Columbia, Term., March 16, 1880. 

 Our bees have passed through the 

 winter with but little loss, and are now 

 in tine condition. With few exceptions, 

 they have an abundance of stores, and 

 are breeding rapidly. Pollen is without 

 stint, and the bees are gathering some 

 honey from the peach and plum bloom. 

 We think our prospects for a big honey 

 crop the coming season, very flattering. 

 Colonies of bees are very cheap here. 

 We have now with us a party of gentle- 

 men from the North who are buying 

 good colonies, in Langstroth and Amer- 

 ican hives, at from $1.50 to §3.00. This 

 surely must be a better honey country 

 than the north, or northwest. Colonies 

 can be bought here for less than half 

 they cost there. Why is this? Is it 

 for the want of a little Yankee nerve to 

 be infused into the southern composi- 

 tion '? It seems to me if some <ff your 

 Doolittles, Hetheringtons, Ileddons, 

 Binghams, etc., would come here and 

 engage in the bee business, with their 

 northern pluck, economy and energy, 

 they certainly would make money. 

 Why do they not come ? We would 

 heartily welcome them, and treat them 

 kindly. Let them come. Now, in con- 

 clusion, allow me to say, that I have 

 noticed, that some of your correspond- 

 ents and advertisers, prefix to their 

 names "Rev.," "Dr." &c.,and not see- 

 ing very clearly what divinity or medi- 

 cine, has to do with bee keeping, I have 

 concluded to sign my name plain. 



John Fox. 



Carson City, Mich., March 10, 1880. 



We have had a fine winter for the 

 bees ; those in this locality have done 

 well so far. I have not heard of any 

 one losing over 2 or 3 colonies, and there 

 are a great many bee-keepers in this 

 section. I started last spring with 

 colonies and increased up to IS, doing 

 well considering the season. 1 packed 

 them in chaff on their summer stands, in 

 October, and they were not out much 

 until Jan. 4th, when they had a nice 

 flight, and they have not been confined 

 to their hives for more than two weeks 

 at a time since. I have lost 1 colony 

 and 1 nucleus. The colony that died 

 was the strongest that I had last fall, 

 when packed, and seemed to be on Jan. 

 4th, when they took their first flight; 

 after that they would carry out dead 

 bees when the rest would not .venture 

 out, and on Feb. 14th I found them 

 dead with only about a quart of bees in 

 the hive. They had about twenty-five 

 lbs 4 , of good sealed honey; there were no 

 signs of dysentery and they had a good 

 queen and plenty of brood Oct. 3, 1879. 

 I think the rest will come out all right 

 unless we have a backward spring. We 



are having as cold weather now as we 

 have had this winter ; thermometer 

 down to zero. Success to the AMERI- 

 CAN Bee Journal, for to it I owe my 

 success. A. B. Loomis. 



Mont Clair, N. J., March 1-5, 1880. 

 In the fall of 1S78 I had 34 colonies of 

 bees, and lost all but 8 in wintering, by 

 dysentery. Last summer I increased to 

 17. and obtained 300 lbs. of honey. 

 These are doing well, and were bring- 

 ing in pollen on Feb. 26th. I have pur- 

 chased more bees. I can sell my honey 

 at home for 25 to 30c. per pound. 



J. W. RlKER. 



Burlington, Ky., March 15, 1880. 

 My bees are in good condition with 2 

 or 3 frames of sealed brood in each 

 hive. We have had a very mild winter ; 

 the thermometer indicating at no time 

 a greater degree of cold than 10° above 

 zero. C. W. Saxton. 



Venice, Pa., March 16, 18S0. 

 I started with one colony last year ; 

 obtained one natural swarm ; wintered 

 successfully on the summer stands, 

 packed with straw; March 1st moved to 

 higher ground, and am now giving 

 artificial pollen. I am highly pleased 

 with the Bee Journal, and wish it 

 much success. Wm. M. Slater. 



Wheeler, Ind., March 20, 1880. 

 In Gleanings for last month I noticed 

 a statement that Mr. Detwiler exhibited 

 a queen cage with a double-wire cloth 

 at the National Convention in Chicago, 

 and complaining that Prof. Cook did 

 not give him the credit for it. I 

 boarded at the same hotel with Mr. 

 Detwiler, and was with him much of 

 the time during the Convention, and 

 never saw or heard of him having a 

 queen cage, nor do I believe he had one 

 there. I suggested to Prof. Cook the 

 idea of a double wire queen cage, and 

 at his request sent him, by way of the 

 office of the American Bee Journal, 

 one of the cages he took to Washington. 

 and fully believe the idea originated 

 with me. J. L. Harris. 



Youngsville, Pa., March 10, 18S0. 

 I have 15 vols, of the AMERICAN Bee 

 Journal, 10 of which are bound, and 

 I would not part with them for their 

 cost, which proves to my mind that I 

 have made a profitable investment. 

 Bees have wintered well in this locality. 

 I have 167 colonies in fine condition, out 

 of 172, put up in the fall ; 3 proved to be 

 queenless, or became so during the 

 winter, and 2 starved. I purchased an 

 individual right to make and use the 



