THE AMERICAN APJCULTUIUIST. 



117 



For the American ApicnlUirist. 



VENTILATION OR NO VEN- 

 TILATION. 



C. W. Dayton. 



As I julvisecl in the November 

 lunnher of last year, I prepared for 

 winter 112 colonies by removing 

 everything from the brood- cham- 

 bers but the quilts and then cov- 

 ered the hive with leaves and then 

 with dirt. 



In that article it was directed to 

 leave a space of the leaves at the 

 top of the mound uncovered with 

 the earth and also provide an en- 

 trance to the outside air. I did 

 more than I advised as 40 of the 

 colonies were covered entirely with 

 eartli so as to stop all upward ven- 

 tilation (a la Tinker). Yesterday, 

 April 3, the 112 colonies were ex- 

 amined and I will herewith give the 

 report lor that apiary. The bees 

 were confined without a flight just 

 150 da3's ; not on account of the 

 leaves or dirt, but because they 

 were located in the northern part 

 of Iowa. 



Of the forty colonies none sur- 

 vived — all are dead. It is death 

 with a vengeance. I believe there 

 have not been live bees in many of 

 them for months. Some of tliem 

 left the hone}^ almost untouched — 

 none of them consumed one-half of 

 it. Of the remaining sevent^'-two, 

 live or six in bad order and three 

 are dead outright, one of which 

 starved. Of the sixty-four good 

 colonies many are very strong and 

 reminded me of swarming time 

 when taking their flight. Tliis is 

 only another of the dozen times I 

 have wasted a large share of an 

 apiary by experimenting on venti- 

 lation. Every time I have "paid 

 the fiddler." Now that I realize 

 the loss and the circumstances by 

 which I tried the experiment, I 

 wonder if I was not crazy last fall. 



I found some of the combs that 



contained no honey that were so 

 loaded with condensed moisture as 

 to be as heavy as a comb of honey. 

 The cells were entirely filled. 



The bees in the "chaflf hive api- 

 ary" have wintered without loss. 



Those in the cellar at the "home" 

 apiary all appear to be in gooil or- 

 der except two which have dwin- 

 dled some. 



Bradford^ Iowa. 



HO W TO GEO W BASIS WOOD 

 TREES. 



Cor n't II g^ Iowa. 

 Will ba.sswood sprouts grow ? If not, wli.it 

 is the best way to get a start of that woiidurfiil 

 houcy-plant? There is none at all very near 

 my location, but plenty of it at a distaiice of 

 three miles. How far do bees go in search of 

 honey ? 



Jas. a. Russell. 



HOW FAK WILL BEES FLY IN SEARCH 

 OF FOKAGK ? 

 ANSWERS BY A. E. MANUM. 



I have never had any experience 

 in growing basswood trees from the 

 seed, nor from very young sprouts. 

 We have basswood in abundance 

 here, growing on our inoinitains 

 and wooded ridges, hence it is not 

 usually thought necessary to plant 

 any. Though I have transplanted 

 young trees along the roadside the 

 whole width of my farm for shade, 

 ornament and use, I have had no 

 difficulty in making ever3' tree grow. 

 I go where young bass woods are 

 plentiful and take up trees of a uni- 

 form size, say about 2^ to 3 inches 

 through ; these are usually very tall. 

 I cut off the top, leaving nothing 

 but a stub with roots. This stub I 

 aim to have about 12 feet long. I 

 take pains in setting out and then 

 bank up around it with hard wood 

 shavings, sawdust, chip-dirt or any 

 substance that will hold moisture. 



In this way I have set out a nice 

 lot of them and have never lost a 

 tree. I have no doubt but young 

 sprouts one or two years old might 

 1)6 successfully transi)lanted if care 



