568 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



press upon the heated plate first one side, 

 and then the other. When the comb is 

 full and plump, place the wide side of 

 the section on the stops, but when less 

 full, and you need to melt deeper, turn 

 the narrow part of the section on the 

 stops. Keep an old table-knife to scrape 

 the waste from the top of the hot plate 

 often. The wax will run into the water 

 in the pan below, and may be emptied 

 as required. 



Practice these directions carefully, 

 and you will find the combs melted to 

 equal, even surfaces, and left in such 

 condition that the bees will have to add 

 a little new comb to the end of every 

 cell, and the finished honey will be 

 white, and of even weight. Combs thus 

 prepared may be used without separa- 

 tors. 



Fillmore Co., Minn. 



,^ ' 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. 



In Total Darkness for 167 Days. 



Reading the reports from many quarters 

 of "pollen plenty," "balmy April," or 

 " hives filling up with young bees," I am 

 led to ask myself if I have the coldest 

 locality in North America where bees are 

 kept. We have had high winds, cold and 

 snow nearly all the year so far, so that 

 there has been but two or three days suit- 

 able for bees to fly. Neither the soft maples 

 nor elm, which give us the first pollen of 

 any account, are open yet, and as the 

 weather has been extremely unfavorable, 

 the bees are in the cellar. They were put 

 in on Nov. 10, 1892, and when I will get 

 them out depends upon the weather. I 

 have been in the cellar to-day, and they 

 appear quiet and nice after their 167 days 

 of total darkness. G. M. Doolittle. 



Borodino, N. Y., April 20, 1893. 



speaks volumes for the helmsmen of our 

 " good ship of bee-lore," who have justly 

 earned the name "Old Reliable" for it. 

 May it live long, and always merit the 

 title, is my wish. 



I would like to mention with pleasure 

 seeing the letter from our old friend W. P. 

 Taylor, of Fitzroy Harbor, Ont., the octo- 

 genarian subscriber, published on page 

 344. Although in Manistee, Mich., now, it 

 was at his apiary that I first saw the honey 

 extractor, pound sections, comb foundation, 

 and other great improvements in the pur- 

 suit which, when we consider the time (I 

 think about 18 years ago) , it would seem as 

 if our friend were taking in every improve- 

 ment as soon as invented. Being eager to 

 grasp the new and the good, and being a 

 close observer, his store of knowledge must 

 have a wide range. I remember seeing a 

 very neat, concrete, octagonal bee-house 

 for wintering bees in. 



Mr. Taylor's experience must be very ex- 

 tensive, and I think we have missed it not 

 to have heard from him occasionally. I 

 know it was a great pleasure to me to visit 

 his place, and although the bee-business 

 was in its infancy with me, I feel safe in 

 saying that Mr. Taylor was one of the 

 pioneer scientific bee-keepers of Ontario. I 

 think he was very modest in putting forth 

 any conclusions, and perhaps this is why 

 we have not heard more from him. I did 

 not write this for publication, but I could 

 not very well see him passing out of our 

 ranks (as he seems about to do) without 

 telling of my acquaintance with him. I am 

 too poor a writer to do him justice, which I 

 very much regret. W. Harmer. 



Manistee, Mich. 



Appreciated Octogenarian Bee-Man. 



The American Bef Jouknai. has been a 

 constant weekly visitor since the fall of 

 1881. I believe rrcnj cojjy has come regu- 

 larly since that time. Such regularity 



Mortality of Bees in Winter. 



I notice on page 397, that Mr. M. D. 

 Andes is alarmed at the rate his bees car- 

 ried out their dead during their winter 

 flights. Usually this would be considered a 

 sign that they were in a healthy condition, 

 but if continued at an extreme rate, of 

 course it would result in total annihilation. 

 Not knowing, I could only hint at what 

 might be the possible cause. 



He says they have plenty of honey, which 

 shows tliat they must have been strong, 

 and in good condition during the early fall, 

 and filled their hives to overflowing, and 

 probably crowded their queen out of room 

 to lay, thus cutting oflf brood-rearing at a 

 very early date, which resulted in the de- 

 struction of the drones and consequent idle- 

 ness of the workers, except to gather 

 enough perhaps to make up for the amount 

 consumed. 



Now in this quiet, contented condition, 

 their mortality would be very light, and the 

 colonies would go into winter quarters 

 with plenty of stores, and strong in bees, 

 but mostly old ones. This being their con- 

 dition during late autumn, their winter 

 mortality, as might be expected, would be 

 great, owing to the extreme age of the ma- 

 jority of the bees ; and more especially, if 

 the weather should be warm so as to admit 



