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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Atchison Co., Kansas, Sept. 18, 1876.— 

 "My bees have done well. I nave extracted 

 4,000 pounds from 38 old swarms. I will 

 tell you how much comb honey I shall have, 

 at the close of the season." 



C. W. Stokes. 



Plain City, O., Sept. 15, 1876.—" My bees 

 have done very well this season, but not as 

 well as they would if my health had been 

 such as to have permitted me to look after 

 them personally. I have 68 colonies, all in 

 .2;ood condition for winter." 



C. E. SWEETSER. 



San Jose, 111., Aug. 15, 1876.—" During 

 white clover yield, which was a remarkable 

 one in this section, my bees did very well. 

 They are now working on heart's-ease and 

 early sown buckwheat, and they make the 

 yard lively with their busy hum. I expect 

 to return to the East this fall, and I wisli to 

 find a good location for an apiary. Do you 

 know anything about Maryland? Whether 

 an apiary could be profitably conducted 

 there ancl in what particular part? 1 have 

 thought of the region about Frederick or 

 Hagarstown, but having never been in that 

 State, of course I know nothing about it 

 and wish you could enlighten me. 1 would 

 like to get near the I'otomac, or on some 

 stream emptying into the Chesapeake and 

 not too far from it. The hard, olustering 

 winters with late springs are hard on bees in 

 this western country. 1 have never yet 

 lost a swarm from this cause when win- 

 tered on their summer stands, though last 

 winter, a year ago, I found a few of them 

 considerably reduced. Last winter 1 lost 7, 

 wintered in cellar. Cause— dysentery — 

 thin, unsealed honey. I had them away 

 from home and they did not not get atten- 

 tion when they should have had it." 



"My method of wintering bees is so sim- 

 ple that it is worth at least a trial. In the 

 first place my hives range in length from 18 

 to 26 inches, with frames set in crosswise 

 and entrance in the side. In putting them 

 into winter quarters I lift out two or more 

 of the end frames and set in two division 

 boards having six inch holes bored in them, 

 these I set close up to the frames, leaving a 

 space in each end of the hive. I then I'e- 

 move 3 or 4 of the strips from between the 

 frames, and spread a piece of old muslin 

 over them letting it hang down over the 

 holes in the division boards. I then fill it 

 all in compactly with any absorbing ma- 

 terial — I generally use straw— and close all 

 up in the cap except occasionally a fly hole. 

 I close the entrance up tight except about 

 an inch, and fasten a small piece of wire 

 cloth over that. Should there come a day 

 at any time during the winter warm enough 

 to make the bees restless, but not sufficient- 

 ly warm to allow them to fly, 1 simply 

 4sh.ade the entrance and they soon become 

 auiet. If it is warm enough 1 give them a 

 fiy and as soon as all have returned, replace 

 the wire cleth. I give them no other pro- 

 tection and have never yet lost a stock 

 when wintered out of doors and treated in 

 this way, but they come out strong and 

 bright as a new silver dollar, in the spring. 

 My hives are particularly adapted to this 

 method of wintering, and it is certainly 

 much less trouble than to carry them all in- 

 to the cellar or house and out again in the 

 spring, besides two or three airings probab- 

 ly during winter." O. W. Speak. 



Van Buren Co., Mich., Sept. 22, 1876.— 

 "Bees have increased well by swarming, 

 but have made very little honey. I shall 

 not have over 200 lbs. box honey from 38 

 stands. One of my neighbors will have 

 only 300 lbs. from 110 stands." 



A. S. Haskin. 



Fairfield Co., Conn., Sept. 18, 1876.— "Bees 

 have not done very well here this season. 

 Have taken no honey since July 15. Have 

 had a very dry season. Average about 50 

 B)S. to the nive, part comb and part extract- 

 ed, but very nice, white clover. Have no 

 trouble in selling at 25 cents for extracted, 

 and 30 cents for comb. Have but ten hives, 

 hybrids and blacks." N. S. Kellogg. 



Marshall Co., Iowa, Sept. 20, 1876,— "Bees 

 have done well here this season; are busy 

 yet. I commenced the season with four 

 stands; increased to ten. Had 2 or 3 

 swarms to abscond to parts unknown. Will 

 take about 1.50 lbs. of surplus honey in the 

 comb. With an extractor might perhaps 

 have taken more." J. C. Armstrong. 



Wellsville, Mo., Sept. 1.3, 1876.— "I have 

 read the Bee Journal carefully for many 

 years, and some things I have read which 

 it is difficult to believe. One thing I will 

 mention, some people in the Southern 

 States, and some here in Missouri, claim 

 that there are two varieties of common bees 

 — one small and quite black, the other 

 variety lighter colored (gray) and much 

 larger. They claim also that the gray is 

 quite, if not altogether, as good a variety for 

 all purposes as the Italian. Now I claim 

 there is but one variety of what we call the 

 common bee; — namely, the black bee of 

 Germany. If there are two varieties of 

 common bees, we want the proof. If there 

 are two varieties, how is it that they have 

 not mixed in a state of nature? I have 

 made a specialty of bee-keeping this season 

 and my only trouble has been prevention 

 of swarming, I did not want much of an 

 increase because I had not a sufficient num- 

 ber of hives on hand, but they would 

 swarm and ofttimes leave boxes of honey 

 on the top partially filled, much to my dis- 

 gust. I tliink I have read of all methods 

 adopted by bee-men generally, and the one 

 generally relied on is to open the hives 

 every 5 or 6 days and cut out all queen cells. 

 This is attended with a great deal of 

 trouble, and if there is a better way I would 

 like to know it. I know swarming is hard 

 to control in the far South; it is much 

 harder here in Missouri than in Northern 

 Illinois, but a gentleman who signs him- 

 self "Six," Point Coupee, La., (see August 

 No., p. 213) says he controlled the swarm- 

 ing fever on over 50 hives. I wish he would 

 commvmicate through the colums of The 

 American Bee Journal how he did it. 

 He would confer a great benefit on me, and 

 I think on others." 



"Your biography of Adam (Jriinm is good 

 so far as it goes. Hut we would like to 

 know something more of his mode or 

 method of managing his bees, wherein he 

 differed from others, and how he made so 

 mucii money. It only came through two 

 men to me that he cleared in 5 years from 

 'his bees :i?22,000. We would like to follow 

 his example. Would like to know more of 

 Adam Grimm. His was a great success." 

 John Barfoot. 



