1873.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



251 



not been able on account of the continued cold, 

 to remove from one cell to the other, and so per- 

 ished. I never lost bees in this way before, neither 

 do I ever recollect such a winter; but it certainly 

 is a discouraging feature in forming large apiaries, 

 if one severe winter is likely to entail such a heavy 

 loss. I have come to the conclusion that in North- 

 ern latitudes we must adopt the tall hives, in con- 

 tradiction to those which are broad and flat. 



Another fact was noticeable — the absence of bee 

 bread. This may have been the result of a very 

 hot summer, and hence the number of bees was not 

 large. Allowing that there was honey sufficient, 

 there seem to be three things requisite in order to 

 carry bees through the winter in a healthy state 

 at the North. 1st, a queen comparatively young; 

 2d, a good quantity of brood in the fall, with plenty 

 of bee-bread ; 3d, a tall hive. 



It may be said that the evil might have been 

 avoided by placing in a dry cellar, with an even 

 temperature a little above freezing, but it is doubt- 

 ful if bees could stand such long confinement. 



All my hives are much soiled at the entrance, 

 even though the bees are doing well at this date, 

 March 10th. 



Has the experiment ever been tried of taking the 

 hive into a warm room, and after surrounding it 

 with a net, allowing the bees to fly ? 



Some such device, though involving some trouble, 

 might be successful. J). C. Millett. 



Holmesburg, Pa. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Rape as a Honey Plant. 



Mr. Editor : — I see nearly in every Journal and 

 bee paper, a report of some new honey plant; but 

 what is the use of experimenting with new plants 

 . when we are neglecting an old and well tried plant, 

 one on which we can figure the dollars and cents 

 just as well as on wheat, corn, or any other crop, 

 As it is not only a honey producer, nor a noxious 

 weed, as most advertised honey plants are, but is 

 a regular farm crop, it is for several reasons the 

 best crop to raise when a return in honey and seed 

 is desired. 



First, As a honey producing plant, the rape is 

 scarcely second to linden, producing a beautiful 

 golden honey of good flavor, and is in blossom when 

 nearly everything else is out of blossom, commen- 

 cing about the middle of August and continuing a 

 couple of weeks. 



2d, As a farm crop, it is as good, if not better, 

 than wheat. The time for sowing it is from the 

 middle to the end of June. This gives time to 

 prepare the soil after other crops are in ; or if 

 wheat or corn should fail in coming up, rape can 

 be sown in their places. It is harvested from the 

 middle to the last of September, after all other 

 grain is harvested. It does not impoverish the 

 soil, but benefits it. From five to eight bushels 

 more per acre of wheat are raised on ground which 

 had rape the previous year. It allows no weeds to 

 grow after it is fairly started, growing very dense, 

 and its leaves completely shade the ground, there- 

 fore it does not suffer from drought like other grains. 



The seed has a good cash market at Fond du Lac, 

 Wis., where oil is extracted from it, and brings 



from $1.50 to $2.00 per bushel. From ten to 

 eighteen bushels is generally produced per acre, 

 but is oftener over than under this estimate. Two 

 quarts is sufficient to sow an acre. Thousands of 

 bushels are annually raised in Calumet county, 

 and it is just as staple a crop as wheat. Those 

 doubting my statement I refer to Report of Agri- 

 culture for 1870. If any of my brother bee-keepers 

 wish to try the rape, send 50 cents and I will send 

 you enough to sow an acre. 



H. O. Kruschke. 

 Berlin, Wis. 



P. S. — If you consider the last sentence too much 

 of an advertisement to publish gratis, then omit it; 

 I don't make anything by it. H. 0. K. 



[ For the American Bee Journal.] 



A Bee-Keeper Persecuted. 



Mr. Editor and Readers. — Having taken about 

 8,000 pounds of honey from fourteen colonies of 

 bees kept in our corporation, and my neighbors 

 erroneously supposing this was done without any 

 labor worth speaking of (and perhaps by witch- 

 craft), and seeing prospects for five or six thousand 

 the coming season, these same citizens are taking 

 measures to "boost this bee-dicker" out of town, 

 prove the bees a nuisance, and annoy their owner 

 as much as possible. As I expect a law-suit with 

 the above-named gentlemen, any precedents or 

 information on the case will be thankfully received. 

 Have they any right to expel an apiary from a cor- 

 poration, even if they should create a corporation 

 law for the purpose ? In other words, have corpo- 

 ration officers any right to make such a law? My 

 apiary is quite remote from any dwelling, and the 

 greatest complaints are from parties over twenty 

 rods away. " The bees get into the tub and well, 

 etc." We have a yard eight by eight rods, and our 

 town has 2,000 inhabitants. In 1869 I kept forty- 

 eight colonies, and got no honey. That was low 

 comedy. Last year, as above stated, was high 

 tragedy. 



•James Weddon. 



Dawagiac, Mich., March 15th, 1873. 



[For American Bee Journal.) 



Nucleus Hives. 



Dear Journal : — I have been requested to give in 

 the Journal the size and shape of my nucleus hives 

 in which I am wintering reserve queens, referred 

 to in article on " Wintering Bees," page 175, Feb- 

 ruary number. I will first describe my frames. I 

 make them four and a quarter by seven and 

 three-quarter inches, inside measure, top bar one 

 inch wide, a quarter of an inch thick, and nine and 

 a half inches long, using the same size frame for 

 nucleus hives and surplus honey. My hives are 

 made nine inches from front to rear (inside), five 

 and a half inches high, and of sufficient width to 

 take in from four to eight (4 to 8) frames, allowing 

 one and a half inches to a comb. The size I prefer 

 is ten and a half inches wide, using seven frames. 

 In such I have safely wintered queens the past win- 

 ter, with very little trouble. There should be bees 

 enough at the approach of cold weather to cluster 



