THE AMERICAJS BEE JOURNAL. 



113 



hrftMliiif?. tMiiiaiiziiis. i^'f.. tliis system af- 

 fords oonvtMiicuct's and facilities so far su- 

 licrifir to tilt' out-door syslrm. tiiat it is dif- 

 liiMilt evi'ii to inakc a comiiarison. 



'J'iiis mode of ix't'-ciiltiirc also couniu'uds 

 itself for general use, on acoount of its 

 elieaiiness. 



The house and lifty hives will eost ahont 

 one-iliird less than the same nnniber of 

 jiood out-door hives. And while the house 

 and liivt's will last a life-tinu>, the ont-door 

 liives must be re-plaeed by new ones every 

 four or live years. 



Also by this system, bee-eultuHC which 

 has been very ai>i)ro|)riately termed "the 

 ])oetry of labor," is brou,u;ht (|'nite within tlie 

 si)here of woman's woiU. 



How nntirinji industry, tender sensibili- 

 ties, and acute ju'rceplioii, eminently lit her. 

 not only for the duties of this delightful eni- 

 l)loyme"nt, but also for the discovery of 

 means for its more perfect di'velopment. 



J. S. COK. 



Montchiir, New Jersey. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Austin Texas. 



I want to describe Austin, Texas, as plain- 

 ly and concisely as possible, and try to in- 

 <hice some bee-keepers to come and settle 

 among us. Bee-keepers don't know what to 

 expect of Texas, and therefore are afraid to 

 come here. 



1 don't know how well other phices in 

 Texas are adapted to bee-keei)ing, but I do 

 know that Austin is a lirst-rate place. I 

 will give yon a re(,'ord of my apiary for 1ST4. 



1 began" with 80 colonies in the spring, 

 these increased to <)4, of which 1 sold 10 in 

 about the middle of the honey season; this 

 left 54, from these 1 took alter Sei)tember 

 lirst, about o.ooo lt)S. antl could have taken 

 }nore, had 1 began sooner. Altogether 

 though the year I took about 4,000 tt)s., be- 

 sides raising a few (jneens. All this was 

 done under (lisadvautages. 1 lieingsickevery 

 few days for two months in tiie hont^y sea- 

 son, and couldn't procure any help. Besides 

 this, 1 was not in the l)est location, and we 

 had a drouth of three months when the bees 

 did not gather any nu)re than euougli for 

 their own use. 



This drouth was unusual ; the usual 

 length being only about two months dura- 

 tion. 



]iees begin to gather honey about the 8th 

 of February, though they tlon't store much 

 of it. 



If yon have em])ty combs to use, you can 

 begin to extract ai)out the middle of March. 



By the last of March, the Italians begin to 

 swarm, though the Blacks seldom swarm 

 before the loth of April. After the swarm- 

 ing is over, the bees begin to store honey in 

 earnest, and continue to store with little in- 

 terruption until the middle or last of July, 

 when the drouth sets in, and continn(?s gen- 

 erally six weeks or two months, this is the 

 <irst honey season. 



About the I'.tth of September, the fall 

 rains set vegetation growing again as in 

 spring, but we gather a larger harvest than 

 we did in the spring and in a shorter time. 

 In many sections, this harvest is almost 

 ruined by the bitter honey gathered from a 

 ])lant that covers the ])oor land. This har- 

 vest lasts until the frost sto])s it, about the 

 (irst or middle of Novend.)er. 



Friends, if any of yon are going to move, 

 come to Austin, we havea healthful climate, 

 beautiful countiy and warm winters. 



Don't undertake to bring your bees with 

 you, sell them and pocket the money, come 

 here and buy lilack bees and Italianize 

 them. Von can buy l)ecs from 50 cents to 

 S5.00, tht^ i>rice depends upon the locality. 

 Hives will eo^t from .r;.!.5ii to Sii.OO each. 



Come, there is pleiU v of room. 



B. 11. Ives. 



F(ir I lie Amrricau Bee Journal. 



Longevity of Bees. 



In the February nund)er of the Jourxal, 

 Mr. Weatherby encpiires about the compar- 

 itive longevity of the Ulack and Italian bees. 

 I'crhaps the following from my mismoran- 

 dum book, mav interest him : 



July loth, 1872.— Selected two medium 

 swarnis, one black and one Italian; placed 

 them at considerable, distance from my 

 other hives, changed their (pieens, contined 

 them in cages, and |>lacedthem immediately 

 among their new subjects. At this time the 

 cond)s were well tilled with eggs. 



July 15th.— Set them l)oth at liberty. 



July li)th.— Found both queens laying 

 freely. 



Aug. 5th.— Three weeks from the time 

 they commenced laying in their new hives, 

 I fouiul a few young bees leaving their cells. 



Aug. loth.— A vei-y few young bees ap- 

 peared at the front of each hive, and after 

 flying a short time returned. 



Aug. 19th.— A considerable number of 

 young bees appear in front of both hives and 

 seem'to he at work, but do not bring in any 

 bee-bread. 



Aug. 21st. -The young bees in both hives 

 are very l)usy, and occasionally one comes 

 home with his legs loaded. After this time 

 they are busy and numerous. 



Sixty-one davs after, I chanj^ed the queens. 

 I examined thein very carefully and found 

 but three or four bees lielongiiig to the old 

 stock in each hive, which shows that these 

 bees lived less than forty days after leaving 

 the.ir cells, the first five of which were spent 

 within the hive ; and they did not appear 

 to be really at work until about the tenth 

 dav. • II. 



Will Co., Illinois. 



Introiucing Queens. 



Have your hive maile tight, and of tliick 

 lumber, to receive the frames of any of your 

 other hives. Have two doors in place of 

 sash or frames, so that you can make the 

 hive any size you wish. When you get your 

 (jueen, go to some of your strongest hives 

 and get two frames with hatching brood, 

 ])lace them in the center of the hive, with 

 the two doors close to them, which makes a 

 hive of two frames ; then put the queen 

 with the bees that come with her in with 

 the two frames of hatching brood, and keep 

 them shut U]) for two or three days in tlu^ 

 parlor or que(m house, or any warm place ; 

 Keep up the warmth by i)lacing bottles of hot 

 wat(!r in the empty space on each side. 

 After three days, add a frame of bees, etc., 

 by i)utting them for VI hours, on the side, in 

 place of the bottles, and then shake them in 

 front and let them go in ; then add the 



