118 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Do not write anything for publication 

 on the same sheet of paper with business 

 matters, unless it can be torn apart without 

 interfering with either part of the letter. 



Bee-Keeping Improves the Health.. 



I have 15 colonies of Italian bees in 

 winter quarters, put In on Nov. 19th 

 vfith plenty of honey and strong with 

 bees. I commenced the spring of 1892 

 with 7 colonies of Italian bees, they in- 

 creased to 18 colonies, and gave me 450 

 pounds of surplus honey, besides having 

 plenty to winter on. My health is poor, 

 but it helps me to work among the bees, 

 and I long for spring to come so that I 

 can be among my pets again. 



I could not keep bees very well with- 

 out the Bee Jouknal. It is a welcome 

 visitor 52 times a year. 



Jesse B. Lewis. 



Weston's Mills, N. Y., Jan. 13, 1893. 



Wintered Without Any Loss. 



Last winter I wintered 100 per cent. 

 of my colonies, 12 in all, increased them 

 to 18, and took 360 pounds of comb 

 honey, mostly in one-pound sections. 

 Every colony had plenty of honey for 

 winter, viz. : from 35 to 75 pounds 

 each. Perhaps I should have extracted 

 part of it from them, but I didn't have 

 an extractor, or the time, but expect to 

 give them more attention this year. 



G. W. Bell. 



Bell's Landing, Pa., Jan. 9, 1893. 



Experience in Wintering Bees. 



Having bought 17 colonies of bees, I 

 will give the readers of the Bee Journal 

 the benefit of my experience in the win- 

 tering of the same. About Nov. 15, 

 1892, these bees were packed in clamps 

 with chaff and straw packing about 6 

 inches in thickness on the sides, and one 

 foot on top. They were left in the open 

 yard where the hives were in the sum- 

 mer, and at present they appear to be 

 in good condition. The hives were cov- 

 ered with gunny-sacks filled with chaff 



about 6 inches in thickness, before the 

 loose chaff and straw was put on. 

 Through a mistake made in leaving the 

 oil-cloths (that had been used to cover 

 the hives a year ago last summer) on top 

 of the hives when they were put in in 

 the fall of 1891, we lost the greater 

 part of them last winter. Starting with 

 only 4 colonies in the spring, we put in 

 the 17 for the winter. With the excep- 

 tion of the loss last winter, as mentioned, 

 we have never had any trouble in win- 

 tering. I expect to continue in the 

 business from this time on, and am glad 

 to acknowledge the help I derive through 

 the American Bee Journal. 



Mrs. Charlotte Marden. 

 West Weston, Wis., Jan. 12, 1893. 



Bees in Good Condition. 



Bees did very poorly the past year. 

 All the surplus we got was from the 

 first cutting of alfalfa, after that the 

 grasshoppers destroyed most of the 

 bloom. I got about 10 pounds of honey 

 per colony. Some got none. Bees are 

 in good condition for winter. I have 

 100 colonies. F. H. McDonald. 



Star, Idaho, Jan. 2, 1893. 



Most Open Winter Ever Known. 



Bees have wintered well here so far. 

 We are having the most open winter 

 here that I have ever known. There is 

 no snow, and the ground is dry in some 

 places. K,. T. Rhkes. 



View, Utah, Jan. 13, 1893. 



Some Experinece in Bee-Keeping. 



I started last spring with 40 colonies, 

 spring count, and let them increase to 

 53. I put sections on 38 of that num- 

 ber, and took about 700 pounds of 

 honey altogether. About 60 pounds of 

 it was extracted. I put my honey in 

 groceries to sell, and it was retailed at 

 20 cents ; that gives me about 16 or 17 

 cents a pound. I pay 15 or 20 per 

 cent, for selling. I believe I can say 

 that I hear of no complaint from any, 

 but that my honey is very good. Even 

 those that bought of me in 1891, 

 with some honey-dew in, bought of me 

 again the past season. I put into win- 

 ter quarters 45 colonies, having lost 

 two, one with the diarrhea, and the 

 other became queenless. I sold three, 

 and that left me 40 colonies. My health 

 I has been very poor all summer and fall, 

 1 although some better now. In view of 



