TUi]' AMJ<]lUUAi\ BKhl JOLOAL. 



ttt: 



I more than grateful. It seemed to be no 

 secret to many present at the convention, 

 and you could not tind the subjei-'t that 

 would he more valuable to your subscribers 

 than to get Mr. Eidwcll to give through the 

 columns of the Ameiiic.vn Bkk JouiiNALhis 

 mode of wintering bees. Please give tliis 

 more than a passing notice, and oblige, 



C. D. HiBKAUO. 



Chips. 



Mr. Editor: — 'Tis hot; it's more 'n hot ! 

 While the haysoeders are doing their stack- 

 ing and rosting, and while my bees are 

 pumping the buckwheat and sap blossoms 

 dry, I'm sitting in the coolest part of the 

 house, and enjoying and admiring the in- 

 dustry of Nature's creatures. How grand 

 it is to contemplate how everything is sub- 

 ject to our will ! We are the cap-stone of 

 all creatures — all are beneath us ! The 

 faithful horse does our drudgery; the cow 

 gives us nourishment, and when her milk 

 ceases to flow in sufficient quantities, she 

 bows her head for the fatal blow, after 

 which we consume her very hide and hair ! 

 The tireless bee furnishes us with that 

 sweet luxury with which we are so well 

 acquainted. And the Granger, in his meek- 

 ness, provides us with the toping-out varie- 

 ty. Oh, how everything is adapted to our 

 wants ! especially if we have lots of the 

 "filthy lucre" to get what we want; which 

 I haven't. 



While in this cheery mood, I would like 

 to run over the images of the "Old Reliable" 

 and stick in a few words right and left; 

 and as Bro. Gallup likes to hear the opin- 

 ion of baby bee-keepers or novices, this is 

 written for his especial benefit. 



CAN BEES EAT FRUIT ? 



It is often asserted by some of the best 

 apiarists that bees cannot cut the skin of 

 grapes, &c. Now, if they can gnaw the 

 edge oft' of wood, and eat large holes 

 through building paper, and cut through 

 strong cotton cloth, and all this I have seen 

 them do. Why can they not as well cut 

 the skin of fruit, if they wish ? But the 

 trouble is, I don't believe they have a mind 

 to; they want direct access to the juice. 

 They will suck corn-stalks, raellous — in 

 short, everything that is sweet; but they 

 will not dig for it. 



C.VN OLD BEES BUILD COMB AND NURSE BROOD? 



In the American Bee Journal "Adair" 

 saj^s old bees won't build comb or nurse 

 brood. I don't know about the brood, but 

 I've seen them build comb. I saw a hand- 

 full of bees last week (Aug. 5,) that came 

 through the winter queenless, and they had 

 a piece of comb built as large as my hand. 



WHAT KILLED TIIE BEES? 



Mr. Gallup, as I expected, attributes my 



loss of bees to the extractor. Perhaps he 

 is right; but then one of my neighbors lost 

 as many — all lie liad — and had never seen 

 an extractor; didn't know one from a saw- 

 mill; he kept his bees in a similar winter 

 quarter as mine. To nie, now, it would 

 have been a wonder had tliey lived; it was 

 as cold where I hwj tliem as it was 

 out of doors, and occasionally warming 

 them up did the work of destruction com- 

 pletely ! 



MODEIi BEE MANAGEMENT. 



I think it cannot be long since that "H. 

 R.," with my "Management of Bees," ever 

 saw the first bee journ.d, for it does seem if 

 he had, he would not mention his hives 

 stuck up on posts, and these wound about 

 with cotton to keep oft" tlie ants — perhaps a 

 balloon attaclied to each hive to suspend it 

 in mid air, would be quite an improvement 

 on his plan. We don't intend to secure a 

 patent on this, so that that progressive(?) 

 bee-keeper may use it if he likes. He still 

 keeps box-hives and considers natural 

 swarming best. Well, no wonder his arti- 

 cle reads as if it had l>een written twenty- 

 five years ago. Forty to fifty dollars' worth 

 of honey from a single stand ! Well, that 

 explains the value of his management. Why, 

 I could get that, if my 1;ees were in the car- 

 cass of a lion, as we read about, provided 

 they followed the ribs in comb-building, 

 and these same ribs were arranged to take 

 out, so I could swarm artificially — but read 

 the article and learn ! 



DO ANTS ROB TICE BEES ? 



Mr. Arga says; "Ants don't steal honey 

 out of the hives." Now, tliat's strange; 

 for they will steal it wherever else tiiey can 

 get it, and I have an opinion that they make 

 no sci'uples stealing it from those that give 

 them shelter and warmth. 



WILL HONEY CRYSTALIZE IN THE DARK. 



On page 178 there are a few words, writ- 

 ten b> I don't know v.i.o, to the eflect that 

 it Avill not. Wonder how the "tarnal light" 

 goes into cellars and insiJe of a honey-tight 

 cask; for witli me it will crystalize in this 

 condition. But perhaps it wasn't dark 

 enough ; so I would advise bee-keejiers when 

 they think they have their honey in a suffi- 

 ciently dark place to keep it from crystal- 

 izing, to make it a little dci.rker ! 



A GREAT DISCOVERY ! ! ! 



Mrs. Tupper says: "Salt thrown into 

 water will keep it sweet." If so, why not 

 feed our bees with salt water, instead of 

 sugar-syrups? But hold on, "Notice" — or 

 any other man ! I made the discovery, al- 

 though ]\Irs. T-. may have spoken of it; but 

 I made the application a'nove mentioned — 

 so keep your hands ott\ To make sugar, 

 all we have to do is to sweeten water with 

 salt, boil it down, and you will get as nice 



