keep tapping on the frame with any 

 thing hard which will jar the moth, 

 which is concealed amongst the young 

 brood ; when it is disturbed it will make 

 its appearance and leave the comb as 

 soon as it can. You can then kill them 

 without cutting the comb. After I got j 

 pure Italians I had none of the above 

 named work to do, they saved me the 

 trouble. The Bee Journal I always 

 read with interest. Wm. Lossing. 



Williamsville, Mich., March 13, 1880. 



Our bees are wintering well so far. 

 We put half of them in the cellar last 

 fall, and left the rest on the summer 

 stands, with straw in each end of the 

 hives and over them. But they con- 

 sumed so much more honey out-of- 

 doors that in January we put all the 

 rest in but 2, where they have been 

 breeding since February 1st ; also the 2 

 left out. I lately examined some and 

 they appeared to be crazy for water : 

 they fell into the water and drowned by 

 the hundreds. Their actions struck me 

 so forcibly that I would like to know if 

 it is not imperative that it should be 

 so that they can get water at all times 

 while breeding? Is the Van Deusen 

 foundation a success when used for 

 comb honey ? C. F. Smith, Jr. 



[Bees when breeding need water, and 

 it should be supplied to them if they 

 have none at command. The Van 

 Deusen foundation is thin enough to be 

 unobjectionable for comb honey, and is 

 successfully used by some.— Ed.] 



Knoxville, Iowa, March 12, 1880. 

 My bees are doing splendidly. I win- 

 tered 34 colonies in the cellar; have them 

 now on their summer stands. I lost 

 none, but will have to feed some of 

 them before the bloom comes. They 

 are now rearing brood nicely. 



A. J. Scoles. 



Mexico, Mo., Feb. 21, 1880. 

 There has been a great mortality 

 among the bees in this region. The last 

 season was the worst for bees that I ever 

 saw. There was no surplus honey gath- 

 ered, except about 200 pounds, which I 

 took myself ; no others report any sur- 

 plus. In consequence, many colonies 

 have starved, and many were left to 

 winter on late, sour honey. Dysentery 

 and foul brood have swept off whole 

 apiaries. I hear of one man who had 

 130 ; he now has none left. Capt. Dicks 

 has lost 15 by foul brood. I tried a new 

 plan of putting up my bees on the sum- 

 mer stands, and they seem to be doing 

 well. If I am successful with it, I will 



report. One thing worthy of remark is 

 the very heavy loss of queens last fall. 

 I lost 5 young laying queens ; many 

 others reported heavy losses of queens 

 last September. All the drones were 

 killed off and there was no chance to 

 raise queens. Can you tell me the cause 

 of so many queens disappearing with 

 colonies in good condition r It was not 

 caused by disturbing the bees or open- 

 ing the hives. P. P. Collier. 



[ We cannot answer this without 

 knowing more concerning the condition 

 of things, and perhaps not then. — Ed.] 



Cincinnati. O., March 8, 1880. 

 I take great interest in bee-culture. 

 I think I have discovered a good plan 

 of wintering bees. I use the Lang- 

 stroth hive and made a box to go over 

 it, about \ x / 2 inches larger all around 

 except the front. The space I pack 

 with pulverised charcoal, which is an 

 absorbent of moisture, and a protection 

 from heat and cold. C. Laibly. 



Waveland, Ind., Feb. 23. 

 The present mild winter will, I think, 

 in some measure, make up for the poor 

 season last year. I prepared about 30 

 colonies last fall, by doubling up and 

 dividing the honey around as best I 

 could. I have lost none this far. The 

 best thing that I have used for brush- 

 ing bees off the combs or hiving is a 

 hawk's wing. The feathers are soft and 

 springy, of good length, and will stand 

 a good deal of use. If any one has any- 

 thing better, let them report. Almost 

 any sporting man will furnish the birds 

 free of charge. Probably the wing of 

 other birds of flight will do as well. 

 The more hawks we kill the less our 

 poultry yards will be troubled by them. 

 Isaac Sharp. 



Compton, 111., March 16, 1880, 

 I commenced two years ago with one 

 colony of bees, traded for 5 more and 

 increased to 11 by natural and artificial 

 swarming, but had poor success with 

 the latter method. In the fall I bought 

 8 more colonies, but lost half of them 

 after taking them out of the cellar. 1 

 see one of your correspondents thinks 

 that it is the colonies with old queens 

 die out by spring dwindling, but'I lost 

 about as many young as old queens. I 

 noticed it was the Italians that left me, 

 I carried them out too early in the 

 spring and they were so eager to get to 

 work that they chilled and were not 

 able to return to the hive. I bought 20 

 more in the spring of 1879 and increased 

 to 45, but obtained no surplus honey. 

 C. E. Harrington. 



