early in the fall, then wlien sufficiently 

 strong leave them undisturbed during the 

 cold weather, which I think is one of the. 

 great secrets to success in wintering. I 

 have much to learn about bee-keeping to 

 make it a success ; but by studying Lang- 

 stroth's and Prof. Cook's works, and the 

 monthly visits of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal, I hope and expect to learn many of 

 the mysteries of the apiary. 



M. H. Wolfer. 



Cincinnati, O., Aug. 22, 1879. 

 I copy from Vick's Illustrated Magazine 

 for August : "Mr. Johnson, of St. George, 

 Utah, writes to the Rural New Yorker that 

 a well cultivated acre of mignonette will 

 give food to 500 colonies of bees." Can this 

 possibly be true, or the half of it? Please 

 let us have what you may happen to know 

 about what quantity of seed is required per 

 acre, in what manner plant it, what kind of 

 cultivation ? H. W. S. 



[We think the amount of nectar yield is 

 considerably overstated in the language 

 quoted above, though its capability is enor- 

 mous. We have stalks now in bloom (Sept. 

 16) nearly 3 feet high, and some of the 

 bloom spikelets are fully 12 inches in length, 

 of the reseda grandiflora variety. To cul- 

 tivate successfully, it should be planted in 

 drills, on good rich soil, and work with hoe 

 or cultivator. As the seeds are very small, 

 we think 3 to 5 lbs. per acre would be great 

 abundance.— Ed.] 



Lincoln, Tenn., Aug. 26, 1879. 

 Bees in good condition. Had 6 strong 

 swarms within the last 10 days, and by giv- 

 ing them foundation and feeding they are 

 doing well, though very late. 



J. F. Montgomery. 



Scranton, Iowa, Sept. 11, 1879. 

 Will give my experience with "Parsons' 

 new white mignonnette." 1 planted it by 

 scattering the seed thinly on well prepared 

 ground, in streaks 2 feet wide and rows 3 

 feet apart ; I covered the seed by well rak- 

 ing the rows with a steel-tooth rake. It was 

 a longtime coming to any size; but whilst 

 very small transplanted much of it, winch 1 

 will never do again, as it is tedious work, 

 and the plants are not certain to grow. 1 

 shall always sow the seed where I want it to 

 grow. Mine grew to tip of spires about 3 

 feet high, covering the ground between 

 rows ; when first it bloomed there was no 

 fragrance to it, and altogether 1 thought it a 

 swindle; but it tilled out and looked like a 

 bed of snow. Bees worked on it from morn 

 till dewy eve and again next day. It is as 

 easy to grow as turnips, and as hardy as 

 any annual I am aquainted with. The roots 

 have the scent and taste of horseradish, and 

 being white may answer the purpose of 

 that root. It made fine bee pasture through 

 a long drought of 2 months. It Is of beauti- 

 ful perennial form and showv. 



T. B. Blake. 



Near Carlise, Ky., Aug. 24, 1979. 

 After all my reading in your Bee Jour- 

 nal, I am at a loss to determine the best 

 plan to winter our bees. 1. I have a large 

 room plastered and dry — would it not be 

 preferable to the cellar ? 2. How often 

 during the winter should they have a fly 

 out ? 3. How soon would you put them in 

 winter quarters ? We have had poor suc- 

 cess with our bees this summer, not one 

 colony in a hundred has swarmed, and not 

 one in a hundred has gathered any surplus 

 honey. The bees appear to be strong in 

 numbers, but not in honey. They are 

 working now on buckwheat. 



B. F. Mathers. 



[1. After last winter's disasters, and the 

 many different methods tried, it would be 

 difficult to point out any method that would 

 be infallible. If you have a good dry cel- 

 lar, in which the temperature can be kept 

 constantly at about 40° Fah., and can be 

 perfectly darkened and kept free from 

 jarring noises, we think you cannot get a 

 better. If you have a plastered room that 

 will meet all these requirements, it should 

 do as well. 



2. They should have two or three flights 

 —the oftener the better, if the weather will 

 permit. 



3. Prepare them, by a thorough exami- 

 nation during the pleasant weather of this 

 month, but do not set them away till quite 

 cool weather sets in ; say, in the latter part 

 of November.— Ed.] 



Emerald, Wis., Sept. 14, 1879. 

 I send you stalk of plant in bloom for the 

 name, and whether it may not only be valu- 

 able for honey, but also as a medicinal 

 herb. I met an old soldier who called it 

 rheumatism weed. He uses the root steeped 

 in liquor for rheumatism. A party of 

 Chippewa Indians were in the store while 

 I was packing the plant to mail you, when 

 a squaw picked off a bud, and after pulveriz- 

 ing in her hand, put it to her nose and 

 snuffed it, then went sneezing around for 

 some time. This plant grows in the wood- 

 lands along small streams, and on rather 

 low ground, along old roads and in pastures 

 where timber is not dense. 1 do not know 

 whether it would grow on other kinds of 

 soil or not, but think it would. It grows in 

 clusters of 15 or 20 stalks from 1 root, and 

 from 1 to 5 feet high. Bees work on it from 

 4 to 6 weeks. From my experience, I am 

 satisfied as a bee-plant it is ahead of any 

 thing I have met with. J as. S. Goodwin. 



[This is helenium antumnale, false sun 

 flower or sneeze>-weed. The reason for this 

 latter name is quite apparent from Mr. 

 Goodwin's letter. There is no reason to 

 suppose that this plant has other valuable 

 properties than that of secreting honey ; 

 yet, white hellebore, a most valuable insect- 

 icide, is like this in inducing sneezing 



