174 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAx.,. 



CONDUCTED BY 



MRS. JENNIE ATCHLEY. 



Beeville, Texas. 



A Touch of Northern Weather. 



Whew : my ! what a blizzard struck 

 us this morning — Jan. 24th. The mer- 

 cury fell from 70-' down to 20- in a few 

 hours. The gardens are ruined. Peaches 

 OQ the trees as large as small marbles, 

 and mulberry trees leaved out in full 

 with a load of berries — all killed as dead 

 as can be. We fear that orange trees 

 are injured, as this is the coldest it has 

 been since 1865, so say those that have 

 lieen here since that time. Ice is an 

 inch thick. Our hydrant froze tight, 

 and we could not get any water until we 

 warmed it up. 



We were not expecting such a change, 

 and were not prepared for it. We had 

 just been planting out an orchard of 

 oranges and figs the evening before the 

 blizzard came, and all worked until 

 night; and the next morning the con- 

 trast was so great that we could scarcely 

 3)ear to go out-of-doors a minute. All 

 the family concluded to huddle around 

 the one fire-place, and the boys take it 

 toy turns to build fires. We were cook- 

 ing on the fire-place, in sure-enough 

 camp fashion, and we were going to eat 

 only potatoes, milk, butter and honey, 

 as it was too cold to go to the kitchen, 

 when lo, and behold ! just as we were 

 gathering around the frugal meal, up 

 came a bee-keeper from St. Louis — Mr. 

 Sigel Brantigan. And weren't we in a 

 fix? 



"'"Now, friends, I don't think it is fair to 

 run right up on a person without warn- 

 ing. We would always be glad to re- 

 ceive a postal card from visitors when 

 they expect to pay us a visit; but Mr. 

 Brantigan enjoyed it all the same, as he 

 was used to camp life in California. He 

 will remain with us a week, and then 

 pursue his journey. He has worked for 

 the Leahy Mfg. Co., and other firms, and 

 is looking up a situation for a bee-hive 

 factory. 



Later. — It is now Jan. 25th, and it 



is warmer — up to 48° again, but every- 

 thing has a sure-enough midwinter ap- 

 pearance, and the whole country is 

 thrown back at least a month. But just 

 in advance of the blizzard came a good 

 rain, and with fine weather vegetation 

 will soon revive ; but it does teok as 

 though the North and South had 

 swapped places. Jenxie Atchley. 



The Best Hive for the South. 



As I have watched the bee-papers with 

 eagerness to see an article on the hive 

 most adapted to our part of the country, 

 and I have failed to see any, I thought 

 I would offer a few ideas in preference 

 for the 10-frame Langstroth hive. 



A fevf years ago, when I commenced 

 bee-keeping, I selected this hive ; not 

 that I was competent to judge the su- 

 perior qualities, but because it was the 

 most common in use. Since that time I 

 have thought a great deal about the hive 

 most suited to our locality. While I dif- 

 fer from some of our best bee-keepers, 

 or at least urge a slight difference at 

 present, as I have not bad a thorough 

 practical experience with the 8-frarae 

 hive, yet I can hardly help being a little 

 skeptical as to its being the best hive 

 for our locality. 



Situated as I am, where our honey- 

 flow is so gradual, with but an occasional 

 sudden heavy honey-flow, and in order 

 to secure the best returns with our slow 

 flow of nectar, we are compelled to keep 

 the most powerful colonies that we can 

 secure the season through, from the 

 blooming of the elm in January and 

 February, to the last blooming of the 

 cotton and aster in November ; conse- 

 quently, to secure this larger working 

 force, and hold it so long, it is necessary 

 to have a larger brood-nest, either by a 

 large single story, or tiering-up smaller 

 ones, which means too much unneces- 

 sary work, for about nine frames are as 

 much as a good queen can support, and 

 eight frames for an average one. 



"Well, why not use the 8-frame hive?" 

 says Bro. Root and others who support 

 the 8-frame hive. Not wishing to wage 

 war with Bro. R. nor any one else, but 

 to give my ideas of the hive best suited 

 to us, I will say that our pasturage yields 

 a great deal of pollen, and in order to 

 have storage room for it we see the 

 necessity for the extra frame or two ; 

 and the extra frames give more room for 

 bees in the nest, which tends to keep 

 down the swarming fever. This in it- 

 self is a considerable item. 



In order to satisfy myself in regard 



