AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



183 



them, and feed in the fall at the proper 

 time, so I made a fixture to feed after 

 cold weather set in, which was as fol- 

 lows : 



I took a box 6 inches square by 10 

 inches long, with both top and bottom 

 removed ; in place of the bottom I 

 placed in a glass, and set the top of the 

 box uy to the entrance of the hive, and 

 supported it by means of a cord tied 

 around both the hive and box (or 

 feeder). In the top of this box I split 

 out a strip 3 inches wide the full length 

 of the box, and tacked screen-wire over 

 it, to admit of air and ventilation. I 

 put it In the cave opposite the door 

 which opens to the south, and admitted 

 sunshine. In the box I placed a small 

 trough which I filled with syrup ; on 

 sunshiny days the bees would work at it 

 well, but they failed to get enough in 

 sunshine to keep them through the 

 cloudy weather, so my feeder was a 

 failure. 



I also caught three wild swarms last 

 swarming season. I now have 5 colo- 

 nies that I think are in reasonably good 

 condition, and comfortable in the cave. 

 I have them in box-hives, and will trans- 

 fer to movable - frame hives in the 

 spring, and will Italianize them and try 

 to take care of them on a little more 

 scientific principle. 1. Please give the 

 dimensions of the Langstroth hive, and 

 how to make it. 2. In transferring bees 

 from box-hives to movable-frame hives, 

 will foundation starters, 3 or 4 inches 

 wide, be suflBcient, or will it be neces- 

 sary to give full sheets. 



0. E. McCabe. 



Bear Grove, Iowa, Jan. 5, 1893. 



[1. The size of the Langstroth frame 

 if 93^x17% inches. Any supply dealer 

 will be glad to furnish you a sample 

 nailed hive. Consult our advertising 

 columns for dealers. 



2. It is generally considered best to 

 hive swarms on full sheets of comb 

 foundation. — Ed.] 



* — < ^ » — •■ 



Coldest "Weather in Five Years. 



Bees have not had a flight since the 

 first part of last December. They are 

 sleeping a la Clarke. We have had the 

 coldest weather — that is, continuously 

 cold — that we have had in five years, 

 though if bees are packed in good shape, 

 they will be all right. The mercury has 

 been 15° below in places. 



Geo. Spitler. 



Mosiertown, Pa., Jan. 19, 1893. 



Alsike Clover for Seed and Honey. 



There is no question in my mind at 

 present, as to whether it pays to raise 

 Alsike clover or not. From eight years' 

 experience with it, I feel safe to advise 

 every bee-keeper that is located in the 

 clover belt, to try at least a small patch 

 next year, on low ground. It grows 

 very luxuriantly with timothy, and 

 makes an excellent hay for either cattle 

 or horses. Last year was the first that 

 I cut it for seed. The patch that I cut 

 for seed was only one-third of a stand, 

 and yielded four bushels of nice seed per 

 acre, and is selling fast to my neighbors 

 at $10 per bushel ; and the clover after 

 it is thrashed makes good feed for cat- 

 tle, even if rain-beaten and bleached 

 before stacking. I have never before 

 been able to obtain $40 for the use of 

 an acre of ground, and with so little 

 labor ; and, besides all this, I also had a 

 fine flow of honey of excellent quality. 

 Hundreds of acres will be sown here next 

 season. Frank Coverdale. 



Welton, Iowa, Jan. 19, 1893. 



Too liittle Protection for Winter. 



Bees did not do much last season — did 

 not get honey enough to supply the 

 home market, yet the bees went into 

 winter quarters with plenty of honey. I 

 built a bee-cave last fall, and put in 30 

 colonies which I think are doing finely. 

 But a great many here leave their bees 

 out on the summer stands with but little 

 protection. I think this winter will be 

 pretty hard on them, as we are having a 

 pretty cold winter so far. We have had 

 fine sleighing for over a month. 



Samuel Flory. 



South English, Iowa, Jan. 17, 1893. 



Results of the Season of 1892. 



My report for 1892 is as follows : I 

 put into the cellar 215 colonies Nov. 

 20, 1891, and took out 210, which 

 spring dwindled to 170, almost all 

 weak, and some very poor, and did not 

 gather any surplus. About 100 got in 

 fair condition for the honey-flow by July 

 1st. I obtained about 2,500 pounds of 

 comb clover honey, and about 1,500 

 pounds of extracted clover honey. My 

 total amount of comb honey was 5,155 

 pounds, and total of extracted was 

 7,580. The fall honey was heart's-ease. 



The spring of 1892 was the worst for 

 bees that I remember of in all my bee- 

 keeping — for more than 20 years. The 

 bees were in poorer condition in June 



