338 



Downsville, Wis., May 26, 1880. 

 About % of the bees in this part of 

 the State died last winter or this spring. 

 Those that came through in fair condi- 

 tion are doing well. I lost 6 out of 62 ; 

 the first I ever lost in wintering. The 

 flowers are secreting an unusual amount 

 of honey thus far this spring. The bass- 

 wood will blossom very full, and we are 

 expecting a large honey crop. My first 

 swarm came off yesterday. I expect 

 more to-day. A. J. Tibbetts. 



Glen Eock, Pa., May 28, 1880. 

 I repudiate the unjust attack of the 

 Northeastern Convention by promptly 

 inclosing to you $1.50 to renew my sub- 

 scription to the Bee Journal, for an- 

 other year. Dear Editor, please to con- 

 tinue your fight for truth, right and 

 " justice to all," as you have done in the 

 past, like a brave Captain. Bees here 

 are doing well, but it begins to be dry. 

 J. H. Bupp. 



[Knowing that we had done nothing 

 to merit the censure of the Utica Con- 

 vention, we are not in the least dis- 

 turbed, but had we been, the prompt 

 and unmistakable rebuke given to it 

 by our patrons— east, west, north, and 

 south— would have reassured us. To all 

 let us here return thanks for their 

 " kind words " and hearty indorsement. 

 We shall endeavor to storm the citadel 

 of error and falsehood with red hot ar- 

 guments, but will care for the wounded, 

 the dying and the dead with charity, 

 and cover their faults with its mantle. 

 —Ed.] 



Dixon, 111., June 3, 18S0. 

 My bees are in good condition now ; 

 but, from the looks of white clover, 

 there will be a light crop of honey, as it- 

 is mostly winter killed ; only young 

 plants from seed, and they are rather 

 thin on the ground. Bees wintered well 

 where they were taken care of, but box 

 hive men have lost from % to all they 

 had. I lost none. B. E. Pratt. 



Crown City, O., May 20, 1880. 

 At present my bees are doing their 

 level best on poplar blossom. I lost 20 

 per cent, of my bees during the winter, 

 and the rest barely weathered it 

 through, but now 71 colonies never had 

 a better showing ; everything lt full up," 

 and by the first week in June expect it 

 lively in swarms. My hives and every- 

 thing are in order for emergencies ; I 

 have Mirth's extractor, and will use it 



to the tune of 1,000 lbs. in a few days ;. 

 also a Bingham smoker. So when I 

 walk into my apiary I have got to be 

 choked off before I can come out. I 

 like my bees, and therefore give my 

 time wholly to their management; all 

 have been opened, cleaned and re- 

 cleaned, and every necessary attention 

 given them. Please find inclosed the 

 t; Sweet William " for the Journal an- 

 other year ; I must have " 'im." 



C. S. Newsom. 



Sheridan, Mich., June 9, 1880. 



1. When a queen is removed from a 

 colony for the purpose of starting queen 

 cells, can she be safely introduced at 

 once in a strong nuclei of several 

 frames of brood and bees taken from 

 different hives V 



2. If 2 colonies are united, one with 

 a young queen, the other with an old 

 one, will the old one be killed V 



3. Should a sheet of foundation or an 

 empty frame be placed between two 

 frames of brood ? My bees draw it out 

 sooner than when placed at one side. 



[1. Many report in favor of immedi- 

 ate insertion of the queen among bees 

 thus brought together, but we prefer 

 and use the introducing cage for 24, 36, 

 or 48 hours, as circumstances seem to- 

 indicate. 



2. If the young queen has not com^ 

 menced to lay, she will undoubtedly be 

 victorious in a royal combat, as the lay- 

 ing queen is more clumsy and cannot 

 use her sting so readily. 



3. When the weather is sufficiently 

 warm and the season advanced to war- 

 rant spreading the brood, if the combs- 

 are full of it, the foundation can be al- 

 ternated to advantage ; but where put 

 between combs in which the bees are 

 storing honey, they will extend the cells 

 in the old comb while drawing out the 

 foundation, thereby causing the combs- 

 to be of different thickness. — Ed.] 



Bear Lake, Mich., June 14, 1880. 

 Bees wintered very poorly in this lo- 

 cality. One person who had 7.0 colonies 

 last fall has lost all but one weak one ; 

 others have lost all. Nearly all have 

 lost % or more. I feel that I have been 

 very fortunate, for I put 46 of my own 

 colonies with 8 belonging to a neighbor 

 in my cellar last fall, and took out 50 

 good colonies this spring, which are do- 

 ing moderately well, and are now com- 

 mencing to swarm. D. H. Hopkins. 



