THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



93^ 



silly to cliiingo. AVe need not expect one 

 IH)und move of honey in one than the 

 other, providing we avoid extremes, and 

 give our bees comb enough, and the 

 same protection. Have wc not lost time 

 enough in discussing this question and 

 gained nothing. Let eacii one use what 

 is most convenient in his circumstances. 

 'J'he convenience of nianipuhiling any 

 sized frame can be studied to advantage, 

 and much gained by experience. This to- 

 gether vvitli training bees and men into 

 quiet, wintering, and many other things 

 which we do not yet half understand, 

 may be discovered with advantage. 

 St. Johusville, N. Y. M. Quinby. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Wintering Bees. 



I have tried ditferent plans for wintering 

 bees for the last seven years, and I think 

 tliat some winters reciuire different treat- 

 ment for successful results. This winter I 

 eominenced early in the fall, by feedingand 

 doubling np till they were both strong in 

 colony aiid stores, keeping them on their 

 smnmer stands, with no uiiward ventilation 

 and but little below. If any of the fraterni- 

 ty have had good or bad results in that way, 

 1 would like to hear from them. It is not 

 convenient with many of liiiuted means to 

 prepare a suitable repository for wintering, 

 and must rely on other ways of manage- 

 ment. Please inform nie in regard to a suit 

 conunenced several years since by Oils & 

 Langstroth against 11. A. King, for infringe- 

 ment on the Langstroth bee hive. lias tlie 

 case ever been settled Ijy the parties, and 

 how ? I have not learned of the result. Let 

 lis hear ; long live the combined Bee Jour- 

 nals. II. W. WlXO.M. 



Mendota, 111. 



Sundry Items. 



In my article page 61, last number of 

 Journal there is a typographical error that 

 destroys the sense of the passage. In sec- 

 ond paragraph sixth line, for then cover, 

 read " then can." 



I had better be a little more careful how 

 I attack the masked KuKlux, for some of 

 them may be my old friends as 'Eccentric' 

 appears to be. See page G4. This re- 

 minds me what happened one day many 

 years ago when I was a boy ten years old. 

 I went up stairs to dress in a hurry, and 

 ■while in the act of putting on my vest I 

 noticed a white sheet crawling through 

 the door of the next room toward me ; in 

 a sudden fright and seeing nothing with- 

 in reach for defence, I suddenly doubled 

 my vest and gave it a blow with all my 

 strength. The object suddenly rolled 

 over, and out emerged the negro servant, 

 rubbing his eyes and face, smarting from 



the blow I had given. Since then T could 

 never stand masked objects. 



I am sorry to hear reports of the bee 

 disease again. I had hoped that from our- 

 close observations and experiments, dur-' 

 ing the past few years, we had got sight 

 of a remedy, or at least a preventitive. 

 But it now apiK'ars that our observation 

 will go on with experiments a few years- 

 longer. 



jVIy bees to this day are all O. K. not a 

 single stand lost. Ko disease of any sort. 

 All healthy — only one weak stand and I 

 fear that my bungling work with it last 

 night, has destroyed it. Ah ! I know 

 your readers want to know what that bun- 

 gling work was. i>o I will tell it for the 

 warning of others, to let bees alone at night. 

 A few days ago I had put these bees in 

 a nucleus with five frames, so as to nurse 

 them until they got stronger, as they had 

 a fine queen tliat I wished to save. Last 

 night it began to turn cold and I had for- 

 gotten to tidie them in before dark ; so 

 went out with a candle to take them in 

 but the wind would not allow the carry- 

 ing of the candle. So 1 thought I would 

 risk it in the dark, but I had hardly 

 picked up the nucleus and proceeded three 

 steps before dmcn went all in a mass, 

 breaking every comb out of the frames. 

 I then got a light and got the bees back, 

 but found the queen almost dead. To- 

 day, it being freezing, it is not prudent to 

 open to see if I am minis a fine queen, for 

 my attempt to carry bees in the dark. 

 The cause of this staud getting so weak 

 was, water leaking through top of hive be- 

 fore I was aware of it. 



I would here say to all who don't know 

 how I winter, that I use nothing but ths 

 quilts, and in some cases I stuff the caps 

 with straw. I leave off the honey boards 

 from many stands all winter. Thanks to 

 J. Butler, of Jackson, Mich., for his 

 grand honey board, I made several of 

 them yesterday, after reading his article 

 on page 57. I made my boxes just the 

 size of honey board f thick by 3 in. wide, 

 light pine and tacked a piece of woolen 

 blanket on the bottom, and after filling 

 with bran, tack any sort of cloth on the 

 top ; but for winter use I think I would 

 prefer wheat or clover chaft', or very dry 

 saw dust. I think the frames would be 

 much less trouble than the quilts. We 

 need not put anything else besides these 

 frumes on ; the cpults are not always 

 enough covering for the bees. I have tried 

 the manure hot-bed around hives, but 

 saw no benefit from it. I think these box 

 quilts will prove very serviceable. I for- 

 got to say that I keep a high close board 

 fence on the north and west end of my 



