28 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Aug. 



We then made a full examination as to how 

 much, and found four sheets, and it renched 

 down within an inch of the bottom of the comb, 

 enough to fill a frame a foot square. Tliey had 

 also stored enough honey to live on till March 

 first. 



About the last of March I transferred them 

 .again and found considerable brood from the 

 «gg to the hatched bee. 



J. Butler. 



Jackson, Mich., June 27, 1873. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Pollen. 



Mr. Editor. — I send my fare, two dollars, 

 for a passage in the good ofd ship, and I hope 

 all will be prompt in sending in the needful in 

 order that you may be enabled to rnn the craft 

 with entire success ; and if the following few 

 lines will serve as ballast, throw it in with the 

 rest: 



In the June numljer. Novice " would really 

 like to know if any of our readers have ever 

 seen brood reared when there was an entire 

 absence of pollen." I, for one, never have; 

 and, furthermore, I will venture the assertion, 

 without much fear of contradiction, tliat bees 

 ■cannot be raised without it any more than a 

 hive can be kept in good condition any length 

 •of time without honey or its substitute, sugar. 

 This is a subject that I have been much inter 

 ested in for some time, but, so far, have failed 

 to gain much, if any, information upon It. If 

 Novice will turn to Vol. Yll, page 90, he will 

 find Querist No. 3 having the same difficulty, 

 and asking the same question. I have about 

 come to the conclusion that it is a subject but 

 little urderstood, even by our best, practical 

 men, and I am satisfied, from my small experi- 

 ence, that a great deal of so-called bee disease 

 in the spring is attributable to the want of 

 J>olltn. Argus. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Jubilant Over the Extractor. 



Dkar }?ee JonRNAi,. — This is the best year 

 lor honey, in these parts, that I have ever known. 

 I lost all my bees but one stock during the last 

 two winters; but, am not discouraged, having 

 got two others this summer. One of them is 

 the largest swarm, I think, that I have ever 

 seen. It is two weeks, yesterday, since it was 

 ■hived, and I have taken over seventy pounds of 

 honey from it already, and the white clover is 

 better now than ever. Of course, I used the 

 extractor. I had to do it or the queen would 

 Slave had no chance to lay her eggs, I must 



just .say, that they had very little comb to build, 

 as I have plenty of nice, straight worker-comb. 



About that extractor. I got the description 

 in the A. B. Journal three years ago, and im- 

 mediately got up one, and I consider it worth 

 all my subscription to the Journal. I am the 

 only person about here that has one. Some of 

 ray neighbors thought it a humbug until this 

 year, when their hives got too full of honey and 

 I slung out a few combs for them, since which 

 time they have changed their tune. 



What do you think of the new name for the 

 sliuger, that I heard the other day? A party, 

 on being told that he had better get one, asked 

 if it was a sucking machine. 



As white clover is still in full blast, and there 

 IS lots of basswood hereabouts, I expect, in the 

 next two weeks, to throw out about a hundred 

 pounds yet from my large swarm. I have tried 

 Novice's plan, of pi icing one hive above 

 anotlier, with this swarm and like it very much, 

 but the way that queen lays eggs since I com- 

 menced to give her room, is a caution. I am 

 almost afraid she will fill both hives with brood, 

 when I shall have to put on a third one to get 

 honey. Its a regular race between her and the 

 bees, as the combs I emptied on last Saturday, 

 and on Tuesday the bees had filled one-half 

 with honey, and the queen the other half of 

 each comb with eggs. I never saw anything 

 to equal it. and a black queen at that. Burrah! 

 for big swarms, honey-slingers and the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal! Geo. T. Burgess. 



Lncknoio, Oat., July 2, 1873. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Novice's Articles. 



Mr. Editor. — I see by the June number of 

 A. B. Journal that Mr. Alley feels pretty sore 

 because Novice persists in exjiosing patent hive 

 vendors. Novice is. I presume, capable of 

 fighting his own battles, but as he has written 

 for the benefit of us bee-keepers, rather than 

 to fill his own pockets (Mr. Alley's insinuations 

 to the contrary notwithstanding). I think it is 

 no more than fair that we should let Novice 

 know that u-e appreciate his articles. I can say, 

 with Iv. M. Argo, it is well that friend Novice's 

 articles are first in the Joitrnal, as we should 

 certainly turn over till we came to them if they 

 were not. Perhaps if Mr. Alley had 7-ead 

 Novice's articles in the A. B. J. lie would not 

 have accused him falsely, as he has in the April 

 and June numbers. 



Since writing the above we have received the 

 July number and are glad to see Mr. Doolittle's 

 defense of Novice. I hope Mr. Alley will not 

 be afraid to read the article on the first page, 

 because it is headed "Novice." ' 



Minnesota. 



S. Rowell. 



