THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



21 



L. C. Axtp:i.l, Kosevillo, 111., writes :— 

 "Bees have clone very poorly in this vicinity 

 for the past three years. Nearly all tlii' bees 

 that have liad no care have died off. 1 have 

 been keeping bees for two years. Last year 

 they had no honey harvest, 1 fed consider- 

 able. I think their increase naid me for 

 their food, and the labt)r of takinfj care of 

 them. This year no harvest but buckwheat, 

 which yielded bountifully. From '.14 colon- 

 ies I got 2ii swarms and 15()0 lbs. extracted 

 honey, which retails at 2.5 cents per lb. I do 

 not know of a natural swarm that will live 

 through the winter." 



J. B. RArp. Owsnsville, Ohio, writes:— 

 "1 am very much pleased with the Ameki 

 CAN Bee "Jouhnal; you can count me as 

 one of your life subscribers. 1 would not 

 do without it if it cost twice or three times 

 as much as it does This is a poor honey 

 section. Our main dependence is white 

 clover, and the drouth usually cuts it short. 

 I have thirty colonies, about half of them 

 are Italians, and all but one are in movable 

 comb hives. They have an abundance of 

 honey, and although a part of them are not 

 as strong in numbers as I would like, yet I 

 think I can winter them safely. I carried 

 twenty colonies that were much weaker 

 and had but little honey through last winter 

 and lost but one, and that starved. I 

 bought a weak stock at a sale, this month 

 for ten cents. A neighbor gave me two 

 last evening; all were good swarms when 

 put in hives. Laet spring I bought four 

 good stocks for $10 



L. W. Harrington, Clyde, Ohio, writes: 

 — "The American Bee Journal is the 

 best paper published. In it farmers can 

 find information that they can rely upon, 

 and not too much theory and wild-goose 

 speculation; and bee-keepers that make a 

 specialty of the business, can procure in- 

 formation that Is practical, I have stored 

 my bees in my grainery and barn, have 

 given them ventilation above and below 

 that they may know that they are not pris- 

 oners. This grainery is not very cold as it 

 is double boarded, and 1 make this part 

 dark." 



Albert Buel, Bloomfield, Out., writes: 

 — "I feel thankful for past instructions 

 from your valuable paper, hoping that I 

 may receive more. I have done well this 

 season with my bees. I have 4S swarms. 

 I extracted 4,.350 lbs. from 31 swarms, com- 

 mencing July 29, and finishing August 18." 



G. E. CoRBiN, St. Johns, Mich., writes: 

 "I observe on page 251, of November num- 

 ber of American Bee Journal, that L. 

 r. asks: ' Why do bees always use the 

 left hand hole for ventilation?' Being 

 something of a yankee — which I suppose 

 implies one with 'an inquisitive turn of 

 mind'— I should like to reply to his ques- 

 tion, by asking another: Why do shads 

 'always' climb sign-posts, 'tail first?' " 



B. Franklin, Franklinton N. Y. :— "I 

 lived in Iowa two years, I was in the bee 

 business there, bought 9 hives, paid ^(K) • 

 kept them 2 weeks, brimstoned them, sold 

 the honey in Davenport, lost .i?:i5,00, went to 

 Wisconsin, came back here, started in the 

 business and kept it up. Came out with 47 

 hives last spring, some very weak ones in- 

 creased so that I have Sfj now, and liave 

 taken 8000 lbs. of honey this season 21.50 lbs. 

 of it box honey in 2 lb boxes, the rest ex- 



tracted. I have a very simple hive ; my 

 frames are 143-^ by loj^ insule frame, use 

 from 8 to 22 frames in a hive ; they open 

 like the leaves of a book, stood up on end. 

 I have seen a great many dift'erent kinds of 

 hives, but I have not seen one that I can 

 open and change cond)S, or do anything I 

 want to, as in this hive, for boxes. I put 

 boxes on the back end of frame and on top, 

 some on three sides and on top. I have 1.5 

 hives that I box on 3 sides, these I winter 

 out-doors with chaff around and on top. I 

 wintered some .50, whidi came out in splen- 

 did condition, comb all bright and nice. I 

 see some are in for a standard frame 12x12. 

 Jline is near that ; I have no trouble to get 

 straight combs witiiout elevating the hive, 

 either. I have a thin strip in the top bar 

 sometimes they will build the comb over 

 half way down, before they will touch the 

 top bar. I have transferred quite a number 

 of common hives audi find this size frame is 

 just right. I don't have any trouble to get 

 the combs in all right." 



M. C. H. Puryear, Franklin, Tenn., 

 writes : — "I do not keep bees for profit, but 

 as a luxury ; have fourteen colonies, give 

 the increase to an old friend who takes 

 charge and manages them, who is engaged in 

 bee-business as a support in old age. I give 

 him my Joitrnal : he files it away and 

 prizes it next to his Bible. I have no "white 

 family : all on the farm except myself, are 

 negroes, most of whom belonged to me be- 

 fore the war. After supplying the family 

 with honey, I distribute the surplus gratu- 

 iously among my neighbors. I have a sub- 

 stantial and permanent shelter over my bees, 

 which protects them from the cold and rain 

 ancl snow of winter. I never move them 

 from their summer situation and have never 

 lost a colony from exposure to the winter's 

 cold. 



Henry Fauls, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, 

 makes the following exhibit :— He says "a 

 lady can take care of ten swarms, with less 

 labor than is required to take care of an or- 

 dinary lot of house plants. Faul's number 

 of swarms last sjiring was nine ; valued at 

 $10 per swarm. 8'.iii. The increase was six 

 swarms— total fifteen swarms. He sold 

 . eight swarms for §80 ; two hundred and for- 

 ty-one pounds of honey, at .35 cents per lb. 

 $84.35. ' He saved for his own use thirty 

 pounds valued at $10..50. making a total re- 

 alized of $174.85. He has seven swarms on 

 hand valued at $70, making .f 244.85, and the 

 original cost being .$90, leaves Mr. Fauls a 

 net gain of $1.54.8.5." 



M. Vogle, a pioneer at the head of Pine 

 Lake, Mich., writes :— "The American 

 Bee Journal is a very wecome visitor at 

 my house. May it prosper forever." 



John L. Crabb, Onawa, Iowa, writes : 

 "I am highly pleased with the consolidation 

 of the National with the Anerican Bee 

 Journal. I connnenced last spring with 

 eleven stands and increased to over thirty, 

 and took several pounds of surplus honey, 

 both extracted and box. It would make you 

 laugh to see my honey extractor. It did not 

 cost me anything, only a little time. I can 

 make one "in half a day, that will sling a 

 barrel a day." 



J. W. McKinney, M. D., Camargo, III. 

 writes : — "The present con.solidatedformof 

 the "Journal," is not to be excelled by any 

 publication on aparian literature in Ameri- 

 ca." 



