1881 



GLEAI^INGS IK BEE CULTUKE. 



243 



On page 171, April No., you say if there is such an 

 Individual in the company, let him stand up. I will 

 stand up long enough to answei- your question. In 

 the winter o£ 1876 I left the sections on five stocks 

 as an experiment; they wintered well, but no better 

 than others. Two of those stocks had their sections 

 left during the spring. The result was, they did not 

 breed up as fast as those that received better care. 

 I have tried leaving the sections on twice since, but 

 can not think I gained a single point by it. The 

 past winter I left an extract ing-t op filled with honey 

 on a strong stock. They left the main hive, and 

 moved upstairs where I found them this spring in 

 fine condition. About that idea you kept so long: 

 Do you want us to believe that you held it over 

 thirty days? H. T. Bishop. 



Chenango Bridge, N. r., April, 1881. 



In April Gleanings you gave a statement of bees 

 having wintered well where sections and cases had 

 been left in hives above the frames or brood-nest, 

 same as during the honey season, and ask if others 

 have had bees wintered in same way; if so, " let 

 him stand up." Now, my dear sir, I would like to 

 obey, and "stand up;" but I have been so severely 

 afflicted for years, I can not; but as I recall, you 

 can not mean me, but the other man. My father. 

 Rev. J. B. Miller, did not get his bees all cared for 

 before winter set in, and five colonies were left with 

 all the sections on during the winter, and they are 

 on yet, April 20, 1881. Of 30 colonies wintered, but 3 

 were lost, and but few, if anj', are as strong as these 

 five. They wintered in chaff hives bought of you 

 two years ago. To-day they fly strong; are very 

 busy gathering off the little now offering for the 

 busy workers. A part of these filled their sections 

 once last season, and partly the second time. One of 

 them sent out a strong swarm May 3,1880, that made 

 ■iO lbs. of surplus honey in section boxes; another a 

 swarm May 4, that did well; but no record was kept 

 of how each colony did. So much for the 5; but 

 were they really neglected? Many bees in this local- 

 ity died during the winter; some of dysentery, but 

 more from starvation. "Who next? 



Alliance, Ohio, Apr. 23, 1881. Jesse Millek. 



*iol^jS and §mrkf 



W HAD 15 stands of bees last fall, 12 of them in L. 



J*|[ hives. I have lost 3 of them. Three that were 



in chaff hives are all right. This winter has 



been a hard one on bees; half of them are dead now. 



' S. L. Dennisxox. 



Peoria City, Polk Co., la., March 14, 1881. 



My bees wintered almost without loss; but the 

 springing is horrible' N. A. Prcdden. 



Ann Arbor, Mich., April 19, 1881. 



Dear friend : — 1 tell you, the cellar is the place to 

 winter bees, and no more words about it ! 



C. R. Miles. 

 Pawnee City, Neb., March 28, 1881. 



My bees are still all alive, but a few of them are 

 weak. I had some mixed oats and rye flour out for 

 them to-day. I counted 60 bees, loaded, enter their 

 hive in one minute — one a second. S. M. Mohleh. 



Covington, Ohio, Mar. IS, 18S1. 



THE NEW GRAPE SUGAR. 



The grape sugar came through all right on the 7th. 

 It is very nice— I think better than the sample you 

 sent me a year ago. The bees take it readily, and 

 seem to enjoy it hugely. B. Both. 



Port Allegany, Pa., April 11, 1881. 



I started to winter 4 swarms, but lost one with 

 dysentery. The rest I am feeding maple sugar, and 

 I think they are doing finely. I have had but little 

 experience with bees, but find that I can work with 

 them without any difficulty. G. W. Wolf. 



Clayton, Mich., April 11, 1881. 



NEW HONEY. 



On March 14th, from 5 hives I took over 150 lbs. 

 willow honey from upper stories, since which I have 

 transferred to L. hives, and increased to 12, all very 

 strong. W. W. AVilson. 



San Bernardino, Cal., April 6, 1881. 



cotton-wood for HONEY, ETC. 



The winter has been long and cold, but at Intervals 

 bees have had a fly, and, in chaff hives, have winter- 

 ed well. Some will lose heavily; all out of chaff will 

 lose some. I have 27 in chaff, all in good condition 

 so far. Bees here gather both honey and pollen 

 from Cottonwood In as dry a season as 1880. 



Arvada, Jefferson Co., Col. R. H. Rhodes. 



POLLEN FKO.M SKUNK CABBAGE, ETC. 



I went into winter-quarters with 22 swarms; have 

 21 left; almost all of them now are pretty strong in 

 numbers; they have been carrying in pollen from 

 skunk cabbage for the last 8 or 10 days when the 

 weather would permit. 



Jonathan D. Hutchinson. 



"Windsor, N. J., March 18, 1881. 



plaster casts FOR FDN. 



In my description of the plaster casts, I said, take 

 2 parts plaster and 3 parts sand; but I have found, 

 after working the machine a while, that the sand 

 don't help the casts. I believe it makes them hard- 

 er; but after working the machine awhile, it be- 

 comes rough, and makes the fdn. imperfect. 



Cicero, Ind., April 16, 1881. Eli.as Berg. 



As to the bees, I am short just 10 hives out of 93; 

 lost most of them by their coming through queen- 

 less, and had to unite them. So far as I can learn, 

 most of those who did not give their bees winter 

 protection have lost hea^^lJ^ some losing all they 

 had. J. Mattoon. 



Atwater, O., April 16, 1881. 



winter queens. 

 "We see a little in Gleanings about winter queens. 

 There is one in our "yard" that made her appear- 

 ance last February that tec think can get away with 

 any of Doolittlc's summer queens; and when she 

 can not have just what she wants, she can " pipe" 

 louder than "Henderson's best." 



E. M. Havhurst. 

 Kansas City, Mo., April 4, 1881. 



We have had very bad luck with our bees this win- 

 ter. Some men have lost as high as 123 swarms. I 

 am a new beginner, but I made f9.00 from four 

 swarms, after paying for the hives, in one season ; 

 but the honey the bees gathered this last season was 

 of a very poor quality; it was thin, and no substance 

 to it. Two of my swarms ate as much as 40 lbs. of 

 honey apiece. Geo. W. Dean. 



Shelbyville, Allegan Co., Mich., April 18, 1881. 



