178 



district, and State fairs in the best mar- 

 ketable shape. I would recommend 

 State productions only. I shall en- 

 deavor to procure premiums for the 

 following : 



Best package of comb honey, one 

 pound or mure. 



Best package of extracted honey, one 

 pound or more. 



Best crate of comb honey, in the most 

 marketable shape. 



Best display of comb and extracted 

 honey. 



Best extractor (of State manufacture). 



Best display of Italian bees, in mova- 

 ble frame hives. 



Best show of beeswax. 



Best hive for all purposes, etc. 



I hope each one will try to excel, and 

 thus the best will be brought forward. 

 Our National Convention will meet in 

 Cincinnati next fall, where we can com- 

 pete with the world. We can produce 

 as good honey as any State in the Union, 

 and I hope to see this industry more 

 fully developed. The Secretary of the 

 St. Louis fair has already tendered his 

 services, ana I believe there will be no 

 trouble to get co-operation generally. 



Mexico, Mo., Feb, 21, 1880. 



For the American 15ee Journal. 



My Experience in Wintering Be.es. 



J. B. IDE. 



I have tried various plans for winter- 

 ing bees, in years gone by, in Eastern 

 New York. 1 never thought of pro- 

 tecting bees for winter ; they wintered 

 perfectly on summer stands, by keeping 

 them from dying when there was loose 

 snow on the ground. In Michigan I have 

 protected them by packing with straw, 

 with bad results ; I have also tried an 

 out-building, well tilled in with 10 inches 

 sawdust, and having double doors, with 

 bad results, for two winters. I found 

 such a building about as hazardous as 

 out-of-doors, and abandoned that plan, 

 as well as the packing. Some 8 years 

 ago I purchased 20 colonies of bees ; on 

 the 1st of December I placed them in a 

 large, dry, warm cellar, and let them re- 

 main quiet until April 1st. All were in 

 fine condition, and not troubled with 

 spring dwindling. I followed the same 

 plan for some four years with like suc- 

 cess, until, having a larger number, I re- 

 sorted to the above described plans, 

 and lost about all my bees. Last fall 

 I again packed my bees in a good, warm 

 cellar. On the 27th of Jan., 1880, they 

 were all placed on their summer stands, 

 and had a grand cleansing flight, the 

 thermometer ranging above 60°. The 

 next morning I put them in the cellar 



again, where they are all quiet. My 

 cellar ranges from 40 to 44°. I shall 

 leave them in it till April, if the weather 

 does not warrant taking them out 

 sooner. At this date they are in nice 

 condition. They have been breeding 

 for some time, as they contain more 

 bees than in the fall when placed in the 

 cellar. I think, from observation, they 

 do not consume over one-half as much 

 stored in cellar, as in out-door winter- 

 ing. I should, by all means, recommend 

 a good, dry, warm cellar for wintering 

 bees. I keep the leather-colored Italian. 

 The cellar should be quite dark, with a 

 temperature of 40 to 44°. When going 

 into the cellar with alight be as speedy 

 as possible, as light arouses them for a 

 flight. A few bees will always fly out 

 in the dark, which I think are the old 

 ones coming out to die. The cellar 

 should be ventilated. I make a spout 

 from a piece of 6-inch fencing, which 

 will be 4x6, placed in the window, with 

 a door at the outer end. I open the 

 door on warm nights and close in the 

 morning, for fresh air. A door opening 

 to a room above will let out the foul air. 

 Climax, Mich., Feb. 20, 1880. 



Translated from the Bienen Zeitung 



Bee-Keeping in Southern Brazil. 



F. A. HAKNEMANN. 



The honey harvest of 1879 was more 

 abundant than I ever before experi- 

 enced, notwithstanding we had much 

 unfavorable weather. My daily fore- 

 noon occupation from October to De- 

 cember, consisted of nothing but the 

 cutting out of honey, and the mashing 

 of this to obtain '" strained honey " 

 made it necessary to employ a steam 

 apparatus once a week. 



The past two seasons, in honey pro- 

 duction, compare in the ratio of 32 to. 

 42. My "giant hive," containing 31,000 

 cubic inches, two years ago yielded 16 

 arrobas (about 515 lbs.); but last year 

 it gave me. 21 arrobas (about 670 lbs.) of 

 honey, with the same weight of bees 

 (80 lbs.). The largest hive of 3 years ago, 

 containing about 60 lbs. of bees, last 

 year yielded 385 lbs. against 250 to 300 

 lbs. for previous years. The "giant 

 hive" carries off the palm ; it contained 

 only 12-5 lbs. of bees and yet produced 

 this year 31 arrobas and 7 kilogrammes 

 nearly 1,000 lbs of beautiful honey. 



Some may doubt this statement, but 

 I can assure all that it is the exact 

 truth. It produced astonishment even 

 here, where we are accustomed to large 

 yields, and so I have had the hive pho- 

 tographed—this, though a silent wit- 



