259 



or of some uneasiness of the bees, 

 therefore, a colony of bees will not 

 swarm in the following conditions : 



1st. As long as its queen is alive and 

 healthy. 



2d. If its combs are dry and clean. 



3d. If it is always furnished with suf- 

 ficient room for the queen to lay and for 

 the bees to store honey. 



4th. If there is always in the hive a 

 provision of pollen and honey sufficient 

 for the needs of the brood and of the 

 hatching bees. 



5th. If the heat of the inside of the 

 hive is not sufficient to compel the bees 

 to remain idle, inside or outside. 



Hamilton, 111., February, 1879. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Plea for Pure Honey. 



LEE EMERICK. 



That time has arrived when it be- 

 comes necessary that all honey pro- 

 ducers, who desire to make their busi- 

 ness profitable in a pecuniary point of 

 view, unite in their efforts to suppress 

 the adulteration of honey, both comb 

 and extracted, and their first effort 

 should be made in their own apiaries. 

 To avoid all that has semblance of 

 fraud or adulteration, in feeding colo- 

 nies in spring or at any other time, 

 would it not be better to feed pure 

 honey, though it is worth more than 

 sugar or glucose. It certainly would 

 prevent the accusation of adulteration 

 by the purchaser of the honey, 



Only a few days ago the writer of this 

 was told by a neighbor of Mr. D., who 

 is one of the largest bee-keepers in the 

 country, " that Mr. D.'s honey was not 

 pure, that it all turned to sugar." The 

 writer suggested that pure honey often 

 candied or granulated. But said he, "I 

 have often seen Mr. D. feeding his bees, 

 and he fed them sugar; and I don't 

 want any of his honey." ISTow if he had 

 only known that Mr. D. had used arti- 

 ficial comb, would he not have been 

 more vehement in his denunciations ? 



And on the account of the accusa- 

 tions that can and will be made against 

 comb-foundation, it is an unsolved 

 question whether it will prove a Mess- 

 ing or a curse to the honey producer. 

 The present price of honey m our com- 

 mercial markets proves that about all 

 the honey that can be sold at a remu- 

 nerative price is being produced, and 

 if the production be increased without 

 a corresponding increase in the demand, 

 the inevitable result will be lower prices, 

 and the abandonment of bee-keeping 

 by many, and does not the use of 

 comb-foundation increase the produc- 



tion, and at the same time lessen the 

 demand. Will some other than a sup- 

 ply vender answer V 



The American Bee Journal , by its 

 fearless exposure of fraud, its 

 efforts to prevent adulteration, and its 

 untiring work to advance apiarian 

 science, merits the thanks and patron- 

 age of the bee-keeping fraternity. 



Harrison ville, Mo. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



A Voice from Northern Michigan. 



L. C. WHITING. 



Bees have wintered very poorly. The 

 average loss where they "had no winter 

 protection has been half. Circum- 

 stances prevented me from packing 

 as I intended; they were left where they 

 stood during the summer. Sixty colo- 

 nies had quilts over the frames, and the 

 caps filled with straw, so arranged as to 

 give slight ventilation through the 

 straw ; 48 of these came through all 

 right ; a few had the dysentery, appar- 

 ently caused by having too much venti- 

 lation ; 35 colonies that had honey 

 boards over them, with no ventilation 

 above, were all lost. A large portion 

 of the 35 were in good condition up to 

 and through the first thaw. They new 

 well and strong and had less dysentery 

 than those with upward ventilation. I 

 account for the great loss in this lot by 

 the frost melting, making the combs 

 very damp, the water closing up the 

 entrance with dead bees and ice, so that 

 they had no air. A few packed in the 

 same way where the covers were loose 

 enough to let in air came out all right. 

 A large portion of this loss of 35 had 

 sealed brood and other evidence of 

 prosperity. All had plenty of honey. 



One row of 30 colonies with straw in 

 the caps faced the south, and not one 

 was lost. The others faced east and 

 west, in about equal proportions; loss 

 about equal, but those facing the west 

 were found in the best condition. In 

 examining the colonies in the fall, to 

 see if all had their due share of honey, 

 some unsealed honey was found, and 

 was placed in the strongest colonies. 

 All the colonies in which this uncapped 

 honey was placed, suffered with 

 dysentery. 



All this loss in my case could have 

 been prevented had I packed them as I 

 intended, and a very large portion of it 

 if I had raised every hive on the first 

 thaw so as to let the frost melt out 

 without leaving the bees damp, to be 

 frozen up with the first cold weather. 

 Bees properly packed or in cellars have 

 wintered well. 



