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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Apr. 8. 



If it strikes the calyx It will bore in there, as it is an easy 

 place for it to get in. And thus some think the egg was laid 

 In the blossom, when in all probability it was not laid for a 

 month or six weeks after the tree was in bloom. 



Now, while I have not an over-abundance of faith in the 

 success of the spraying question, if the tiny larvae is to be 

 caught with poison at all, it should be on the fruit when it 

 hatches out from the egg ; It will thus get caught as it moves 

 over its surface. But as it is impossible to catch all the 

 larva? this way, if our fruit-growers expect to succeed they 

 should try to adopt some plan to capture the moth and also 

 the larvae as they leave the fruit to seek a place to spin their 

 cocoons. If this can be accomplisht, then success will be 

 assured. 



The experience that I have had here the past three or 

 four years has shown the people that with this blossom spray- 

 ing they have not only thrown their time and money away, 

 but besides killing the bees they destroyed much of the fruit, 

 by washing the pollen out of the blossoms The owner of an 

 orchard from which my bees were killed, admitted that the 

 parties drencht his trees to that extent that they destroyed 

 the fruit, and he had to depend upon a neighbor for fruit who 

 did not spray at all. I could give many illustrations of this 

 kind, but it is not necessary, as I know this can be done. Also 

 a heavy rain on the bloom will sometimes destroy the fruit. 

 This is one reason why we sometimes have a profusion of 

 bloom and but little or no fruit or honey. 



While I find that there is still much agitation in some 

 parts of the country over this spraying question and the bee- 

 Industry, here in Utah I believe that we can congratulate our- 

 selves that we are now about safe out of the Slough of De- 

 spond, and we can calmly look back over the battle fought 

 and the victory won. We feel to thank our esteemed friend. 

 Prof. A. J. Cook, for when the struggle was so desperate that 

 we could scarcely keep our heads above water, I wrote to 

 him, and received the following : 



" Mr. E. S. Lovesy — Dear Sir : — Say to your people that 

 the coddling moth do not lay eggs until the blossoms fall. Say 

 also that the poison is slowly removed, so that it is never wise 

 to apply it till necessary. Thus to spray before the blossoms 

 fall is unwise, to say nothing of its effects on the bee. No one 

 should spray until the blossoms all fall. Policy and justice 

 alike affirm this. Yours truly, A. J. Cook. 



This had the desired effect, and was of material benefit to 

 us. 



Now while we were just as sure, five years ago, that we 

 were right on this spraying question, as we are now, to con- 

 vince the fruit-growers of these facts was the all-absorbing 

 topic. 



My object in writing on this question is in hopes that the 

 subject may be thoroughly investigated and settled to the sat- 

 isfaction of all concerned. If all were intelligently informed 

 on this matter, it would be absurd to even think of any antag- 

 onistic feelings between the bee-keepers and fruit-growers in 

 regard to fertilization of fruit-blossoms by bees. A proper 

 knowledge of this question is of more benefit to farmers and 

 fruit-growers than to bee-keepers. Then let us hope that the 

 much-desired reonciliation of these industries will soon be an 

 accomplisht fact. Salt Lake Co., Utah. 



Something on Wlaterliig — The Prospects. 



BY .J. A. I'EARCE. 



Our bees are wintering better than ever before. I have 

 42 colonies in the cellar under the living room. They were 

 put in a little after the middle of November, exceedingly 

 heavy, having built up strong on buckwheat. None of the 

 colonies have spotted their hives yet, and I cannot discern 

 that they are perceptibly lighter than when put in. I shall 

 put.them out in about two weeks, or as soon as the ground- 

 hog comes out, or as soon as I can get say two still, sunny 

 days, so that the bees can have a good flight, for I consider 

 that leaving bees in the repositories too long in the spring has 

 been the most prolific cause of what is known as "spring 

 dwindling," which is nothing more nor less than the old beos 

 all dying off before any now ones are hatcht, thus letting the 

 colony " go up," and bringing into disrepute cellar-wintering. 

 I have not the least doubt that hundreds of thousands of colo- 

 nies of bees might have been saved, that have been lost, if 

 they had only teen removed from the repository three weeks 

 or a month sooner. 



Let me explain a little : Suppose I leave my bees in till 

 the middle of April, as has been recommended by the best 

 authorities; and the queen does not deposit any eggs, as she 

 should not in confinement if she is a well-behaved queen, 



"according to the books." Then the first week of May will 

 be gone before I have any young bees, and another week will 

 elapse before they would be of much use in the field. We have 

 our peaches in bloom about the first of May, the cherries and 

 plums a little before that, and the apples soon follow. So you 

 can readily see where " we would be at " at such a time with 

 only a few old bees, or perhaps with none of the old ones — all 

 having had to succumb before the new ones began to appear. 



The wintering problem has no terrors for me. I have yet 

 to have my first loss since I have practiced the plan that I 

 now pursue, and have for some eight years. I learned it from 

 the American Bee Journal, from a discussion that was carried 

 on between James Heddon, of this State, and the Rev. W. F. 

 Clarke, of Canada. Mr. Heddon took the pollen theory and 

 Mr. Clarke the hibernation theory. 



I did some things last year that I never did before in put- 

 ting in my bees. First, I saw that the cellar was rid entirely 

 of mice. Then in closing the hive-entrances, as formerly, with 

 pieces of lath, I closed them this time with wet sand ; it was 

 noiseless, and easily scraped away in the cellar. Then I had 

 two entirely green hands at the carrying rack, and I told them 

 if they would lift the hives gently the bees would not " wake 

 up," ijut if they shook them up much they would likely get 

 out and all over them. You may be sure tliey were careful. 

 I carried them from the top of the cellar myself, so still that 

 they scarcely knew they were being moved. They had just 

 had a good flight, and I rusht them in before or just as it was 

 beginning to freeze. This I think is essential to good winter- 

 ing, as they have had a chance to empty themselves, and are 

 placed in before they fill up excessively again. 



Our prospects are fair for this year. The plentiful rains 

 of last fall started up the white clover, and we have had 

 abundance of rain this winter — 6}^ inches in January — and 

 no weather so far to injure in the least the clover; and with 

 our bees as strong as they are, we should be able to take some 

 of it in ! 



My best wishes are for the " Old American," that brings 

 us a variety of news from the leggth and breadth of the land. 

 It tells us of a young lady in Minnesota looking at her bees in 

 a foot and a half of snow ; while another in Florida is doing 

 a land-oflice business among the flowers of that sunny land. 

 It lets us know how our old friend, Prof. Cook, is enjoying the 

 lovely climate of Southern California, while we, with an ulster 

 buttoned tightly about the throat, are buffeting this biting 

 March wind, or are indoors toasting ourselves by a good oak 

 fire. Kent Co., Mich., March 8. 



Various Experiences with Bees. 



BY" EDWIN BEVINS. 



To-day (March 19) the bees are flying freely, and investi- 

 gating almost everything in sight. Yesterday I had some corn 

 ground for cattle feed, and some of the meal was left on the 

 platform under the mill. Soon after the grinding ceast I 

 noticed a cloud of bees over that platform. This morning I 

 placed a large pan, partly filled with corn meal, on top of a 

 hive in the midst of the apiary. Now there is a great rolling 

 and tumbling of bees in that meal, and a great hurrying to 

 and fro of bees from hives to pan and from pan to hives. 



Last season, just before swarming-time, I sent two of my 

 big hives, each made to hold 10 Quinby frames, to a neighbor, 

 with the understanding that he was to hive me two early 

 swarms, if he should have them. Each hive had six frames 

 full of foundation. The foundation in one hive was new, and 

 put in about the time the hives were sent away. That in the 

 other hive had been -put in a year before, and left in the hive, 

 as it was not needed. I did not go after the swarms till some- 

 time in November. It was my intention, when I sent the 

 hives, to fill up with frames of foundation in mid-summer, but 

 that was a matter that was neglected. When I went after the 

 bees I found that the colony in the hive having the new foun- 

 dation had llllcd the six frames solidly full of brood and honey, 

 and then gone to the other side of the division-board and filled 

 the empty space there full of honey. How much more room 

 this colony needed I had no means of knowing. 



The bees in the other hive had refused to touch the old 

 foundation, but they had filled the space on the other side of 

 the division-board with comb in which was some honey, but 

 not enough, I thought, to support them till spring. I had no 

 frames of honey to give them, and it was late for feeding 

 sugar syrup, so I removed the frames of foundation and put 

 in a lot of unfinisht sections close up to the division-board, 

 and told the bees to " root hog or die." February IT, at the 

 close of a long, cold spell of weather, I lookt in and found 

 these bees very numerous, and very lively. I gave them feed 



