THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



231 



hundred dollars each, -which would make 

 $3,500. This sum probably would be suffi- 

 cient to make the cxpcnnu'iit. I have long 

 been of the opinion that there are bees in 

 the old world far superior to any that have 

 been imported; and I liope there will be 

 measures taken at our next annual conven- 

 tion, to be held at Pittsburgh, Pa., to form 

 a company as above. 



I believe if this subject was laid before 

 the Commissioners of Agriculture at Wash- 

 ington they would assist in this laudable 

 cuterprise. A. Benedict. 



Ohio. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Artificial Pasturage. 



For some years past I have been giving 

 much attention to honey-producing plants, 

 and am constrained to believe that the cat- 

 nip plant has not received the consideration 

 that its importance justly entitles it to. For 

 three years past I have been sowing the seed 

 on waste places, in all directions, for the 

 distance of a mile or more from my apiary, 

 and I have never seen anything equal it. 

 It commences to bloom here the last week 

 in June, and lasts fully three mouths, giving 

 a continuous yield from the time the white 

 clover fails, till frost. It thrives in any 

 part of our country; stands our continu- 

 ous summer drouths better than any other 

 plant, and never fails. Our bees are on it 

 every moment of daylight there is, from one 

 month's end to another; not even a smart 

 rain will drive them from it. Notwith- 

 standing it is now the driest time that has 

 been known here for many years, the bees 

 make a constant roaring over the little cat- 

 nip field which I am cultivating. We shall 

 plant more of it for cultivation next spring, 

 or rather winter. January and February 

 is the best time to sow it. Quinby says, 

 "If there is any article that I would culti- 

 vate especially for honey, it would be cat- 

 nip. 1 find nothing to surpass it." 



M. N. 



For the American Bee Journai. 



Wintaring Bees in Ohio. 



Bees have winteted well with me this 

 winter. I set my bees out on their sum- 

 mer stands the first warm day in March : 

 I found all alive and in good condition. 



Here let me say that I agree fully with 

 Mrs. Tupper, 3Ir. Quinby aud Mr. Dadant 

 in regard to the loss of bees experienced by 

 bee-keepers the Avinters of '71 and '72. 



Permit me to relate here my own exper- 

 ience. The fall of '71 I had a number of 

 small colonies that I had made quite late in 

 the fall, and not having honey enough for 

 wintering, I fed melted A sugar. Those 

 that were strong enough to seal it up, win- 



tered very well, but those colonies that were 

 weak and did not seal their stores, perished 

 with the dysentery. All bee-keepers ought 

 to know tiiat uuevaporated, and unsealed 

 honey will cause dysentery among bees, if 

 they cannot get out of the hives to emi)ty 

 their intestines. This was the case with 

 my bees. If I had set them out a few 

 times for a tly-spell, they Avould have got 

 along all right ; but, .says one, "why not 

 leave them out all winter ?" Because bees, 

 to winter well, on their summer stands re- 

 quire plenty of bees, plenty of good sealed 

 honey (or sealed sugar,) and proper ventila- 

 tion. The fall of '73 my bees remained 

 idle from the middle of July to September, 

 and the queens did not lay to any account, 

 for at least six weeks. So of course, near- 

 ly all the bees in the hives were old, and 

 when buek-wheat and golden rod ofiered 

 plenty of honey, the bees being no longer 

 nurses, but honey gatherers, the hives were 

 soon full of honey and the queens having 

 but few empty cells, the brood was too 

 scarce to replace the old bees, perishing 

 ever}^ day. So when winter commenced 

 my colonies were quite weak, and part of 

 them perished like the others. The only 

 way to prevent such a danger is to see that 

 there is plenty of room in the hives, say in 

 September, and then feed the bees, in order 

 to have the queen laying regularly. 



Last fall having profited by past exper- 

 ience I housed my bees in good condition 

 the first cold snap in December. I prepared 

 my colonies by taking off honey board, and 

 putting on houey quilts, and then set them 

 into my winter bee house with caps of the 

 hives nearly closed below. The thermom- 

 eter standing all winter at about 35 deg. in 

 my winter depository. 



Frederick, Ohio. Leonidas Carson. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



How I Introduce a new Queen. 



Perhaps you would like to know my plan 

 of introducing, especially to bees that are 

 cross, or too stubborn to receive a queen. 

 I dont think it is new to you, l)ut I have 

 not seen it in the papers. I take one card of 

 comb containing brood aud houey, and all 

 bees adhering to it. I then cut out a piece 

 large enough to press the cage with_ the 

 queen in to it in a perpendicular position ; 

 giving the queen a chance to get to the hon- 

 ey, and also to be among the bees and 

 brood. Now I put them into an empty 

 hive and add as many more bees to it, so as 

 have plenty of bees to keep her, and shut 

 them in. It seems that when bees are so 

 imprisoned they soon forget all about a 

 strange queen. In about twenty-four hours 

 I open the hive for an hour or two, allow- 

 ing some of the old bees to fly out, and af- 

 ter that release my new queen at once. I 



