some on the summer stands. Upon ex- 

 amination, I found the latter clean and 

 healthy, while some of those wintered 

 in the bee-house " dwindled " badly ; 

 they had plenty of honey, but the combs 

 were besmeared, and a foul odor came 

 from them. They had occasional flights 

 in good weather, but it did no good. 

 I lost 2 out of 27 colonies ; these 

 were wintered in a bee-house. Others 

 in this locality, who wintered in cellars, 

 have lost one-third, not for want of 

 honey, but the high temperature in 

 January caused the queens to lay early. 

 In February cold weather set hi again, 

 and the bees could not take care of all 

 the brood. The bad odor that came 

 from the besmeared combs and dead 

 brood caused them to dwindle away. 

 Whereas, if the hives and combs had 

 been clean they would have emitted a 

 sweet odor. Some may say that this 

 would have been different had the bees 

 been carried out of doors, but their dis- 

 turbance would have produced the same 

 results. 

 La Crosse, Wis., April 19, 1880. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



The Latest from Cyprus. 



p. A. JONES. 



The natives here are usually poor, 

 and, on account of the failure of the 

 crops here last season, or from some 

 other cause, they too closely robbed the 

 bees of honey. The spring is very cold 

 and late ; thousands of colonies have 

 starved. I believe three-fourths of the 

 bees in Cyprus are dead, and I wonder 

 that all are not, considering the lack of 

 pasturage and care. If this weather 

 continues much longer, very few will 

 survive. The winter has been very se- 

 vere both in Europe and Asia. 



My carpenters have made 200 hives, 

 and, by scouring every part of the island 

 for bees, I hope to have 300 colonies by 

 June. 



Mr. Benton is busy transferring and 

 bringing over the mountains 100 colo- 

 nies I have 30 or 40 miles from here ; 

 and, as they have to be carried on the 

 backs of mules and camels, up and 

 down steep places, you can imagine the 

 task — expensive as well as tedious. 



To-morrow I leave for Palestine to 

 examine the bees there, and bring 10 to 

 20 colonies of them back with me, if I 

 Qnd therntobe good. I shall then select 

 a variety of the different races of bees, 

 and return to America with them in 

 May. The bees here are kept in tubes 

 about 30 inches long and 10 or 12 inches 

 in diameter, varied according to the no- 



tion of the natives. The honey here is 

 dark and very strong, except some gath- 

 ered up in the mountains from plants 

 resembling our sage, which is of alight 

 color and better flavor. 



The Cyprian bees have large wings 

 and great power of endurance, but do 

 not venture out in the spring in unfa- 

 vorable weather ; but they breed early, 

 and when stores are insufficient, I have 

 found much brood dead for the want of 

 proper nourishment; this may be the 

 result of the lateness of the season here. 

 I am feeding largely to prevent starva- 

 tion and keep up brood rearing. 



By October I hope to have a thousand 

 queens in my different apiaries, and I 

 expect to exhibit several races of bees 

 at our National Convention at Cincin- 

 nati next fall. I will write you again 

 from Palestine, and should you receive 

 some queens direct from Palestine from 

 me, you need not be surprised. 



Island of Cyprus, March 27, 1880. 



From the Prairie Farmer. 



Practical and Timely Work. 



MRS. L. HARRISON. 



All who desire to have profit, pleas- 

 ure and a good time generally with their 

 bees, should provide their fixtures be- 

 fore the busy season commences. Mov- 

 able frame hives well made and painted 

 are a desideratum. Every hive in the 

 same apiary should be precisely alike, 

 so that all parts are interchangeable. 

 We know of nothing more aggravating 

 than to find that a frame will not fit, 

 when it contains honey, brood and bees, 

 and we are in the act of removing it 

 from one colony to another — poor time 

 to stop and whittle. Hives should be 

 made of good, well-seasoned lumber, by 

 a competent workman (not thrown to- 

 gether by saw and hatchet men), and if 

 kept well painted should last as long as 

 a house. Some persons order hives from 

 the manufactories when swarms are 

 daily expected, and when they arrive 

 the bees have to be transferred from salt 

 barrels, tobacco buckets, etc., making 

 a deal of work for their procrastination. 

 We have known persons to go several 

 miles to purchase a hive, leaving the 

 bees clustered, and were surprised on 

 their return to find that the bees had 

 emigrated. 



The best kind of box for the apiarist 

 to use will depend in a great measure 

 upon what his market demands. Pieces 

 of white comb can be utilized to advant- 

 age in surplus boxes, and it encourages 

 the bees to work in them sooner. 



Peoria, 111. 



