. This makes a ladder for 

 them to climb to the top on, and they seem 

 much pleased with it. This also answers 

 for a starter as well as a piece of comb. 



H. R. Weeks. 



West Groton, N. Y., March 20, 1879. 

 My bees wintered nicely that were packed 

 in chaff; of those that were put into the bee- 

 house I lost 7 out of 60 colonies. One-fourth 

 of all the bees in this section have winter- 

 killed; dysentery aided the work. The way 

 I get a fine grain is by putting honey into 15 

 lb. pails, and stirring the honey once a week 

 with a stick clear to the bottom of the pail. 

 Those, who have eaten maple sugar, know 

 that the more it is stirred, the finer is the 

 grain. LaMar Coggshall. 



Kane, 111., April 2, 1879. 

 I wintered 7 colonies in Armstrong's 

 Centennial hive on their summer stands; 

 they are all in good condition. When I put 

 colonies in a hive, 1 put the brood combs on 

 the west side, (my hives face the south), and 

 as they build new combs they work towards 

 the east, and in the last frame they build 

 drone comb, this makes drones late and few. 

 I have always found the drone comb on the 

 east side of the hive, and the bees will work 

 more industriously if I force them to begin 

 on the west side of the hive, instead of let- 

 ting them begin on the east side as they will 

 invariably do, if I let them have their own 

 -way. Radford M. Osborn. 



Weston, Mich., March 31, 1879. 

 Bees have not wintered very well in this 

 section: probably 50 per cent, or more have 

 died. Most of them had plenty of honey. 

 Some might lay it to the severe cold winter, 

 but those that had their bees housed or pro- 

 tected have lost as large or larger per cent, 

 as those that were on their summer stands. 

 I wintered mine on their summer stands; 

 without any protection; have lost 25 or 30 

 per cent of my colonies; find those that had 

 ventilation in the top of the hive in the best 

 condition. Think they are effected some as 

 they were 4 or 5 years' ago, when so many 

 died. W. G. Porter. 



Hulmeviile, Pa., April 21, 1879. 

 I have been keeping bees a number of 

 years; am an old correspondent and sub- 

 scriber to the Bee Journal, and was one 

 of those who un:ed Mr. Wagner to get it up. 

 1 never knew the A. B. J. to be as good as 

 it is now. It has been a very severe winter 

 here on bees; some of my neighbors lost 

 nearly all. I got through very well; lost 4 or 

 5 out of my 50 colonies; took off honey 

 boards, put quilts on the frames and stuffed 

 the tops of the hives with soft hay or dry 

 lawn grass. Left a few with honey boards 

 on and all the loss was from these. They 

 had no upward ventilation except tlirouh 

 the cracks in the hives. C. W. Taylor. 



Cedar Yale, Kan., April 2, 1879. 

 It has been a very cold winter here. The 

 elm and red bud, and nearly all of the early 

 pollen and honey-producing trees, and 

 bushes, have their limbs frozen so much 

 that they will produce no flowers this sea- 

 son, and the prospect of an early increase 

 by swarms is not very flattering. Last fall 

 I had 22 colonies (all Italians) which stood 

 out on the ground without any outside pro- 

 tection, where the cold blasts of wind could 

 strike them in any shape, with top box filled 

 with straw, and holes cut through the center 

 of combs for bees to pass through; combs 

 well filled with sealed honey. The thero- 

 mometer went down to 12° below zero, but 

 they wintered without loss. We now have 

 young bees hatched and flying, but high 

 winds prevent them from getting very far 

 from the hive. D. Bartgis & Sons. 



