46 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[August, 



This season has heen poor for bees. No sur- 

 plus honey of any account. The hees had filled 

 their hive, and have enough to winter on, but 

 the nights were too cold for surplus honey. 



Wenham, Mass., July 15, 1872. H. Alley. 



31 y bees are flourishing. My stock has in- 

 creased from twenty-nine to sixty-two hives by 

 artificial swarming. I use the two-story Lang- 

 stroth hive with double sets of frames. I have 

 mostly Italian bees, and will soon have all my 

 stocks Italianized. I have one of R. R. Murphy's 

 honey extractors, which works splendidly, and 

 have taken about 1000 pounds of honey, and 

 hope to be able to take as much more. 



N. P. Allen. 



Small's Grove, Ky., July 3, 1872. 



The season for bees has been better than it 

 has been for several years, although late, a ma- 

 jority of the bees died last winter generally for 

 want of stores. I wintered my eighty colonies 

 without lo>s, kept them in my cellar five months, 

 find no trouble in wintering in my cellar, while 

 my neighbors loose from half to all wintering 

 on their summer stands. S. Sakdford. 



Lima, Allen Co., 0. 



Thus far bees have done well here, though 

 they could not swarm until June, owing to last 

 season being such a poor one, and the winter 

 very severe. I started this spring with five colo- 

 nies, and have fourteen now. All the swarms 

 that come off this month, I will put in the weak- 

 est, and make them all strong by winter. I have 

 made a cap that covers the whole hive with four 

 inches space on each side and back end, and 

 high enough to cover surplus boxes. Movable 

 bottom, with sides and back end that drop over 

 the bottom board to keep out water. I can stuff 

 straw all around and on top for winter. I use 

 the Langstroth hive. M. L. Williams. 



Ashland, Ky., July 15, 1872. 



I have nothing new to report in regard to foul- 

 brood, as my apiary is now entirely free from 

 it. 1 can report twenty as healthy and prosper- 

 ous colonies as the most enthusiastic beekeeper 

 could wish. (See vol. vi., p. 211.) 



Bees, as a general thing, wintered well in this 

 place, and notwithstanding the spring was a 

 month later than last year, swarming commenced 

 about the same time ; the first swarm of the 

 season coming oft' May loth or 16th. But as 

 there was no forage from the first to the middle 

 of June, all breeding and queen raising ceased, 

 and there have been no swarms of consequence 

 since then. From the middle of June till the 

 present time, honey has been abundant and been 

 gathered rapidly, one of my colonies having 

 stored monthly during this time nearly sixty 

 pounds in surplus boxes, which for this region 

 is doing remarkably well. I have received from 

 Mr. Peabody a new knife, very ingeniously 

 made, which is just the thing needed to make 

 the extractor complete, as it works easily and 

 rapidly wnthout the use of hot water. 



It is not in the market this year, but I hope 

 for the benefit of those who have steamed over 

 hot water with the thermometer at 90° in the 



shade, he will supply the public by another 

 season. E. P. Abbe. 



New Bedford, Mass., July 3, 1872. 



I would like very much to see a correct state- 

 ment of the difference in point of merit as 

 honey gatherers, between the Italian bees and 

 our common black bees ; I would be glad to have 

 the statement from some honest beekeeper who 

 does not make raising queens a business ; as it 

 is very likely that a man who wishes to sell a 

 large lot of queens might be induced to exag- 

 gerate the value of the little foreigner a little 

 above their true merits. Cotton is king in my 

 locality ; about one man in thirty keeps bees, 

 raising honey for his own table, none to sell. 

 We use a blank box hive, hollow log hives, old 

 nail kegs, flour barrels, &c. Our farmers to a 

 great extent, think beekeeping a small affair, 

 a piccayuue business ; bees uncertain and un- 

 reliable property ; movable comb hives a swin- 

 dle ; Italian bees a humbug. 



I am one who wish to wake our people up to 

 their interest. Therefore give us facts ; no use 

 to undertake to overcome incredulity by exag- 

 geration. W. E. Freeman. 



Olustee Creek P. 0., Ala., July 8, 1872. 



I just happened to think that I would like to 

 see the commencement of the new volume of the 

 Journal. Till rather lately I have been some- 

 what dull with regard to bee business. My bees, 

 fifty-five stocks, came out all right in the spring, 

 but about two weeks later than last year. They 

 have done well on the fruit blossoms, but then 

 came on a large spell of cold, rainy weather, 

 which prevented them from working until some- 

 time after the white clover blossomed, and even 

 when I supposed the weather was suitable for 

 them to gather honey, not a bee could be found 

 on the white clover. I suppose the long cold 

 rain prevented the accumulation of honey in the 

 flowers. They began a little earlier in the Alsike, 

 but as that was mostly winter-killed, did not 

 amount to much. For about two weeks past, 

 they have worked quite well, and I am taking 

 out some honey. The last season I took all my 

 surplus honey from the side of the brood by 

 taking out the frames the honey was stored in, 

 even if a little brood was stored in some of them, 

 I could extract the honey and return some to the 

 hive without injury to the bee brood. This prac- 

 tice gives an opportunity to know the interior 

 condition of the hive, so that any frame not 

 suitable can be put in its place. Last year I 

 took out all old block and thick combs, and such 

 as had much old sour bee-bread, in season to have 

 them filled with healthy comb, and am of opin- 

 ion that by so doing prevented much disease 

 that bees are subject to, as I consider such comb 

 very unhealthy if remaining long in the hive. 



Genoa, 111. A. Stiles. 



The 4th of July is upon us, and finds the honey 

 supply the most meager for many years in this 

 portion of Ohio. About twenty-four of my colo- 

 nies, black and yellow, went by the board dur- 

 ing the past winter with that yet unnamed 

 disease, which we might just as well call bee 

 cholera, and be done with it. 



