1873.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



least, of our own observations, I have thought 

 it proper to tender a few "notes by the way." 



How much interest was felt in relation to the 

 cause which occasioned the disastrous losses of 

 our bees in the winter of 1871-2, and yet but 

 few, if any of us, were prepared for the fact 

 thiit, the winter which has just closed, (that of 

 '72 and '73,) would far surpass the previous one 

 in point of fatality, even, in many instances, 

 devastating entire apiaries; and I greatly regret 

 to state that, in a radius of fifty miles from the 

 point at which I write, that from one-half to 

 two-thirds of our colonies have perished. I 

 feared last tall that, in the absence of proper 

 management, this loss would occur, and so I 

 predicted. 



I assume that however much honey a colony 

 may be possessed of, even if such be stored in 

 their permanent abode, the queen will not con- 

 tinue to increase her brood, unless food can be 

 procured from abroad. And by the proper 

 management, before referred to, I mean j udicious 

 feeding when the hee fails in finding her trea- 

 sure in nature's storehouse. At least, this is the 

 result of careful observation for many years 

 past. Last fall there was a decided failure in 

 our honey crop, and (except that feeding was 

 resorted to,) the queen ceased to deposit eggs, 

 and, as a consequi-nce, the stock passed into a 

 very severe winter wilh comparatively nothing 

 but old bees; these gradually died off, none 

 younger were left to till tlieir places, and 

 although they were possessed of ample stores 

 of both honey and pollen, they perished from 

 cold. I have carefully examined many that 

 have died, and found abundant food, and that, 

 too, in such position in the hive as was ea>y of 

 access to the bees. One stock in particular I 

 looked at in the cold of early March, (this, too, 

 ■was possessed of a young queen,) and found at 

 least twenty pounds of honey, no brood or eggs, 

 and less than a pint of bees; the bees, when 

 shaken from the comb, would rattle like small 

 stones, apparently frozen stiff. In every case 

 the combs were entirely clean and free from 

 smell; and in only one instance was there a 

 little mould. And jnst here I would say to 

 Mr. Johnston, who writes in the May number, 

 that we had not the appearance of honey dew 

 in our locality last fall, and I entirely agree 

 with him when he asserts the fact that should 

 such have been the case, I could not have found 

 a clean hive and combs, because, having had 

 some of his sad expeiience. I look upon honey 

 dew as one of the most fruitful sources of dys- 

 entery. 



I know that he who attempts to account for 

 such serious losses as have taken pi ce dur ng 

 the past winter, should have reasons to present 

 for the "faith which is within him," else he 

 ■will surely be controverted, or, at least, disbe- 

 lieved, by those who hold a different theory. 

 And this is but just and right, thereby do we 

 gain all our practical knowledge, and "surely 



in a multitude of counselors" there should, at 

 least, be "a little witdom." Let it be our aim 

 to state our opinions carefully, and not too posi- 

 tively, having earnest respect for tho.se of 

 others; and most gladly would I accept any 

 cause of argument which would disprove the 

 conclusions! have so clumsily stated, and which 

 I have only arrived at by being forced so to do. 



How many different opinions were advanced 

 as to the disasters of '71-2 ; and it might not 

 be presumed too bold an assertion to state that 

 even yet it appears an open question. I may be 

 pardoned, then, if I here say that I approached 

 the subject presented with no small degree of 

 temerity, but feel that I have attempted to dis- 

 charge a duty when I have stated the prominent 

 facts which have passed under my observation, 

 and, by my action in the premises, shall proba- 

 bly draw the opinions of those who are much 

 more capable than myself, which is the ostensi- 

 ble object of this article, and this much granted 

 I shall congratulate myself that I have not 

 written in vain. 



Fearing the results before stated, I last fall 

 fed fonr of my stocks, not my best by any 

 means, (most of the strongest were lost,) and 

 the result was clearly apparent; during the 

 months of October and November they had 

 plenty of brood, and although three of them 

 had queens three years old, the brood was even 

 disproportionate to the amount of honey in the 

 hive, and to-day they are the strongest stand in 

 my a; iary ; one of them a hybrid, having drones 

 flying on the 15th day of April, and yet we had 

 quite cool weather. Would it be too much to 

 assume, then, in conclu-ion of this already too 

 long communication, that, had we last fall taken 

 the advice of friend "Novice," and fed our 

 favorites with well prepared syrup, it might 

 not have been our painful duty to now assign 

 our reasons for the disaster which has so lately 

 fallen upon us, the return of which I hope will 

 never have to be recorded by any true lover of 

 the -'B." 



Beaver, Pa., May 8, 1873. 



[For the American Bee Journal.} 



Gallup VS. "Novice" or Dysentery. 



In volume VII, No. 12, p. 274, "Novice" asks, 

 "Will our Western friends pleas ■ tell us if bees 

 ever have the dysentery after flying in the 

 Spring?" Also, o.n the same page, he says, 

 "Others, besides Gallup, have given the theory 

 that, when young bees were raised largely in 

 the fall there would be no dysentery. But, 

 alas for theories!" Now, Mr. "Novice" we gave 

 facts as far as we went. There wns no theory 

 about it. But we never pretend to give the 

 whole history of bee-keeping in one short 

 article. Now, our queens, that bred late in the 

 fall, did not commence to breed in the spring 

 until they were set out of the cellar, while old 



