deducting this from 80 lbs. leaves 40 lbs. 

 of honey, and the hive is well supplied 

 with stores. If any of the hives show 

 (either by platform scale or spring bal- 

 ance), say only 60 lbs. gross, then they 

 will have only 20 lbs. of honey, and will 

 need attention. In weighing, during 

 the winter or spring, whenever the 

 spring balance loses 1 lb. of weight, the 

 bees have consumed 5 lbs. of honey, 

 and if any hive is running short, it can 

 easily be found out. By putting the 

 fall weight on the register, or still better 

 on the outside of the hive, by chalk or 

 charcoal, you can tell at a glance what 

 hives will need attention. 



WINTER MANAGEMENT. 



To feed in winter or early spring (be- 

 fore the bees work out) I prefer to give 

 them candy made of good coffee " C " 

 sugar, with a little flour added before 

 the syrup gets cold. Pour the candy 

 syrup (when cool enough) into an out- 

 side prize box which has not been filled 

 with comb, but the glass has been 

 well glued to the box. Lay it on the 

 table, glass side down, and fill as 

 desired. By putting one or more of these 

 boxes or " candy bricks " directly on the 

 frames, and with the glass side up, of 

 course keeping well covered and warm 

 by the quilt and cushion, the bees will 

 use it as they need it, and you can easily 

 tell by the glass when they are empty. 

 Furnish them at same time you give the 

 candy, a 2-oz. panel phial of water, with 

 wick to run by the side of cork in which 

 a small notch has been cut Lay the 

 bottle on the side and close to the candy. 

 Be careful to have the wick fit pretty 

 tight or the water will run out. 



I find it a great convenience to mark 

 on the outside of the hive or super, 

 either with chalk or charcoal, the object 

 sought. Say it is May and the hives 

 have been prepared for the summer's 

 work. The hives run for extracting are 

 plainly marked u 5-8 ext." which means 

 this hive was prepared May 8th, with 

 frames especially adapted tor extract- 

 ing, and when the time comes to extract 

 it is a quick way to tind what hive or 

 hives you want to open. 



Also for comb honey, the caps are 

 marked " 5-16 1 lb. sec." " 5-25 2 lb. or 

 prize box." u 6-10 California sec." &c. 



Where you take honey, either ex- 

 tracted or comb, note it down on the 

 register ; with a damp cloth wipe off the 

 outside memorandum, and make a new 

 record. Then it will be easy to see 

 when this hive will probably be ready 

 to yield more. 



At the end of the season, add up the 

 yield as shown by the register, you can 

 easily tell which are your best workers, 



and the entire yield of the apiary. 

 Keep the register so that it will show a 

 debit and credit side, i.e. let one side of 

 it show all you give the bees, and the 

 other side show all they give you, and if 

 you find any colonies that do not feed 

 you, then you must feed them, which 

 will be returning good for evil. 



As I have greatly improved the retail 

 section envelope, I send sample of same 

 which please put in your interesting 

 and valuable Museum, where I had the 

 great pleasure last fall of spending two 

 very profitable hours. All the bee- 

 keepers are welcome to use them, and I 

 think they will find them especially 

 adapted to the nice sections, all in one 

 piece, which I doubt not will be the 

 coming box, but how is it to be used in 

 or on the hive to obtain the best results ? 

 That is the question which I hope will 

 be settled by the 1st of May next. 



Jacksonville, 111., Feb. 2, 1880. 



[The new cover for 1 lb. sections sent 

 by Mr. Collins forms a cheap and con- 

 venient protection, while retailing. It 

 is duly labeled and added to our 



Museum.— Ed.] 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Italian Bees in Russia. 



CHAS. DADANT. 



Mr. L. Sartori, an extensive manufac- 

 turer of bee-keepers' supplies, who lives 

 at Milan, Italy, went to Kiew, Russia, 

 to establish an apiary, with movable 

 frame hives and Italian bees, on a large 

 estate owned by Count Bouteurlin. The 

 letter, sent by Mr. Sartori, while he was 

 there, to the editor of the Italian bee 

 paper, L'Apicoltore, containing an inte- 

 resting account of the culture of bees 

 and the customs of that far-off country, 

 I translate for the readers of the Amer- 

 ican Bee Journal. 



Mr. Sartori, after making a short allu- 

 sion to the interminable length of the 

 journey ; to the wonderings of the 

 Russian officers of the custom-house, 

 on hearing of the arrival of Italian 

 queens : to the kind reception bestowed 

 on him uy Count Bouteurlin, says : 



" I have found here over 700 colonies 

 in gums. These hives are about 2% ft. 

 high, 8 inches in diameter at the top r 

 and 10 or 12 inches at the bottom. 

 Nearly all are of the same dimensions. 

 They are located on the borders of or 

 within the woods, placed directly upon 

 the ground, without any bottoms. On 

 every one of them is placed an earthen 

 vessel, to shelter them from the rain- 



