140 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL. 



[Dec, 



But few hives have honey enough to winter 

 them, while hundreds are now actually starving. 

 We have seen many hives that contained from 

 twenty to forty pounds, each, of honey in May, 

 with from one to five pounds only in October. 

 Nothing but liberal and i^ersistent feeding can 

 save such stocks ; and how few comparatively 

 will do this ? Hence we predict for the bee- 

 keepers of Penobscot valley, and some other 

 sections of our State, a gre'ater loss of bees this 

 year, than they have experienced for twenty- 

 five years, with possibly the exception of 1865. 

 It is true that strong stocks in favored localities, 

 have filled their hives and stored some surplus ; 

 but these cases are the exceptions ; and the 

 frequent ominous words of our better half — 

 "The sugar barrel is nearly empty ! Oh, those 

 bees do use it at a fearful rate !" continually re- 

 minds us of the almost unparalleled scarcity of 

 honey throughout the entire season of 1871, and 

 how ruthlessly the bright fantastic air castles of 

 visionary beekeepers have been dispersed, and 

 instead of revelling in liquid sweets, as Gallup 

 says, ' ' to our eyes, ' ' we have the cold satisfaction 

 of purchasing barrel after barrel of sugar, to 

 save the little pets from starvation. 



By uniting our weak stocks and feeding up to 

 the required standard, we have our bees now in 

 fai*' condition for winter, and shall look for- 

 ward to next year's operations with increased in- 

 terest and hopefulness. 



Many beekeepers complain that in the process 

 of uniting, their bees invariably fight until large 

 numbers are killed. To all such we would re- 

 commend the following plan : Smoke both stocks 

 and remove one queen, and if the bees are 

 flying freely gradually move the hives towards 

 each other, say a foot or so each day, until they 

 are side by side, which will generally require 

 two or three days. Select a cool day, and after 

 smoking them thoroughly, remove the frames 

 with the adhering bees from both hives, and re- 

 place them alternately in the hive designed for 

 them — selecting the full frames, and being care- 

 ful to secure a good supjtly of pollen or bee-bread. 

 Set the hive in the centre of the space that was 

 occupied by the hoc hives, and feed with honey 

 or sugar syrup for a few days. The smoke and 

 nursing up creates so much confusion among 

 the bees that they are quite willing to accept 

 the situation without resorting to a fight. 



Geo. S. Silsby. 



Wintersport, Me., Oct. 25, 1871. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Pirst Keport, from a Beginner, 



The September No, of the Journal, replete as 

 its predecessors have ever been with much that 

 is requisite to guide the apiarian bark, has been 

 received, and contents as usual carefully perused. 

 I am sincere in asserting that each and every 

 number is worth, to me at least, the price of a 

 year's subscription. 



• Impaired health, for want of proper exei-cise, 

 compelling me to abandon the tripod, quill and 



scissors, I have decided to engage in apiculture. 

 As other duties required my attention the pres- 

 ent season, I have deferred engaging, to any 

 extent, in the business, until next spring, when 

 I desire to start with a reasonable number ; but 

 as I have managed six stocks the present season, 

 I must report success. 



Last April I took from my father's apiary of 

 fifteen stands kept in box hives (which averaged 

 him for many years from six to eight pounds of 

 box honey to the hive, and a few swarms each 

 season, ) six stands and transferred them into 

 mo^j^xble comb hives. One of the six, a second 

 swarm that barely came through the winter, I 

 put in a double story hive, each story of which 

 contains about 2100 cubic inches, and each hold- 

 ing ten frames. By close economy I got six 

 frames of comb containing some brood and two 

 or three pounds of honey. These with four 

 empty ones were placed below and the remainder 

 above. The four were speedily filled, but as the 

 bees manifested no desire to begin opera- 

 tions above, I raised two frames from the brood 

 chamber and i)laced them above, filling their 

 places with empty ones. They were at once 

 filled, and by the 10th of August the remaining 

 eight were also filled. These frames weigh 

 about ten pounds each, making a hundred 

 pounds of honey and comb, besides the four 

 empty frames filled below. This result was at- 

 tained without spring stimulation, or anything 

 of the kind. What the result would have b eu 

 had this stock been populous and stimulated in 

 early spring, we can only conjectui'e. 



The other five stocks, one half more populous 

 than the one just mentioned, yielded about 

 thirty pounds in boxes to the hive, besides fill- 

 ing three empty frames below. My neighbor 

 who "trusts to luck," has had neither surplus 

 honey nor swarms, and considers this the poor- 

 est year in twenty for bees. 



Hoping that my success may encourage the 

 efforts of our enlightened beekeeping brethren 

 throughout the land, and that the shadows of 

 Novice and a host of others wliose liglits shine 

 from under a beehive instead of a "bushel," 

 may never grow less, I respectfully subscribe 

 myself 



RUSTICUS. 



Canaanville, Ohio, Oct. 11, 1871. 



Iffects of a Eee Sting. 



At Highgate, (Vt.) the other day, Mrs. Kings- 

 ley Steinhauer was set upon by a swarm of bees 

 and nearly stung to death ; she lay some time as 

 if dead, and then her whole flesh became purple, 

 as though mortified. She is now recovering, — 

 Buston Journal, Sept. 4, 1871. 



Mb. Goff disturbed a swarm of bumble-bees 

 while burying out West, and came near having 

 a burying of his own. The bees stung his neck, 

 and his throat swelled so that the whole family 

 had to take turns feeding him soup with a 

 squirt-gun. 



