104 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



season, and that or some unknown cause 

 has fairly slaughtered the bees since 

 January. Colonies perished by the 

 score in the cellars and the alarmed 

 owners placed those still living on the 

 summer stands as soon as a few fair 

 days came in the spring. But it was 

 jumping from the frying pan into the 

 fire. Storms of sleet, snow and cold rain 

 have followed each other in swift suc- 

 cession and now to this sixteenth day 

 of May the bees have had but three or 

 four days on which they could carry 

 pollen. The mortality on the summer 

 stands has been greater than it was in 

 the cellars. All the bees in many small 

 apiaries are dead and it is the opinion 

 of many beekeepers in this vicinity 

 that fully 75 per cent of the colonies 

 in this part of the state are dead. Of 

 course most of the remaining colonies 

 are weak and the prospect for a good 

 crop of honey is most discouraging. 

 Z. T. Hawk. 

 Denison, Iowa, May, i8g2. 



A HIGH TREAT. 



The April and May numbers of the 

 Apicultukist have come to hand, filled 

 as usual with matters of absorbing in- 

 terest to the wide-awake beekeeper. 

 Mine were eagerly devoured as they 

 always are, and then I have food for 

 reflection for a month to come. It is 

 always a rich treat for me to read the 

 American Apicqlturist. I esteem it 

 highly and read it with profit. 



I was particularly interested in the 

 April number. The "Familiar talk 

 about bee culture" was specially sug- 

 gestive for this season of the year wlien 

 work in the apiary is being planned and 

 preparation is bt ing made for securing 

 the honey harvest when it comes. Then, 

 too, the enumeration of the good quali- 

 ties of the Punic bees was an epitomized 

 description of just the kind of bee that 

 will be profital)le in this climate and at 

 this altitude, if they prove to possess as 

 many valuable characteristics here as 

 they have developed in the old Bay 

 State. I must test them this season. 



But if you could see my back num- 

 bers of the Api I suspect you would feel 1 

 confident that I did not place a very i 

 high estimate upon them, judging from 

 their haggled, mangled appearance. 

 The truth is I am making a scrap book ; 

 and all the bee papers I get are com- 

 pelled to contribute to it, but the Api 

 most of all. • ; 



In other days, I used to read some 1 

 good thing in a paper and think now I • 

 will keep that, and adopt the hint given. j 

 But when I wanted to put the suggestion 

 in practice months afterwards, perhaps ; 

 I would have to rummage over all my i 

 bee papers, and perhaps would be un- < 

 able to find it after all. i 



Latterly, I have adopted a different ; 

 and I think a better plan. Whenever \ 

 I come across in my reading some, to 

 me, brand-new idea, some description ' 

 of a better method than I had learned ! 

 of performing some of the operations 

 about the apiary, or I see an account of 

 some cuter trick than I had ever i 

 thought of which some other person has 

 lound out for managing successfully the • 

 little honey gatherers, my scissors come 

 into active play and I embalm it in my i 

 scrap-book. I 



I arrange the items under appropri- ; 

 ate heads : "Rearing queens," "intro- 

 ducing queens," ''artificial swarming," ; 

 "producing honey," etc., etc., etc. ] 

 When I wish to ref^er to some particular ' 

 report of a desirable way of doing things 

 I turn to my collection of clippings and 

 under the paper heading I find at once 

 what I am searching for. I find this 

 method of preserving the accounts given \ 

 in the bee papers of the best results of 

 the experiences of practical beekeepers 

 to be a great convenience, and a saving i 

 of time where the time of the apiarist j 

 is most valuable. \ 



Trinidad, Colo. F. O. Blair. ] 



GETTING DRONE COMB MADE. 



Friend Allky:— Yonr way of siettiiif? 

 drone comb made is O. K. Thanks Tor 

 the iuformalioM. 



Tkorudale, Texas. 0. J. E. Urban. 



