51 



THE AMEETCAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Sept., 



I felt very much pleased that I could again fill 

 several barrels. I did not blame my bees for 

 stinging me, and indeed would not have bees 

 which do not sting, else mischievous boys would 

 come and steal the honey. 



I have not been absent from my bees a single 

 day for the last few months ; but as the honey 

 harvest is over now, I think I shall again get 

 leave to come home. 



Of course I can say very little about bee-bvisi- 

 ness, for I only take charge of my apiary during 

 swarming and harvest time ; biit I am almost 

 convinced that that is the time when the greatest 

 amount of work is required. I have had to 

 work very hard sometimes these last few w^eks, 

 but my work has indeed been rewarded. 



And now, Mr. Editor, if you should doubt 

 anything stated in my report, I invite you to 

 come out and pay off the visit father and I made 

 you four years ago ; and guarantee you will see 

 the largest and nicest amount of extracted and 

 box honey you ever saw in your life. 



Katie Grimm. 



Jefferson, Wis., July 30, 1871. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



A Lady's Comments. 



Mr. Editor :— The August number of the 

 American Bee Journal has made its Avelcome 

 visit, and its contents read with much interest, 

 as we are anxious to gain all the information we 

 can from experienced bee-keepers — having made 

 bee-culture oar business. The more we learn of 

 the habits of the little beauties (the Italians j the 

 more we wish to know. 



We have been very successful this season in 

 rearing queens, and having them purely fertilized, 

 and hi>ve superseded all our black queens with 

 Italians, which have proved far more prolific 

 than the black queens were. 



In early spring we cut out all black and hybrid 

 drone brood, and thus prevented drones from 

 coming out till the black mothers were super- 

 seded. "We intend to talk Italian bee to our 

 neighbors till we have stocks Italianized for a 

 mile or two around at least. 



We have experimented somewhat on non-fly- 

 ing fertilization, and, as others have done before 

 us, "failed." We are a little skeptical on tliis 

 subject, notwithstanding Mitchell, of Indianapo- 

 lis, has the secret.* The season, thus far, has been 

 a good one for bees. They are still working, 

 some on white clover and melilot, which latter 

 we deem one of the best j^lants for honey. 



Many thanks to R. M. Argo, of Lowel, Ken- 

 tucky, for his further warnings on introducing 

 queens safely. We have had trouble to induce 

 our bees to accept strange queens. We finally 

 tried ]Mrs. Tapper's favorite way of exchanging 

 queens. Taking her for good authority we risked 

 a queen, and following her directions exactly, 

 l)laced our queen on a frame after the bees had 

 all been shaken off. Placing it with another 

 frame in the new hive, we carried the parent 



* Which " secret," as we understand, really belongs 

 to Mr. W. R. Kiug, of Milton, Ky. 



stock some distance away. Waiting an hour or 

 two, we went out to carry more frames to our 

 new queen, and what did we see, but our nice 

 yellow-banded pet curled up on the alighting 

 board dead, and the bees still stinging her ! 



Rev. Mr. Anderson, in his communication on 

 page 42 of the Journal for August, after giving 

 an account of his battles with his bees to save a 

 queen attacked by her own colony, aifks — 

 "wherein did I fail, or what should I have done 

 under the circumstances?" We think Mr. 

 Anderson should have caged his valuable queen 

 and introduced her into another colony. He 

 does not tell us whether or not he found queen 

 cells in the hive. There might have been a 

 young queen in the hive. We opened a hive a 

 few days since, and found a queen which we pro- 

 nounced a virgin queen ; lifting another frame, 

 we found another qiieen, the bees caught her, 

 and evidently intended to destroy her. She took 

 wing and flew away. On looking further we 

 found our old queen, which we caught and caged. 

 Being very anxious to save her, as slie was one 

 of our best, we introduced lier into another 

 colony, but on going to release lier we found her 

 dead. Thus there were three queens and three 

 unsealed queen cells in one hive at the same 

 time. 



Mrs. K. a. D. Morgan. 



Pella, loica, Aug. 4, 1871. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



A Pew Questions. 



Mr. Editor : — Only to-day has the fact dawned 

 upon our understanding, that if we would longer 

 hold you as our counsellor sometJimg must bs 

 done forthwith. Indeed it was not lack of in- 

 terest that made us slow to think ; but when 

 pleasantly and profitably employed, time flies, 

 and the past year has seemed so short. 



We have gained valuable information, while 

 journeying in yotir company. One thing, though, 

 that we know better every day, does not in the 

 least make us proud ; we fully realize how igno- 

 rant we still are. 



When the Journal comes there is nothing on 

 hand qttite as important as searching its pages 

 for something practical, that might help us out 

 of a present difficulty. 



We are told to remove surplus honey as soon 

 as sealed over. What are we to do when the 

 combs are full for a week, and still it is not 

 sealed '?* 



* Whenever the combs are filled, or nearly all the 

 cells are full, remove the honey, without delaying for 

 the capping, if the pasturage and the weather con- 

 tinue favorable. Frequent removals under such cir- 

 cumstances, act as a powerful stimulant to incessant 

 labor. If put in glass jars, and the honey should 

 after a time seem to be too thin, it can be thickened 

 without discoloring it, by setting the jars in a vessel of 

 water and exposing them to a boiling temperaturaifor 

 fifteen or twenty minutes. This will also expel any 

 noxious principle or poison it may contain, so that 

 it may be eaten with impunity by those uith whose 

 stomachs new honey does not agree. — [Ed. 



