312 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Bee-Stings and Rheumatism, Etc. 



So far our bees seem to be wintering 

 well. About a week ago I had the rheu- 

 matism in my hand so badly that I could 

 not use it. I went to the bee-cellar and 

 let a little light fall upon the front of 

 one of the hives, and soon a bee came 

 buzzing out. Catching the bee, I shut 

 the door and tried to make the bee sting 

 me. It would not, however, and I was 

 about to cast it away anl get another, 

 when it gave me a good pop. Before 

 five minutes I noticed the pain going 

 down. It is now entirely cured, and I 

 think it was better thaii a doctor's rem- 

 edy. 



A year ago last summer father had 2 

 swarms issue at the same time. He told 

 me I could have one of them if I would 

 hive it, which I did. They did nothing 

 that year, further than to store enough 

 for winter. They lived through the 

 winter all right, and last summer I got 

 about 30 pounds of honey. I had no in- 

 crease, and they went into this winter 

 with plenty of stores. 



Father says the Bee Joubnal is "a 

 glad surprise," and that he would not do 

 without it for $10 a year. 



W. E. Stoner. 



Atlantic, Iowa, Feb. 14, 1893. 



Hard Winter on Bees. 



I have just looked over my bees, and 

 out of 126 colonies I found 13 dead 

 ones. All are outside in chaff hives, and 

 all have plenty of honey. I expect a 

 large honey crop the coming season. It 

 is a hard winter on bees, and I will be 

 satisfied if I have 100 colonies to ex- 

 tract from. Nathan Mercer. 



Neosho, Wis., Feb. 20, 1893. 



Swarms Hived on Starters, Etc. 



In the Bee Journal of Dec. 22, 

 1892, W. Z. Hutchinson gives his plan 

 of using empty combs. I was very much 

 Interested in his ideas, for they agree 

 with my experience to a T. My early 

 lessons in bee-keeping were from bee- 

 books saying that it was as good as 

 money in banks to save all combs, even 

 to pieces, and fit them in frames held by 

 clamps until the bees mended them. I 

 was very much taken with the idea, and 

 set about to accomplish the feat. Two 

 years ago I became overstocked in bees, 

 so I doubled up until I had the desired 

 number, and by this means I had a nice 

 lot of combs to hold over until the next 

 season. I thought now I will have my 

 sails trimmed, ready for the breeze. 



I hived nearly all of my new swarms 

 on a full set of nice combs. The bees 

 seemed delighted with the arrangement; 

 they stayed right by them, didn't want 

 any upstairs in theirs ! My " sailing " 

 was not as pleasant as I anticipated, 

 the breeze didn't breeze worth a cent. 



Now, I feel thankful for what I 

 learned in bee-books, for if it had not 

 been for them I would not know as much 

 about empty combs as I do now. I have 

 come to the conclusion that starters in 

 the brood-nest and sections is the best. 

 Bees do not work with the same vim 

 when given full combs, or full sheets of 

 foundation, as they do with starters. 

 In this management we do not get as 

 straight combs, but we know how to 

 make wax out of the crooked and drone 

 combs, and can replace them with 

 straight ones, and then you will find 

 your bank account in a big pile of wax. 



Thos. O. Hines. 

 Anamosa, Iowa. 



Hybrids vs. Italians for Honey. 



On page 148, Mr . Boggs desires to 

 know which are the best bees to gather 

 honey, the dark or the golden Italians. 

 He wants to discard Italian-hybrids for 

 bees that will breed up early in the 

 spring, and store the most honey. If 

 Mr. B. is not particular about any other 

 good qualities save the two mentioned, 

 I would advise him to keep the hybrids • 

 they are very hardy, and are not ex- 

 celled by any in gathering the sweets. I 

 might speak more favorably of their 

 fine work in the sections, but should I 

 say more, some one would be sure to 

 contradict. 



In my opinion, the bright yellow Ital- 

 ians are more gentle than their dark 

 sisters, and we know they are quite 

 pleasing to the eye; but on what 

 grounds could we expect them to store 

 more honey? If I am rightly informed, 

 they are no cross, but reared from pure 

 Italian mothers or a Doolittle queen. I 

 am greatly in love with them, but I find 

 it requires much care in breeding to 

 keep the five-banded beauties. 



A. B. Baird. 

 Belle Vernon, Pa., Feb. 15, 1893. 



Wild Peach of Texas, Etc. 



Bees have wintered in fine condition 

 here. They began carrying in pollen on 

 Jan. 28th, at a lively rate. Wild peach 

 will be in bloom in a few days. 



As several letters have been written to 

 me asking aboutj^wild poach, I will try 



