1873.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



19 



and fortunately has as many stocks left in the 

 spring as he had the spring before. 



Perhaps this pen has jotted enough for the 

 present. 



Phonograph. 



Koshkonong, Wis., May 22, 1873. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Relative Contents of Different Sized Eoney Boxes. 



When making surjjlus houey boxes, or giving 

 them to stocks to be filled, there is some satis- 

 faction in knowing beforehand how much a box 

 of any given dimensions will hold when filled. 

 After weighing a great many boxes of different 

 sizes, and figuring it all out, I have found, as a 

 rule, that a box when filled with newly-made 

 comb, and the honey all sealed over, will 

 contain three pounds of honey to every one 

 hundred cubic inches of space contained in the 

 box. Thus, a box ten inches long, six inches 

 wide and five inches deep, inside measure, will 

 contain three hundred cubic inches of space, 

 and will consequently hold nine pounds, when 

 filled as above stated. This rule holds good with 

 any size of box, from about twelve pounds down 

 to five pounds, (smaller boxes than five pounds 

 I have never used.) Boxes of the capacity of 

 fifteen to twenty pounds usually contain a trifle 

 in excess of the above estimate, while those of 

 twenty-five pounds capacity frequently contain 

 two or three pounds in excess. I do not say 

 that the above rule is always absolutely correct, 

 but I have found it near enough correct for all 

 practical purposes. HExrtY Crist. 



Lake, Stark Co., 0., April 4th, 1873. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Comfort for the Persecuted. 



Mr. Editor : — On page 251, Mr. James Wed- 

 don speaks of the manner in which he is 

 persecuted, and wishes all the information 

 possible relative in such cases. I would say to 

 him, and all others, that an apiary should be so 

 situated that the bees will not attack horses, 

 cattle, or other domestic animals when passing 

 along the public highway or street in any 

 village. It should also be situated sufficiently 

 far from the bee keeper's neighbors so they 

 will not leave their hives to sting them when on 

 their own premises. When thus located, there 

 is no law that will compel the owner of an 

 apiary to move his hives outside of any corpo- 

 ration. And any witch-hanging or otherwise 

 ignorant and superstitious set of inhabitants of 

 a one-eyed or blind-horse town, or would-be- 

 city — it being invariably this class of j)laces 

 that resort to such measures — v/ho may enact a 

 law expelling an apiary from their midst, 

 should be taught the very important lesson of 

 attending to their own busines". This can very 

 easily be done, by referring such cases to the 

 higher tribunals, at the same time letting the 



bees remain wherever they may be- situated 

 when the case is first brought up. The state- 

 ments usually made by these persecutors are 

 that; the nasty, dirty bees get into their sugar- 

 bowls, their molasses cans, their preserve 

 dishes, and that they will even carry off a little 

 houey that may chance to be in an open cup- 

 board, safe, or pantry after they (the slouchy 

 owners,) have bought and paid for it. Wash- 

 tubs filled with soapsuds, 3 or 4 days old, and 

 set in the sun during the summer, are almost 

 sure to be visited by bees. But such vessels 

 filled with pure, clean water, are never fre- 

 quented by them, and they do not get into 

 them except by accident, just as many other 

 insects do. And iust here the question arises 

 as to what kind of proceedings the. meddlers 

 are going to institute against our every day 

 insect, together with the Being who created 

 them? 



Such complaints cannot fail to be treated 

 with ridicule and contempt when left to the 

 decision of honest and intelligent jurors. To 

 sum the matter up in a few words : Actual 

 damage must be proved ; and any thing that 

 savors of careless and dirty housekeeping, will 

 not be entertained by any intelligent court when 

 entered as complaints against house keepers. I 

 was once threatened just as Mr. Weddon seems 

 to be ; but when it became fully known that 

 facts, clearly pointing out actual damage, must 

 be established, by truthful witnesses, the whole 

 matter was dropped. G. Baker. 



Alexandria, Indiana. 



Eeports, Experiences, and Opinions. 



• 



L. B. Aldrich, Warsaw, Rice County, Minn., 

 writes, May 21, 1873: 



The American Bee Journal, in the past 

 four years, has been the means ot putting more 

 than 1200.00 in my pocket! 



Wm. Stump, of Cincinnati, writes, May 27, 

 1873: 



Last week a copy of your Journal came to 

 hand . I am might7 well pleased with it. It is 

 just what I want. No beans and potatoes theory 

 in a bee journal for me. I want bee matter — 

 read all I get hold of on that subject. 



I take great pleasure in bees and their man- 

 agement. Up to this time, however, they have 

 cost me more than I have got for their honey. 

 My apiary house cost $100. I have had bees 

 for fourteen years. The last 3 years I have had 

 Italian-i and movaljle frame hives. At present 

 I have 21 r;(^lonies, 14 of which are in the house. 

 They aie very docile, and seldom sting me. 

 My house is so arranged that in summer I can 

 keep the thermometer at from 70 to 80. This 

 winter it did not freeze watei', kept in a cup as 

 a test. The inventor of the house has had it in 

 use 7 years, and never lost a swarm in all that 

 time. The secret is in keeping them cool and 



