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AMERICAN BEE JOURNaU 



tell a colony that has an old queen, by the 

 quantity of drones in it. Old queens lay 

 more drone-eggs than young queens — that 

 is my experience. 



I began bee-keepiug with 2 colonies of 

 black bees ; they swarmed and did pretty 

 much as they pleased until I had 10 colo- 

 nies. I had by this time gotten very tired 

 of black bees. I sent for the American Bee 

 Journal and Doolittle's book on " Queen- 

 Rearing." I thought when I read the book 

 and Bee Journal that I had the advan- 

 tage of the black bees, and so I had. I 

 sent for 10 golden Italian queens, intro- 

 duced them on the Doolittle plan, and did 

 not lose a queen. I have introduced hun- 

 dreds since for neighbors, and never lost 

 one. Those who introduce on the Doolittle 

 plan will succeed, but when you go to shov- 

 ing them in at the entrance of the hive, or 

 wallowing them in honey and dropping 

 them in, you will be very apt to lose the 

 queens. R. D. Davis. 



Ridpath, Ohio. 



Had to Take them from the Cellar. 



It has been very warm since the first of 

 March, and my bees became so uneasy 

 that I was obliged to take them out of the 

 cellar and put them on the summer stands 

 on the 9th. They wintered the best of any 

 bees that I ever wintered in the cellar. 

 They have had a number of flights, and 

 are very strong in bees, with plenty of 

 honey. S. B. Smitu. 



Keeville, Minn., March 24. 



Spending the Winter in Virginia. 



We came down here to winter, and to 

 avoid the cold, trying weather of the 

 North. We find our health improved 

 thereby. Quite a number of bees are kept 

 near by, but mostly without profit. The 

 honey is of a dark quality, and rank flavor. 

 We can buy 10-frame hives, combs, and 

 very good Italian bees all for .$1.00 each. 

 Bees have been bringing in pollen for the 

 past two weeks, and are now getting honey, 

 as the peach, apricot, plum and cherry 

 trees are now in bloom. I have purchased 

 2 colonies, and am going to put on empty 

 supers, with starters on frames, and leave 

 them for the summer without care, and see 

 what they will do. I think they will not 

 swarm, as they will be in a shady grove, 

 and well ventilated during the hot weather. 

 Chester Belding. 



Claremont, Va., March 20. 



Getting Bees Out of Supers, Etc. 



I have a way of getting bees out of the 

 T supers that beats anything I ever tried. 

 I have never seen it in the bee- papers. I 

 take a Simplicity hive body, and nail a 

 tight bottom on it. The T super just fits on 

 the tin rabbets, all but the end, where I lay 

 a slat in to fill out, then bore a hole in end 

 of the hive, stick the nozzle of the smoker 

 in the hole, and you ought to see the bees 



boil out. No robber-bees can get to the 

 honey. A box just the size of the T super 

 probably would be the best, it wants to be 

 tight. The bees come out very quickly. 



I have 31 colonies of bees, and they win- 

 tered splendidly, all coming through very 

 strong, with no loss. I winter them in 

 Root's chaff hive. I had 30 colonies, and 

 last season I got 1,000 pounds of honey. The 

 weather has been extremely nice all of 

 March, so far. The bees have been carry- 

 ing in pollen the last four or five days. I 

 think the prospect is good for a big honey 

 crop, if the weather is favorable. The 

 white clover looks splendid. 



Noah Thomas. 



Horatio, Ohio, March 21. 



Wintered Splendidly. 



My bees have wintered splendidly on the 

 summer stands. I looked them over on 

 March 16th, and found young bees and 

 sealed brood in all of the hives but one, and 

 that one was a chaff hive. The rest are all 

 in single-walled hives. F. H. Molbt. 



Greenleaf, Kans., March 21. 



Wintered Well — Moving Bees. 



Bees wintered well. I put them out on 

 March 17th, all the 188 colonies being alive. 

 I moved 113 colonies the latter part of last 

 October, (50 miles in farm wagons with 

 springs. Every colony came through in 

 good condition. C. N. Noehl. 



Kasson, Minn., March 24. 



Balmy Spring — Mountain Lions. 



Spring is with us again, and everything 

 and everybody seems to feel more hopeful 

 and more cheerful ; the birds are singing, 

 and all Nature seems to feel the inspiring 

 influence of balmy spring. We are organiz- 

 ing a number of fruit-growers' associations, 

 with a view to more effectively put in force 

 the Fruit Bill passed by the last Legislature. 



The bees are doing well here now, and 

 the indications seem to be good for a 

 honey-flow. 



I have seen several items in Eastern and 

 Western papers lately, about mountain 

 lions trotting around through the streets of 

 Salt Lake City. This story is "too thin." 

 A few dead ones have been brought in. but 

 no live ones. The only fear that menaces 

 us is the possibility that all our wild ani- 

 mals may yet be killed off. 



E. S. LOVEST. 

 Salt Lake City, Utah, March 22. 



This Man Wants the Proof. 



I acknowledge that I may be a little ex- 

 cited after reading Mr. E. S. Pope's letter, 

 on page 378, on the prevention of swarm- 

 ing. I don't believe a word of it, and yet 

 it may be true; if so, "there are millions 

 in it." Don't give such a thing away, for 

 I will give $100 if he can give me the plan 



