THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



261 



his bees. No surplus. Much feeding re- 

 quired or loss in winter. 

 \ J. S. Brown, Winchester, Va. Forty- 



seven colonies, 200 lbs. surplus. Required 

 for winter !ind summer consumption 2420 

 lbs. Surplus consumed, 200-2420; less than 

 1-12 lbs. That is a little less than 1-18 is 

 given in surplus and a little more than 

 12-13 is consumed. 



Should we be satisfied with a class of 

 hives, giving us from 1-9 to 1-49 part of 

 the product of our yields, gathered by our 

 bees, and part of this extracted ; when by 

 adopting the best hive, we can have 2-3 of 

 it in small surplus boxes suitable for mar- 

 ket, at less than one-fourth the trouble and 

 expense. With liives having from two to 

 three thousand inches in the breeding 

 apartment, and live to six lbs. surplus boxes 

 of the aggregate capacity of 200 lbs. in in- 

 timate connection with the breeding 

 apartment, from one to 200 lbs. may be 

 averaged per colony ; still the old course 

 must be pursued. 



Possibly, a survey of the whole field 

 would disclose apiaries in hives of every 

 class from which surplus was secured by 

 smothering the colony with brimstone 

 matches, by the box-liive with two or 

 four surplus boxes on the top; by the 

 large hive with side and top boxes; by 

 the hive giving no place for surplus boxes, 

 one giving surplus boxes for 20 pounds, 

 another 60, another 100, and another 200 

 lbs. 



That the last would be best for securing 

 the largest amount, at the least expense, I 

 have no doubt; but with some, the old 

 methods are firmly and immovably es- 

 tablished. Others have never heard of 

 improvements; and it will require pa- 

 tience, perseverance, and effort to intro- 

 duce to genial use, the best instrumentali- 

 ties to secure the object. We depend 

 much upon our excellent Bee Journals 

 for the forwarding and success of the im- 

 provements. Jasper Hazen. 



Woodstock, Vermont. 



For the American Bee Journal. 

 Comb Foundations. 



Dear American Bee Journal: — The 

 invention of comb foundations meets a 

 much-felt want. But don't it seem just' 

 a little as if some one in the ribbon busi- 

 ness was making them, rather than one 

 familiar with the wants of practical 

 apiarists? At present they are made not 

 to exceed six inches in width. Now, if 

 to be cut up in strips for guide comb, 

 this is all well enough, but many will 

 want them to fill up entire frames. If a 

 piece of foundation be large enough to 

 fill the entire frame, it is easily fastened 

 in, but if only six inches in width, then 

 some pieceing must be done, and the bees 

 will sometimes make bad work in such 



cases, to say nothing of the trouble to the 

 operator in fastening in the pieces. 



It may be thought that if a start of six 

 inches be given, it is all the bees ought 

 to ask, and they can make wax enough 

 for the rest. Suppose the whole depth of 

 comb required to fill a frame is eight 

 inches; if six inches is furnished, the 

 bees need to secrete wax for only two 

 inches more, and they will readily do so, 

 for some claim that they are better off to 

 do some wax-making. But they will be 

 almost sure to fill out with drone comb, 

 thus depriving the comb foundation of 

 half its value. Mr. Long, please give us 

 at least eight inches in width. 



B. Lunderer. 



For the American Bee Journal. 

 A Home Market. 



All should endeavor to make as large a 

 home market as possible. We should, 

 before shipping our honey to the city, 

 figure up the loss in breakage, cartage, 

 leakage, and freight, and learn that it 

 does not pay to ship any but our best 

 honey — for dark honey is not in demand 

 in the cities. I believe there is a great 

 deal to be learned yet about the bee busi- 

 ness. We can make a home market for 

 thousands of pounds. The cry about 

 adulteration, etc., has been a damage 

 to the bee-keepers. All that " hue and 

 cry " has been baseless and damaging to 

 honey-producers. Consumers are now 

 beginning to ask about adulterations, 

 and, depend upon it, it is damaging the 

 market. To all, we should say — keep 

 still about it, and you will then be wise 



Lee Co., III. R. Miller. 



For the Americau Bee Journal. 

 House Apiary. 



Last Spring I concluded to try bee- 

 keeping. I had one of "Coe's House 

 Apiaries " built under the supervision of 

 Mr. Coe. It is large enough to hold 

 twenty-five colonies. 



May 20th, I put in five colonies; only 

 three of these were good for anything. 

 I have now, Sept. 10th, 23 nice colonies, 

 all working, and will store honey enough 

 to winter. 



This is my first experience with bees. 

 Old bee-keepers tell me it has been a very 

 bad season for bees. Notwithstanding 

 this, I have taken more box-honey from 

 my young colonies than any other bee- 

 keeper in the neighborhood, though some 

 of them had a greater number of colonies 

 to begin the season with than I have 

 now. 



I think my success due mainly to the 

 House Apiary. I do not believe any one 

 who tries Coe's House Apiary for one 

 season will go back to the clumsy out- 

 door hive. I can take all the care of my 



