THE AMERICAN A PIC UL TURIS T. 



115 



inent, and a bottom-hoard flush 

 with the hive all round, also a f in. 

 entrance extending across the front 

 oi" the liive at the bottom. This has 

 pi'oved with me to be the most 

 l)ractical hive I have ever used. 

 Having used over 100 Langstroth 

 and as man}' Quinb^- hives for sev- 

 eral years, I have discarded them 

 on account, principally, of their 

 long, nnnatural-shaped brood-nest, 

 and, as for a hive with anj' side- 

 ])ox arrangement, I consider them 

 a thing of the past. 



With due respect for all who dif- 

 fer with me on these principal 

 points of our business, I leave 

 these unconnected remarks to ))e 

 criticised bj' all. 



Esperance, N. Y. 



For the American Apiculturist. 



A FEW QUERIES. 

 J. E. Pond. 



Mr. Editor : 



Have you not made a mis- 

 take in Bro. Heddon's answer to 

 question No. 16? It nowhere 

 touches the point, and is not at all 

 relevant. If a mistake has been 

 m.ade it should be rectified, 



BLACK BEKS FROM PURE ITALIAN 

 QUEENS. 



Will Dr. Tinker demonstrate the 

 matter that he says is a fact, viz. : 

 " that a very black bee can be 

 raised from the \Q\'y best strains 

 of pure Italians, in the space of 

 three or four years." Both you 

 and myself, Mr. Editor, have rea- 

 son to believe no such demonstra- 

 tion can be made, as we both had 

 directl}' the contrar}'^ experience. 

 I assume that Dr. Tinker's "facts" 

 must be demonstrated with pure 

 Italians, so kept that there can be 

 no possible admixture with any 

 other race, otherwise there would 

 he no demonstration. 



1 will give tiieDr. $1.00 each (or 



every very black worker he will 

 produce to me reared under tiic 

 above conditions, and will give him 

 six or eight years instead of three 

 or ibur in which to do it. Facts, 

 not theories, were called for in 

 quer^- 16; now give us the proofs 

 Dr., if you can. 



In answer to query 17, Bro. Hed- 

 don replies that " bee diarrhoea is 

 not the only cause ol bees dying in 

 winter," all of which is very true 

 as a matter of generalization ; hut 

 it does not touch the vital point of 

 the question, as is shown in the 

 third paragraph of answer, where 

 he says "■ properlj' prepared cane 

 sugar ... in connection with 

 proper temperature renders our 

 certainty" (meaning of safe winter - 

 ing) "asg^reaf asor greater" (italics 

 mine) "than that of wintering our 

 horses and cows," viz., absolutely 

 certain. Then he speaks of the 

 uncertainty of sugar and its liabil- 

 it}' to crystallize, etc. 



Now, my own experience has 

 been that bees properly prepared 

 will winter safel}' on summer stands 

 no matter how severe the winter; 

 the matter of food, if the same is 

 pure, making no difference, and 

 that pure natural stores both of 

 honey and pollen, if there is honey 

 enough to subsist on, is equally as 

 safe as prepared sugar syrup, and 

 safer wlien its liability to crystal- 

 lize is considered. In othei' words, 

 I believe that the measure of safety 

 will be found in proper preparation. 

 Foxboro, March 25, 1)S87. 



For the Americnn ApicuUiirint. 



DEAD BEES IN THE 

 CELLAR. 



Will M. Kellogg. 



I have had many years' experience 

 in wintering bees in cellars, so will 

 give my answer. I inxve at present 



