66 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



above named persons, and numerous 

 others here who are knowing to the facts. 



From what I have seen of the workings 

 of tlie dillerent liives here, I prefer the 

 Langstroth witli some modifications which 

 we put on liere. For instance; We tind 

 tliat three section boxes do not give room 

 CDOUgli for the bees to store lioney in as 

 fast as a strong swarm can gather it, so 

 we put on six by deepening tlie lays and 

 placing them two courses high. 



Of honey producing flowers, we have 

 the Manzanita (little apple) for the past 

 month in full bloom, a sort of wild lilac 

 just in bloom now, and a purple lilac also 

 'wild, just coming into blossom. By the 

 time these are gone, the valleys will be 

 covered with the blossoms of the Alfilari 

 and burr clover, mixed with a small sort 

 of fleur de luce on the plains, and willow 

 and oak blossoms among the timber. We 

 also have a kind of mountain sage very 

 similar to the garden sage of your locality 

 which comes on earlier than the white 

 sage, and is almost if not equally as good 

 as the white as a honey producer, after 

 which comes the white sage, followed by 

 the Sumac Fusica, and buckwheat, grease- 

 wood, with vast quantities of other 

 flowers of which I do not know the names. 

 Of course they work on the corn tops, 

 fruit, pumpkin and melon blossoms. In 

 fact there is an endless succession of 

 flowers from Jan. 1st to Jan 1st again. 

 Not one day in the year, but that I could 

 show you flowers if you were here. 



W. J. Whitney. 



Bernardo, San Diego Co., Cal. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



How I Built a Bee-House. 



I selected a dry piece of ground where 

 no water would stand, dug out a place 

 18x30, twenty inches deep, dug post-holes 

 a foot deeper than the bottom of cellar, 

 put in posts about six feet apart all around, 

 reaching twenty inches above the top of 

 the ground, and put sills on top of tlie 

 posts; size of sill 6x16. I now had my 

 foundation laid 18x30 feet. I put joist 

 in 2x12 and 18 feet long, thus leaving a 

 cellar underneath about forty inches deep. 

 I now stud with 2x4 scantling, ten feet 

 long, on the outside of the sill and inside 

 also, nailing joist lixl2 on top next to 

 the top plate. I then sheet witli inch 

 lumber outside and inside, nailing at the 

 same time 1x3 inch strips three feet long 

 every two feet from floor to ceiling, from 

 outside to inside stud, letting them project 

 twenty inches into the room, forming sup- 

 ports for shelves all around the inside. 

 Three rows of strips just make fair space 



for hives, it being just eight feet between 

 ceilings. I now put a blind floor in both, 

 sets of joists, fill between the lower joists 

 with sawdust, then lay floor on top, fill 

 the outside wall, which has sixteen inches 

 of space with dry sawdust, also about fif- 

 teen inches on top. Roof it the same as 

 any other building, and put in two win- 

 dows and one door. I cut a board the 

 size of the windows and put it in when I 

 wish to darken or keep out frost, also 

 double doors. I built a chimney in the 

 end between the door and and window, 

 letting it come down into the room. It 

 forms a ventilator, and I use a stove in 

 the spring to warm up weak stocks, after 

 the bees are moved out. I alwaj's keep 

 several thicknesses of cotton over the 

 chimney-hole, to keep in heat, and allow 

 the damp to escape. I bank the cellar all 

 around the building so that no frost gets 

 in, and have an opening or hatchway two 

 feet square through the lower floor to let 

 the foul air or poisonous gas settle into- 

 the cellar. 



I have wintered three years in this 

 house and never had any losses in winter- 

 ing. It is no trouble to winter in it when 

 the thermometer goes 25 ® below zero 

 and continues cold a long lime. The in- 

 side temperature never varies more than 

 one or two degrees, standing at about 40 ° 

 or 42 "^ . I frequently go in and can 

 scarcely hear a sound from one hundred 

 pure Italian swarms, they are so quiet. 



I weigh every swarm when I put them 

 in in the fall, and also when putting them 

 out in the spring, and they consumed in 

 the winter of 1872-3 six pounds and two 

 ounces of honey per hive; in 1873-4 five 

 pounds and three ounces of honey per 

 hive, or about one pound per month. 

 Thus far this year they have been doing 

 well. 



Now, a word about extractors. I see 

 by your February number that some pre- 

 fer the Peabody, or a revolving can ma- 

 chine, to one of the Eoot style. I have 

 used a Poabody that cost me about $20,, 

 counting express charges, itc, for years. 

 Last season I got one of Root's machines 

 and it ran so easy that the little boys in 

 the village would come and help extract 

 for amusement. One day a small boy 

 extracted over two barrels of honey. I 

 took out and put in the combs for him. 

 I want no more revolving can machines. 

 If the Root machine is not strong enough 

 to suit you, jiuf a steel wire inside the tin 

 braces and put in a §-inch steel rod or 

 mandrel, as you call it, and you can sling 

 out any honey that can be removed. 



I am making and selling at cost extrac- 

 tors of the Root style, only I strengthen 

 some weak places. I could use a Root 



