94 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



As it is necessary to avoid robbing, when 

 you open the hive the second day, if you have 

 been annoyed by robbers, while hunting for 

 the bhick queen, it is safer to wait until even- 

 ing, when the bees are all at home. Yet the 

 operation is more easily performed at mid- 

 day, and the robbers are little to be feared, 

 if you act quickly, although quietly. 



"I see in the American Bee Journal, that 

 Mr. Furman, and several other bee-keepers, at 

 the meeting of the Iowa Central Association, 

 have said that pure honey would not become 

 candied. My expense is altogether difterent ; I 

 have quite pure honey entirely granulated. 

 Can you give me your experience on the sub- 

 ject?" 



J. M. A., St. Louis, Mo. 



The honey from rape, granulates very 

 quickly. I have seen, in Italy, such honey, 

 gathered in April, granulated in the combs in 

 August. The honey from clover, melilot, 

 lucern, sainfoin, linden and buckwheat, 

 granulates also, although not so fast as the 

 rape honey; while the honey jdelded by sev- 

 eral trees does not granulate. I have seen 

 kouey as good and as liquid, after tAvo years, 

 as if it was newly gathered. It was acacia or 

 locust honey. 



Therefore, the granulating of honey does 

 not indicate its want of purity; on the con- 

 trary, in France, where the best quality of 

 honey comes from sainfoin, the thorough and 

 even granulating is considered the best test of 

 purity. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Simple Bee Feeder. 



A very simple, and at the same time effect- 

 ual, feeder may be extemporized by filling a 

 glass vessel (a tumbler or a fruit jar is best) 

 with honey or syrup, placing a saucer upon 

 it and quickly inverting them. This allows 

 the bees to take the food from the entire cir- 

 cumference of the vessel without their becom- 

 ing daubed with the liquid, which may be 

 made thick or thin as desired. Any number 

 required may be quickly and inexpensively 

 obtained in the dining room of any family. 

 By using glass vessels the bee-keeper may tell 

 at a glance how fast the food is being taken, 

 and which need refilling. Of course they 

 must be placed on the top of the hives or 

 frames and securely covered to prevent rob- 

 bing. Many feeders are based upon this same 

 principle of atmosplieric pressure, but none 

 are more effectual, simple or inexpensive. 

 Dr. D. R. Porter. 



Manhasset, Lonp; Island. 



Swammerdani found nearly four thousand 

 cells built, in six days, by a new swarm con- 

 .sisting of less than six thousand bees. 



Voices from Among the Hives. 



CiT. Dad ANT, Hamilton, Ills., writes:— "Bees 

 are wintering finely. " 



•losKPir A. Hakt. Craig, Ind., writes:—" Bees 

 are wintering better here, than for many years- 

 past. " 



A. F. Hakt, Apyleton, Wis., writes :— " Bee* 

 seem to be wintering here very well, although 

 we have had a long winter. " 



H. 0. Kruschke, Berlin, Wis., writes : — 

 " The Journal improves with every issue. It 

 has got into the right hands at last. " 



D. S. McCallum, Hornellsville, N. Y., 

 writes : — "I have about eighty swarms of bees, 

 and they have wintered finely." 



R. R. Murphy, Fulton. Ills., writes : — " Bees 

 have wintered well in this part of the country, 

 and the prospect is more encourageiiig for bee- 

 keepers, than for several years past. The white 

 clover has not winter-killed the past winter, as 

 it did the two previous ones. " 



Dr. Jared p. Kirtland, East Eockport, 

 writes :— " As I am over eighty years of age, and 

 have ceased to cultivate bees, I wish to be con- 

 sidered on the list of retired apiculturists, like 

 my friend Mr. Langstroth. I began the pursuit 

 in the siunmer of ISIO, and witli the exception 

 of a very few years, have continued it till very 

 recently. " 



J. A. Maxfield, Saxon, Ills., writes :— 

 "Bees have wintered well, with me. I lost 

 twenty-one swarms last winter and spring, 

 leaving me three swarms. I increased them to 

 six, and have wintered in the cellar for four 

 winters. The first winter and this they win- 

 tered well. My cellar is under the kitchen, and 

 was built on purpose for wintering bees. There 

 are not fifteen swarms of bees within three 

 miles of me. My bees are all black. " 



D. H. Keller, Duncan Falls. Ills., writes : — 

 " Last winter, I lost a few hives by placing 

 them too close to the damp stone wall in our 

 cellar, where they became wet and diseased. 

 This winter. I put other hives in the same 

 place, placed cottee sacks over them, leaving 

 the tops otf. and they did not become eveii 

 damp. So it would be well to note, that after 

 all, ventilation is what saved them this winter, 

 and no ventilation killed them last winter. My 

 cellar is a very dry one. I tried an experiment 

 as follows : I set a strong hive in the middle of 

 the cellar, covered it with a l)lanket, closed the 

 hive below, and then put the lid tightly on the 

 blanket. In about a week I examined, and 

 found that the lid was covered witli large drops 

 of water, and the blanket was becoming wet. I 

 then removed the lid, leaving nothing but the 

 blanket on top. All went right from that time. 

 I set them out about the nuddh^ of February, 

 and they are now (March M) all alive. I have^ 

 forty-nine stanils." 



P. D. Jones, Mt. Morris. N. Y., writes :— " I 

 wish to make an inquiry in regard to extracting 

 honey in the sprin<f. Can it be done ? I have 

 fourteen swarms that are in good condition at 

 the ]iresent time. I have exanuned live or six 

 of tliein, and tuul tlicy arc l)ree(ling finely, buti 

 think they have loo uuich honey. ' I have esti- 

 mated it to be from twenty-live to fifty pounds 

 to the hive. I have kept bees for" the last 

 twenty years, and have never had them winter 

 on so small a (piautity of honey as they have 

 had this winter, it seems to me, if there was 

 less lioney and more empty combs, that they 



