100 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



most of my neighbors. I lost two very 

 light stocks that only had a pint of bees or 

 less; the loss of which I lay to not having 

 upward ventilation — and another lately. 

 We hsd a fine warm spell. The bees tlew 

 finely, then came a severe cold snap, which 

 lasted a week, when it again turned warm. 

 I found one of my weak stocks had clustered 

 in empty coud), away from their supplies, 

 and had passed in their cheeks, and were 

 dead. Making a total of 4 out of 2.3. Those 

 that I had down 5 feet in the ground covered 

 over with boards and straw, froze as bad 

 as those that I had on top of the ground sur- 

 rounded with straw. I know of 19 stocks 

 that were wintered out doors, ten with tight 

 honey boards on, and nine with (piilts. The 

 result was, that all with the quilts on were 

 alive, and nine out of the ten that had on 

 tight honey boards wei'e dead. The other 

 was a very stmug stock in the fall, now it is 

 very weak and troubled by robbers. My 

 bees are now working finely ou rye flour." 



Akchibai-d Smith, Roswell, Cobb Co., 

 Georgia, writes :— "I wrote you a few notes 

 of experience. I survived the summer with 

 two hives, large size, single story, 

 inovable frames, about a quart of bees in 

 each, but little honey or comb, and had to 

 take out much comb infested by moth. So 

 little honey was made, that I had to feed ; 

 and looked into the hives the first week in 

 January, when I found but from -1 to ti lbs. 

 honey in each. ' (The winter here has 

 been mild enough to afford the bees a flight 

 every week or two). About the 15tli of 

 June, 1 put a little sugar syrup into each 

 liive, and soon finding great 'activity among 

 the bees, I examined them and found that 

 the bees from the larger hive were robblnci 

 the others ; but the peculUvrity was, that 

 there was 7io fighting only great activity, 

 but as there were no flowers, I looked closely 

 until I found they were passing from hive 

 to hive. 1 have continued to feed ; but 

 leave only one hive open at a time. The 

 question here arises, and I want your 

 readers to investigate ; does not this ac- 

 count for much loss, in the spring, of 

 swarms just put out of winter quarters, be- 

 fore there are flowers enough to supply the 

 large demands of breeding ? And does it 

 not also account for the great increase of 

 some hives ? 



John Hugh McDowei-l, Red Fork, Ark. 

 writes : '"Bees do well here, never die in 

 winter from cold. I have had five natural 

 swarms this spring from one hive, other 

 hives all sent out more or less swarms. I 

 would like to have a partner who under- 

 stands bee culture, would give him a half 

 interest. I use Adair's and Novice's hives." 



Alfred Chapman, New Cumberland, 

 W. Va., writes : "It has been exceedingly 

 cold, but my bees have wintered very well 

 on their sunnner stands. 1 have a shed root 

 over them and packed straw all around them, 

 but in front. But they consumed much 

 more honey than those in a cellar or house." 



In the spring of 1871, we bought a farm 

 remote from neighbors a mile or nearly so 

 and on it was a swarm of bees which the 

 owner did not care to remove, never having 

 received any benefit from them, and in a 

 year or so they were given to us. They 

 were in an old decayed box hive, they 



swarmed the first season in my absence, 

 a neighbor hived them in another old box 

 hive, and in the following spring they 

 were all dead. 



We put our new swarms into an old 

 fashioned hive, just to make trial and see if 

 they would live and thrive. It was in June, 

 I think. If they lived through the winter, 

 we intended to get a moveable frame hive. 

 Heard of Kidden, of Burlington, Last 

 spring all were lively in both hives, and I 

 sent for a jiatent hive, but they swarmed 

 before it came to hand and 1 was obliged to 

 put them in an improved, but still a box 

 hive. I had not learned that I must not 

 hive them on the stand. After they seemed 

 (juiet, I went out to see, and the hive was 

 empty. Fortunately, they had gone home, 

 instead of to the woods, as our swarm did 

 the previous year. Now what shall we 

 novices do next. My right hand was large 

 enough for two, from tour stings though 

 gloved, bee-veiled, &c., for the little liive 

 was full, and the weather hot. We studied 

 and mustered coui'age to raise the hive 

 and set another under it, and they accepted 

 it and went to work in it. They built combs 

 and it seemed to me as though were two 

 separate families or swarms. The first 

 year I had one ten pound box of honey, last 

 year probably between forty and fifty lbs. 

 of very nice honey. One box still remains 

 iir the chamber of one hive. They are in the 

 open field protected partially by lioards and 

 pine boughs. Mary E. Sanderson. 



We send you the January Journal and 

 think you will find [it just what you need. 

 We print your letter without your leave, 

 because we like to show [others interested 

 how one more went to work. You are on 

 the right track and we liope will not loose 

 your bees. We knowlif you read the Jour- 

 nal j^ou will learn how to manage them so 

 as not to dread their sting, but on the con- 

 trary, will enjoy working with them. 



Your bees that "went home" did not do so 

 because "you hived them on the stand," but 

 they lost their queen and therefore returned 

 to their old hive. Putting another hive un- 

 der the old one, wjvs the best thing you 

 could do under the circumstances. 



1^" We have a lot of Adair's Annals of 

 Bee Culture for 1870 slightly damaged, on 

 hand— which we will sell for 10 cents each, 

 Postage 4 cents. 



_ (Il:^"The Southern Ky., Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation will meet at the residence of R. 

 A. Alexander, on Monday the lUth of May 

 next, and all persons interested in the cul- 

 ture of the honey-bee are invited to be pres- 

 ent. We hope some of our Northern Breth- 

 ren who are posted in Scientific Bee-Culture 

 will attend or sendus communications, bee- 

 hives, honey-boxes, iSic., for exhibition. 

 They will be cared tor and put upon exlii- 

 bition by the President. 

 II. W, Sanders, Dr. N. P. Allen. 

 Secretary, President, 



