AMERICAN BEii JOURNAL. 



665 



true sign of a fertile queeu. Now if bees 

 cau live in that way all winter, they need 

 no chaft' hives nor cellar. 



The Amehican Bee Journal is a welcome 

 visitor at my home. R. H. Hi mpukies. 

 Morganfield, Ky., May 1, 1893. 



Snow and Bain — Wintered Well. 



Bee-keeping has a dark side this spring. 

 April came with a few nice days, and then 

 it set in cold and windy. No pollen has 

 been gathered so far tliis spring, but the 

 first week in April I put out rye and wheat 

 flour. The first daj' my bees carried in 

 about 11 pounds of it, and in two daj-s they 

 carried in about 35 pounds. I had GO colo- 

 nies then. I struck the nail on the head 

 when I fed the flour. The sun has shone 

 only part of two days in the 14 days of the 

 last two weeks. 



On April 18th it rained heavy for 24 

 hours and then it snowed for 40 hours — the 

 snowfell 18 inches deepen the level. The 

 j_ coldest was 4 degrees below freezing. My 

 bee-yard was a hard looking sight. A heavy 

 wind set in, and it drifted the snow badly, 

 the drifts being 4 to (J feet deep. It rains 

 every day — it is raining hard while I write 

 now. ' 



I put 68 colonies into the cellar last fall ; 

 one died, and one was weak. My bees 

 never came through in better condition, 

 and I have kept bees for 12 years. The 

 hives were chock-full of Ijees, when put out. 

 If this rainy weather holds out much longer, 

 it is going to be awfully hard on the bees. 

 The fields and low lands are flooded. My 

 bees were never in better condition for a 

 crop of honey, but everything looks dark 

 and gloomy now. C. A. Goouell. 



Mankato, Minn., April 25, 1893. 



Springing Bees — Stealing- Eggs. 



I cannot but observe the many testi- 

 monials in the Bee Journal, giving their 

 good luck in wintering bees; how nicely 

 they came out on April 1st or 5th, with but 

 little (if any) loss ; and could they but tell 

 to-day, I fear the tenor would be very much 

 changed. For me, there is but very little 

 trouble in wintering. I wintered my bees 

 with scarcely 2 per cent, loss, but the 

 '"Springing," if I may use the expression, is 

 very much more severe for me, and I think 

 I can safely say the same for others. 



I placed in the cellar 110 colonies, appar- 

 ently in good condition, with plenty of 

 stores, and all, save two, came out with 

 sufficient stores; but April has been a 

 •' stunner "" for me. Good 10 per cent, will 

 not excuse me at present, and I doubt not 

 but there will be more to follow, should the 

 present weather exist very much longer. 



Now, I am led to believe that if nearly all 

 who have given their early testimonies 

 were privileged to give them to-day, their 

 tone would be very diff'erent from the 

 former. I claim we are not "out of the 

 woods" yet, and will not be before May 

 loth, to say the least. 



One thing more I wish to speak about : 

 On page 535, Mr. Thos. Johnson, in the lat- 

 ter part of a paragraph, says : " I removed 

 all queen-cells," etc. I can corroborate 

 every word, for I had the same experience, 

 and found queen-cells— started and larvae 

 in them — that liad neither eggs nor larva; 

 in them at the time of placing fresh combs 

 with both eggs and larvae there. Now I do 

 not wish to interfere with any one's theory, 

 not even -with Mrs. Atchley's. but just you 

 stick right to it, Mr. Johnson, and I will 

 help hold you up with both hands and 

 strong aftns, for you are all right. Theory 

 and practice are twin sisters, and go hand 

 in hand, but practice pulls theory along, 

 especially in this case. A. Y. Baldwin. 



DeKalb, Ills., April 28, 1893. 



Lost No Bees — Good Report. 



I wintered all my bees on the summer 

 stands, no outside cases, single-waUed dove- 

 tailed hives, no jjacking. but two, which 

 had on a super with some old carpet over 

 the bees ; the rest had sealed covers, with 

 old carpet on top of the covers protected by 

 a board to keep dry. I had corn-stalks set 

 along the row of hives for a wind-break. 

 Although a very hard winter for this lati- 

 tude (38 degrees), I did not lose any bees — 

 all came out equally strong in the spring. 



The first pollen was brought in on March 

 7th, from soft maple and elm. The first 

 swarm issued on April 25th, also on April 

 29th. Bees did well on fruit-bloom at first 

 for about three weeks, then a cold spell with 

 two severe frosts cut off supplies for several 

 days, from April 14th to about the 23rd. 



I had only 8 colonies, spring count, and 

 have moved my bees one mile out of 

 town to a better location for pasture and 

 protection. I shipped the most of my last 

 years honey to St. Louis, in one-pound 

 sections, which sold for IG cents.per section, 

 what I had sold at home for 12i<; cents. The 

 whole product from 7 colonies brought me, 

 in cash, f^jo — not so bad for a beginner, I 

 think. 



The future appears promising for a good 

 crop this season, although it is. at this date, 

 raining nearly all the time, but not cold as 

 it was last spring at the same date. 



D. A. Cadwallader. 



Prairie du Rocher, Ills., April 30, 1893. 



** A IHo«lern Bee-Farm and Its 



Economic Management," is the title of a 

 splendid book on practical bee-culture, by 

 Mr. 8. 8immins, of England. It is 5%x8X 

 inches in size, and contains 270 page.s", 

 nicely illustrated, and bound in cloth. It 

 shows " how bees may be cultivated as a 

 means of livelihood; as a health-giving 

 pursuit ; and as a source of recreation to 

 the busy man." It also illustrates how 

 profits may be "made certain by growing 

 crops yielding the most honey, having also 

 other uses ; and by judgment in breeding a 

 good working strain of bees." Price, post- 

 paid, from this office, 81.00; or clubbed with 

 the Bee Journal for one year, for $1.70. 



