1872.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



157 



that I could yet extract if I had an extractor. 

 Do you think, brother editor, that thirty-five 

 pounds is enough to allow for bees, combs, and 

 honey for winter, if they are wintered out of 

 doors?* 



My present stock consists of twenty-five colo- 

 nies in Gallup-Langstroth hives. I place them 

 with their backs together, stuffing hay between 

 them and around the hive, with the exception 

 of the front. The north and west sides are 

 boarded up and covered, leaving the east and 

 south side open. Last winter I had them in my 

 cellar, which is very dry, with not quite as good 

 results as I should have liked to see. How the 

 present plan will do, I may let you know, if we 

 live next spring — as wintering bees is one of our 

 greatest difficulties ; that is wintering them 

 successfully. 



I suppose my subscription will soon run out, 

 but send the Journal right along, and your money 

 will soon follow. 



I have some lumber ready for Gallup hives, 

 as quick as we get that "hash," if it pleases me. 



My article is getting long, so I will close, wish- 

 inir success to you and the Joiirnal, and sub- 

 scribing myself as before. 



A Miller, by profession, 

 but not a Moth Miller. 



[For the American Bee Journal,] 



"Useful Suggestions. 



Mr. Editor: — Many of our experienced apia- 

 rians, who write very interesting articles for the 

 Journal, are not explicit enough in describing 

 the smaller details of any process or article de- 

 scribed. 



First. — For instance all of our eminent bee- 

 keepers agree that feeding in the spring pro- 

 motes early breeding and a consequent great 

 yield of honey, if nature does her part. Various 

 styles of feeders are described, and recipes for 

 making stimulation bee-feed, and just when and 

 how to introduce it to the bees. But in no in- 

 stance, as I have thus far seen, do they tell us 

 how mucli to feed at a time. If a beginner is to 

 buy sugar for spring feeding by what method 

 can he estimate the amount required ? Is there 

 no definite rule to guide us as to how much to 

 feed to a good strong colony daily ? Those who 

 advocate and practice feeding should be able to 

 tell us somewhere near how many pounds or 

 ounces per day, will put the queen in the best 

 possible humor for depositing eggs rapidly and 

 right end up with care. 



Secondly. — The honey emptying machine has 

 been described many times in the Journal, and 

 directions published telling us how to get up 

 home-made machines. But the writers all for- 

 get to tell us what kind of wire cloth to use to 



* The quantity of stores required depends much on 

 the mode of winlerinii: adopted, the kind of hive used, 

 and the character and deviation of the winter. Mr. 

 Bickford's metjiod is inexpensive, easily managed, 

 and if carefully executed with a stocs; liaving a due 

 proportion of young bees and a healthy fertile queen, 

 is invariably successful. — [Ed. 



support the comb in the machine. In the con- 

 struction of my machine, I first used fine woven 

 wire, but it was liable to clog and required greater 

 speed to extract the honey. I now use coarse 

 wire cloth, with better success ; yet think of dis- 

 pensing with wire cloth altogether another sea- 

 son, and use long strips of tin, one inch wide, 

 doubled lengthwise and placed about one inch 

 apart. I operate the extractor in our cellar, 

 which is a very convenient and capital place. The 

 honey runs directly into a strainer, and from 

 thence into jars or barrels. My. strainer will < 

 hold twenty-five pounds, tapers down to a point, 

 and is provided with a stop-cock at the lower 

 extremity. Jars placed on the scales under the 

 strainer, can be filled to a nicety, and not a 

 single drop of the pi'ecious sweets wasted. I 

 find it pays, in the long run, to have everything 

 in the apiary fixed and convenient. 



Thirdly. — Movable comb hives are indispensa- 

 ble to successful bee management ; but among 

 all the pros and cons, descriptions and controver- 

 sies, the length and breadth of the frame is dis- 

 cussed continually, still I have seen no word 

 about the thickness of the frame. Perhaps thick- 

 ness was settled before I caught the bee fever, 

 about two years ago. But examination of hives 

 at present shows a diversity of construction upon 

 this point, for frames raging from | inch to 1^ 

 inches in thickness, are used. In the American, 

 Bay State, and others, J inch is the standard. 

 Mr. Quinby uses an inch frame, with ha^f an 

 inch space. Others use 1^ inch frames, with | 

 inch space. And here I would ask Mr. Quinby 

 what is the use of so much space between the 

 frames ? Are not the bees inclined to fill out the 

 space, and build more drone comb, than in a 

 thinner frame? My little experience leads me 

 to discard thick frames, for inj^ bees seem deter- 

 mined to build drone comb in all thick frames, 

 while f inch frames give better results. And 

 I can see but a trifle difference between Mr. 

 Quinby's inch frames and half-inch space, and 

 a 1^ inch frame with | inch space. 



A large number of beekeepers will soon be 

 constructing their hives, ai^d a little light from 

 those who have experimented and given the sub- 

 ject years of thought, would fto doubt interest a 

 large number of your readers. "We want the 

 thick and thin subject agitated, as well as length 

 and breadth. Scientific. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



The Onward Movement. 



Mr. Editor : — I send you to-day two dollars 

 for the seventh volume of the Journal, for a 

 young man who has never kept bees, but who is 

 going to begin ; and he will succeed, for he com- 

 mences with the Journal, as ^vi^ first step. 



It has been my experience that those who 

 have kept bees for years, in the old way, and 

 ought to have gained at least a desire for im- 

 provement, are slow to adopt new ideas ; while 

 the new beginner is all alive to its importance, 

 and will commence with movable combs and 

 Italian bees, and comprehend their value, while 



