THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAI-. 



175 



For the American Bee Journal. 



A Voice from Pennsylvania. i 



In writing for Uic Jouknai., I wish more j 

 would give their experience in bee-keeping, j 

 whether good or bud, that ntliers might j 

 protit thereby ; for, as I understand it, tlie \ 

 object of tlie paper is to give practical in- j 

 formation, and not to dispute over difter- 

 ences of opinion, until bad blood is aroused 

 among those who should be the best of 

 friends. I believe there arc many success- 

 ful bee-keepers who could give valuable in- 

 formation; but I fear the great fault of 

 humanity— seltishness— may perhaps pre- 

 vent them. 



Bees have not done so well here this year 

 on account of the late and cold spring; they 

 wintered very well, bui as the season ad- 

 vanced I found three hives did not increase, 

 and upon examination I found them queen- 

 less, a misfortune which I see by the pro- 

 ceedings of the Michigan Convention ; others 

 have met with this winter to an unusual 

 extent. The cause may be in my case the 

 age of the queens, for I have not had a 

 swarm for two years. My room for stands 

 being limited, and honey my object, I have 

 entirely prevented swarming, by giving 

 plenty of room for surplus, early in the 

 season and ease of access to the surplus 

 frames or boxes. I never clip the queens 

 wings, and my experience is that it is entirely 

 unnecessary. My bees are of the black, or 

 as some call them the gray variety. I ex- 

 pect shortly to receive several Italian queens 

 to supply my loss, though I am not over 

 sanguine of great improvement, for 1 see 

 upon occasions that I have visited the fields 

 to observe, that a good many gray bees are 

 at work on the red clover, though I do not 

 think bees like it very Avell, which is per- 

 haps the greatest reason they do not visit 

 it more, for it secretes honey in abundance; 

 and if some can get it, others would try 

 much harder than they do, if they liked it. 

 I use the Quinby hive as described in his 

 work on the bee, enlarged to hold 14 frames 

 10x18 inches inside measurement, with two 

 dividers, making the main hive, or winter 

 house of S frames, with a dead air space on 

 each side for winter protection. By re- 

 moving the dividers six small 5 Iti boxes or 

 18 small frames may be placed on each 

 side for surplus, or if the extractor is used, 

 the whole hive filled out with full sized 

 frames. The bottom board under the main 

 hive or 8 central frames is loose and joined 

 to the side bottoms by rabbets. The side 

 bottoms are nailed to the hive which makes 

 it stronger, and keeps it always square and 

 firm. The bottom board is held in place 

 by 2 buttons underneath. 



I find this form of bottom board nwich 

 more convenient than in those that are all 

 in one, as some of my first were made. 



Honey board made of G pieces — after Quin- 

 by. I had some willi holes, but threw 

 them away. Cap fits down over all, and 

 rests on a loose moulding frame held in 

 place by a screw or nail on each side, and 

 may be left down to the bottom board for 

 further protc-ction in winter. Top the same 

 as the IJay State hive and loose. Portico 

 moAiible. It makes the hive easier to han- 

 dle and lighter. When I commenced keep- 

 ing bees, I tried wintering in the cellar and 

 lost heavily, but since I leave them on their 

 summer stands, I have not the slightest sign 

 of dysentery, and loose very few. In win- 

 tering, I have never yet (except when I tried 

 the cellar) given upward ventilation, and 1 

 am not sure tliat it is ever necessary; it is 

 not the true principle of ventilation for 

 buildings, then why for bees, besides why 

 do they so carefully close up every upper 

 hole and crevice — -even to wire gauze put 

 over the holes or openings in the honey 

 board, even in hot weather V I believe the 

 true principle — as I saw recommended some 

 time since in the Jourx.a,l — would be to 

 give plenty of open space below the combs, 

 and not open the top and let the heat pass 

 off. 



The whole of my stock at this time are 

 natural swarms and yet I liave never had .;i 

 swarm leave for the woods, or leave the 

 hive I introduced them into, and yet I nev- 

 er even gave them a piece of comb to start 

 on. I incline the hive slightly forward and 

 mostly secure straight combs. 



I am located in the rural part of the 24th 

 Avard of the city of Philadelphia, near 

 George's Hill and the Park, and my bees 

 have a fair field for pasture. They swariu 

 here about the first and second week in 

 June in favorable seasons, am\ I ihave had 

 them as early as the 10th of May darioffith^ 

 blossom season. Our best and largest yie\^\ 

 of honey comes from the Tulip Poplar—' 

 the queen of honey-producing trees. It 

 [ scarcely or never fails as white clover and 

 ^ basswood sometimes do. Its blossoms open 

 successively for a long time, indeed without 

 it bee-keeping here, I think, would be a 

 failure, althoiigh there is considerable bass- 

 wood and white clover. The leaves of the 

 Poplar frotiuently yield largely of honey- 

 dew in the fall. I would like to recommend 

 them to Novice while he is planting au 

 orchard of honey-producing trees. They 

 grow quite as rapidly as basswood and are 

 very handsome shade trees. Bees will not 

 work on fiour here in the ejnlng; perhaps 

 the reason is tliat they get natural pdllen 

 from the shade-tree maple, whicli is so very 

 plenty, and blossoms when the weather is 

 at all favorable as early as February. 

 Being utar to a good market I prefer 

 : boney in tlie comb and iind small frames 

 5i by 6^ inches in the clear, 7 or 8 to a case, 

 and glass at each end, just the thing. They 

 eell well, are convenient to handle, easy tu 



