Palestine, Ind., April 12, 1880. 

 Bees that were properly packed in the 

 fall came through the winter in good 

 condition. I have not lost one colony 

 yet. I wintered 50 colonies in the cel- 

 lar-; the rest on the summer stands. 

 Owing to the shortness of the honey 

 crop last fall, many in this vicinity have 

 died of starvation. Some of mine are 

 light. I have plenty of honey to feed. 

 M. E. Loehr. 



Iberia Parish, La., April 22, 1880. 

 I moved my bees from St. James 

 Parish, La., by steamer around by the 

 Atchafalia River. My 21 colonies came 

 through in fine condition. They have 

 increased by dividing and natural 

 swarms to 30. This seems to be a hue 

 locality for them, as they have been 

 steadily at work since their arrival, Feb. 

 6. Only 1 colony is pure Italian ; the 

 rest are large gray bees. They are very 

 docile and easy to handle. I captured 

 a swarm some 5 years ago, and have in- 

 creased them to 20. The marsh around 

 Spanish Lake (near me) is tilled with 

 flowers. I see- bees visiting them in 

 abundance. I have buckwheat planted, 

 and will try that in this climate ; it is 

 up and looks fine and thrifty. 



W. R. Thompson. 



Wartham, Cal., April 10, 1880. 

 We are nicely located in the foot hills 

 east of the plains, some 25 to 30 miles, 

 or in fact we are on the coast range, on 

 the side sloping toward the San Joaquin. 

 Our apiary is on a nice hat of some 12 

 acres, surrounded with hills which are 

 covered with sage, buckwheat, honey 

 suckle, honey vine, deer brush, bear 

 berry, and ail kinds of wild bloom, while 

 the "level land produces in abundance 

 clover, philaree, etc., and a live stream 

 of water runs within a rod or two of 

 our bees. The past season, from Dec. 

 1, 1879, to April 1, 1880, has been a se- 

 vere season on bees ; the time between 

 the dates named has been unusually 

 cold ; frost every night, except when 

 raining. The loss in some localities has 

 been very large ; for the past week the 

 weather has been all that could be de- 

 sired, warm and fine, and at present the 

 bees are rearing brood and gathering 

 pollen and honey from the philaree, 

 which is now coming into bloom. Bees 

 do well here in good seasons, and will 

 average in surplus honey per colony 

 from 75 to 100 lbs., and many put up 

 from 100 to 175 lbs., and some colonies 

 have stored in section boxes 250 lbs. 

 The honey is of the very best quality- 

 clear, white, thick, and ropy ; when put 

 up in nice section boxes, will bring the 

 highest market price ; and, could we 

 only escape these dry years, California 



could supply the world with honey. The 

 season is fully one month late, and, ow- 

 ing to heavy frosts, the early bloom, 

 such as wild gooseberry, mansanetta 

 and cottonwood was a failure, but if the 

 season from now on is favorable, a large 

 amount of honey will be stored. We 

 think the American Bee Journal is 

 the best paper published upon bee cul- 

 ture ; as a book of reference it is very 

 valuable. Besides it treats upon bees 

 without mixing in psalms, hymns and 

 prayers, and so subscribers get just what 

 they pay for. Both bees and religion are 

 good, in their proper places, but they do 

 not mix at all ; and many of those who 

 are now trying to mix them will in time 

 admit the same to be a failure. 



Bray & Seacord. 



Wisconsin, April 19, 1880. 

 I noticed that one of your correspon- 

 dents in 1878, desired to know how to 

 prevent thieves from disturbing his 

 bees or stealing honey from the hives. 

 Having lately attempted to climb or 

 crawl through a barbed wire fence of 

 only two wires, I have come to the con- 

 clusion that if his apiary is surrounded 

 by a barbed wire fence of, say 5 wires, 

 having gates on each side, through 

 which swarms may be followed, each 

 connected with an alarm by wires, to 

 be hooked on at night, and so arranged 

 as to swing shut and fasten themselves 

 by hidden spring-catches, any person 

 entering the apiary, not in the secret of 

 the alarm and hidden spring-catches, 

 would be nicely trapped ; and, if in his 

 hurry to escape, he tried to climb or get 

 through that wire fence, with a big dog 

 behind him, and a pistol shot or two 

 over his head from the window, he 

 would be sufficiently punished without 

 further prosecution. Among the great 

 variety of feeders described in the 

 Journal (if you deem it worthy) I will 

 describe mine. I use the Langstroth 

 frame, bottom and side-pieces of equal 

 width ; with tacks or brads I nail one 

 of my section division strips on each 

 side of the frame, which makes, with 

 the bottom piece of the frame, a cup or 

 box about 3 inches deep and y & inch 

 wide, to be filled and hung in the hive. 

 By putting in an extra bottom piece, 

 so that the top of the box will come near 

 the top of the frame, it can be filled 

 without being taken from the hive. If 

 it leaks, wax the joints. No patent on 

 either the feeder or fence, or any com- 

 bination of the fence, big dog and pis- 

 tol, or of the spring-catches and alarm, , 

 or any other thing any man's ingenuity 

 may connect with the arrangement, so 

 far as I am concerned. 



Claud Hopper, Jr. 



