letting them fly out in the cold days of the 

 spring. I am never troubled in this way; I 

 let them have a good fly in March, and then 

 let them remain in the house until the 

 weather is warm enough for them to fly and 

 get back. If bees are managed in this way 

 there will be but little loss in wintering or 

 spring dwindling. I wish some who have 

 been unsuccessful in wintering would try 

 my plan and report results. Be sure to have 

 the building dry. F. Hardinger. 



Waveland, Ind, May 10, 1879. 

 Yesterday my bees were gathering honey 

 dew from the sugar-tree leaf. The leaves 

 were covered with a fringe like little pins 

 or red briars. The sugar-tree bloomed on 

 April 20th, and bees got a good start, built 

 comb, and commenced breeding nicely. I 

 inclose a sample of comb foundation made 

 on the plates I got of you. I have to press 

 two sheets at once to prevent cutting holes 

 at the base of the cells. I send a sample of 

 that pressed single and also double. 1 keep 

 a pan of warm suds and draw the sheets 

 through it; then, when pressed, commence 

 at one corner and separate. It is very easily 

 done. I make from 6 to 9 feet per pound. 

 Will some one give a plan to clearify wax ? 

 I know no way but to strain and settle. 



Peter James. 



[The foundation sent us is very well 

 made, and quite thin. The making of two 

 sheets at a time is a good plan; at least that 

 is by far the best sample of the two. The 

 cells are not as regular as when made on the 

 rolls, but it will be as readily used by the 

 bees.— Ed.] 



Limerick, 111., April 29, 1879. 

 I think the loss in bees about here last 

 winter and this spring, is equal to any 2 

 years heretofore. Last season it was a 

 tedious job for me to nail frames true ; but 

 in the Bee Journal for October I saw an 

 engraving of a frame holder, so I made one 

 from that design, and the time gained by 

 using it while nailing my frames, over last 

 year's way, if employed on the farm in 

 plowing, would pay for the frame holder and 

 the Bee Journal, too, for one year. 



E. Pickup. 



Wrightstown, Wis., May 5, 1879. 

 There has been great loss among the bees 

 throughout Northern Wisconsin. About 

 % have died. Many beginners have lost all 

 of their bees. Some that have been keeping 

 bees for years, and supposed they under- 

 stood the whole science of bee-keeping, 

 have lost heavily. One man that has kept 

 bees for 17 years, and was formerly very 

 successful (and two years ago announced 

 he had the science complete, and stopped 

 taking the Bee Journal) waged war 

 against all scientific research, and from a 

 small man, grew immediately to a Goliath ; 

 but " how are the mighty fallen." He can- 

 not hide the fact that his bees are nearly all 

 idle in death. I placed 27 colonies in my 

 bee house last fall and lost one. Since 

 putting them on summer stands have lost 

 two that were weakened by cholera. I have 

 built a bee house which I am satisfied will 



prove a success for wintering. I will at 

 some future time forward a statement in 

 full of my building, which is not expensive 

 and which will ultimately be "The house 

 1 prefer." In due time 1 will endeavor to 

 give my plan of preparing bees for winter. 

 Chas. R. Clough. 



Santa Anna, Cal., April 13, 1879. 

 Will the queen larvte from a pure Italian 

 mother be developed as duplicates of herself 

 by black bees; or, in other words, will the 

 royal jelly deposited by black bees have any 

 influence in changing the blood or purity 

 of the Italian ? The prospects for a good 

 season for honey-gathering in Southern Cali- 

 fornia are fair. Rainfall since November 

 from 5 to 9 inches. Vegetation and crops 

 growing briskly. We heartily wish that 

 the circulation of the Journal may be ex- 

 tended until it shall find its way to the hand 

 of every apiarist. Thos. L. Frazer. 



[From my observation, as also from the 

 physiological principles involved, I am 

 strongly of the opinion that the character of 

 the nurse-bees, as to purity, has no influence 

 on the larval workers or queens. I believe 

 that the queen from a pure Italian queen, 

 mated with a pure drone, will certainly be 

 pure. Some apiarists of wide experience 

 and observation, are, however, of contrary 

 opinion, among whom is M. Metcalf. It is 

 so difficult to know that our queens, even 

 though apparently pure, have not a trace of 

 impure blood, as also that the drone with 

 which she coupled, was not also slightly 

 tinctured with foreign blood, and as we 

 know in all animals even a trace of impu- 

 rity will sometimes push itself into marked 

 prominence after being dormant for years, 

 we see it is easy for such persons to be de- 

 ceived. Still, many points connected with 

 reproduction are veiled in doubt. We have 

 much to learn as to the influence of coition 

 on the female, and possibly much on the 

 question at issue, the influence of the nurse- 

 bees to modify the physical characteristics 

 of the young which they attend. There is 

 no full exposition of the subject of royal 

 jelly, so far as I know.— A. J. Cook.] 



Golden Plain, 111., March 28, 1879. 

 My bees come through the winter in good 

 condition, with few exceptions. I lost none 

 while in bee house— one queenless; left the 

 hive after taking out and went into another 

 hive, and during the late cold, spell two 

 starved to death, which makes a loss of 3 

 out of 137 put in bee house. All the hives I 

 have looked into have combs nice and 

 bright, and they commenced breeding rap- 

 idly before taken out of bee-house. The 

 worst trouble this winter was to keep the 

 temperature low enough, especially after 

 they began breeding, and I found one of the 

 best ways of quieting them was to fill a 



