We could find no queens in such a mass of 

 bees, but at last they got into and onto 2 

 hives, about a swarm and a half in one hive 

 I should think, and the other 2>£ swarms in 

 and on another. 1 put another hive on top, 

 and I never saw bees work as they all do 

 now. I put eggs and brood into the hive 

 when I divided, but they would not stay. 

 My old bees are mostly in box hives, but I 

 am putting the new ones into frame hives : 

 frames 17x10 in., 8 in a hive. 1 do not know 

 what ails them— the pasturage is good. I 

 have a small piece of buckwheat in bloom 

 and a little mignonette. There is consid- 

 erable basswood, any amount of sumac and 

 other things. They worked well the 2 days 

 that they stayed, had considerable comb 

 and honey and some had eggs. I do not 

 think they all had eggs. They were the 

 largest swarms I ever saw. We were hav- 

 ing extremely hot weather. 



J. C. Peters. 



Hokah, Minn., July 17, 1S79. 

 I am a new hand with bees, and perhaps 

 have a new idea as to wintering them. 

 Would like to know if the following has 

 ever been tried, and if so, what result ; also 

 your opinion of it : Make a box 16 feet 

 long, 10 inches high and 16 inches wide, 

 with places for frames to rest upon ; set in 

 10 frames, then 1 frame with wire cloth ; 

 then No. 2 colony, then wire frame No. 2, and 

 so on until you get 12 colonies in it, each 

 hive to have an outlet. This box is to be 

 inclosed in one 18x24 inches, to form a dead- 

 air chamber ; also to set out doors all win- 

 ter. I think one will help keep the other 

 warm, thus making it a good winter-house 

 for the yellow pets. The American Bee 

 Journal is a welcome visitor ; my neigh- 

 bor bee-keepers are very fond of it, as I 

 cannot keep one any length of time. Bees 

 have done well so far. Plenty of white 

 clover and basswood. Wm. Lossing. 



[We doubt whether your plan would ope- 

 rate satisfactarily. The center colonies 

 would undoubtedly contract too much heat, 

 while trouble would arise from too close 

 proximity of queens, with but the wire 

 screen between, and we imagine a complete 

 demoralization would ensue during Avinter 

 flights— Ed.] 



Forestville, N. Y., July 22, 1879. 

 In reading the July number of the Jour- 

 nal, I see reports of heavy losses of bees 

 in almost all parts of the country by dysen- 

 tery. 1 would like to say that it is proved 

 to my satisfaction that cold and improper 

 ventilation are the prime causes of this dis- 

 ease. In preparing bees for winter, we 

 should be very careful that the work is done 

 in the best possible manner, and after plac- 

 ing them in cellars or other repositories, 

 great care should be taken to keep an even 

 temperature, occasionally warming the air 

 very gradually 2 or 3° to dry dampness and 



Surif y the air in the repository. We should 

 e watchful of the least change in the tem- 

 perature and meet it ; if cold, by fire ; if 

 warm, by snow or ice. All this can be done 

 without disturbing the bees, if properly ar- 

 ranged, as I think disturbance greatly ag- 



gravates the disease. I have wintered the 

 past two winters in a very damp cellar quite 

 successfully, with but slight signs of dysen- 

 tery, and am confident that I could have 

 prevented that if I had not been called from 

 home during a severe cold spell of weather, 

 consequently the temperature in my cellar 

 became too low. Some time perhaps I will 

 give my manner of preparing my bees for 

 winter, and report my success from time to 

 time. The American Bee Journal grows 

 in interest with every number. H. D. G. 



Iola, Calhoun Co., Fla., July 28, 1879. 

 Inclosed find a sprig of a vine growing in 

 our swamps. We are anxious to know what 

 it is. Will you please send it to Prof. Cook 

 and advise us through the Journal ? We 

 have taken 500 gallons of honey this year, 

 and will get 50 or 60 gallons more, as the 

 vine we send a twig of is now in bloom, and 

 will continue until September. We have 

 also taken several thousand pounds of beau- 

 tiful honey in glass. The Journal is a 

 great treat to us. 



Alderman & Roberts. 



[The specimen sent is too small for iden- 

 tification.— A. J. Cook.] 



Bethany, 111., Aug. 1, 1879. 

 Bees in this section gathered considerable 

 honey from white clover and the tree blos- 

 soms previously, but have had but little dis- 

 position to swarm this season ; too much 

 honey in the brood chamber, and, of course, 

 they did not get strong enough to store 

 much surplus honey. The past 3 weeks 

 they have gathered but little, but have been 

 breeding very fast all the time, and have 

 used the honey in the brood chamber, thus 

 becoming in good condition for the fall 

 honey yield, if there is any. At present the 

 weather is very dry in this county. 



A. M. Rhodes. 



Martinsburg, Mo., August 6, 1879. 

 Enclosed find a twig, with leaves, flowers 

 and berries taken from a small shrub which 

 grows about 2% feet high ; the berry is red 

 when ripe. A great number of bees are on 

 it from early in the morning until late at 

 night. Will vou please give the name for 

 it ? E. R. Douglass. 



[This is Symphoricarpus vulgaris, a 

 shrub belonging to the honeysuckle family. 

 — W. J. Beal.] 



Canton, N. Y., July 28, 1879. 

 Our bees have just finished up their work 

 and we are blessed with a good honey crop. 

 The spring was very promising, and the 1st 

 of June found our hives full of honey and 

 bees, but the first 12 days were cold and wet 

 and delayed swarming. Since then the bees 

 have lost but one day on account of rain, 

 although the high winds hindered them very 

 much. From briars they gathered plenti- 

 fully, and from briars to white clover. In 

 this section nearly every farmer sows alsike 

 clover, but it blooms with white clover. If 

 we could have had one more shower, this 

 would have been one of the best clover- 

 honey seasons for many years, but the dry 



