1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



27 



the lower side of the cell looks dirty, 

 and if you look into the bottoms of toe 

 cells there is nothing to be seen, and 



yet every successive lot of brood will 

 BO in the same w;iy. I cannot call it 

 the regular foul brood, because it is 

 never capped over; at least. 1 never, 

 knew it to live till capped over. 1 can- 

 not ascertain the cause, though there 

 are some evidences that indicate that 

 it is the lack of vitality in the queen, 

 and some that indicate that the larva' 

 starve for want of bee-bread. Yet 

 none of these causes seem to be the 

 originators of foul brood, neither does 

 this trouble seem to turn into foul brood 

 so far as I have observed. 



Another trouble that I have found, 

 and only in a low or black grade of hy- 

 brids, is that the brood is uncapped 

 after the eves are formed, and then they 

 turn dark-colored and are about one- 

 third thrown out. This species, upon 

 close examination, shows a reddish- 

 brown, dust-like substance at the ex- 

 tremities of the thrown-out bees, that I 

 think must be a parasite. After a, while 

 it turns into foul brood that is foul 

 enough for anybody. 



The dried-up brood I have had only 

 in one of my own colonies, and that 

 contained an imported queen ; but they 

 were cremated, and have left no taint 

 behind them. 



The first I ever saw of the bald-headed 

 bees was 3 years ago. but the past sea- 

 son 1 have found plenty .of them 18 

 miles from here, near the New York 

 State line, and nearly all the trouble with 

 brood that I have seen, has been inva- 

 riably in the low grade of black hybrids. 

 This is not guess-work, but I have 

 watched close and in many cases. 



I would give you one cause for real 

 foul brood, that 1 have traced out in 

 over 50 cases, but this manuscript is now 

 too long. Perhaps I may give it before 

 long, if it is wanted, and its preventive 

 also. 



Woodbury, Conn., Jan. 6, 1881. 



[Anything new relating to foul brood, 

 its cause, prevention and cure, is read 

 with deep interest, and we hope Mr. 

 Jeffrey will forward the article at an 

 early day.— Ed.] 



Dying 1)t Wholesale.— Bees here are 

 dying by "wholesale. We have had 7 

 weeks of cokl weather and there is no 

 prospect yet of its being warmer. The 

 Weekly Bee Journal is jnst splendid ; 

 it cannot fail to be gladly received. 

 Success to it and its editor. 



L. Johnson. 



Walton, Ky., Jan. 18, 1881. 



Well Paid.— I can assure you I am 

 very much pleased with the Weekly 

 Bee Journal. I think I have been 

 highly compensated for the money in- 

 vested. You have my best wishes for 

 the American Bee Journal. 



Toledo. Iowa. War. E. Struble. 



So Honey last Season.— The past sea- 

 son yielded no honey. I fed my bees 

 over $30. worth of sugar syrup to keep 

 them alive. I expect to lose many of 

 them during this cold winter. I fed 

 freely in the early part of October, and 

 put them into winter-quarters the first 

 week in November. 1 can do without 

 honey but I do not want to do without 

 the American Bee Journal. 



Daniel Rider. 



Fairfield, Iowa, Jan. 7, 1881. 



Prevention of Swarming.— I was suc- 

 cessful lastseason in preventing swarm- 

 ing. From 35 colonies in the spring I 

 had but 6 swarms. My desire was to 

 get more honey and less swarms. I 

 have sold 1,326 lbs. of comb honey and 

 have about 200 lbs. more, partly dark 

 and some boxes not quite tilled out. 

 Have used all we wanted in the family. 

 Three of my colonies were queenless in 

 May, from which I obtained no honey. 

 What I have sold comes to $163.88. 

 Bees have done rather poorly this year. 



Some complain that their bees have 

 done nothing, while others have done 

 very well. Success to the Weekly Bee 

 Journal. T. Lashbrook. 



Waverly, Iowa. 



Severe Weather for Bees.— How our 

 bees will come out of this severe win- 

 ter, I do not know, but I fear for them. 

 We had a poor season last year, especi- 

 ally the latter part of it. Bees were 

 strong in the fall and commenced win- 

 ter witli plenty of honey. I am much 

 pleased with the Weekly — for me it is a 

 necessity. G-. W. Jenkins. 



New Liberty, Ky., Jan, 8, 1881. 



Tobacco Smoke for Bees. — I saw the 



assertion in the Western Rural that to- 

 bacco smoke does not stupify bees, but 

 alarms and causes them to lill their 

 sacks ; therefore, they will not sting. 

 The truth is, that a common clay pipe, 

 half-filled with tobacco, lighted, with a 

 cloth over the bowl, ami blown forcibly 

 into the entrance of the hive, will cause 

 the bees to fall from the combs and lie 

 harmless on the bottom-board, as any 

 bee-keeper can satisfy himself by one 

 trial. It gives the operator time to take 

 the frames all out and put them back 

 again. E. Bump. 



Waterloo, Wis., Dec, 20. 1881. 



Poisonous Wild Honey. — I do not see 



why wild honey is necessarily poisonous 

 any more than tame honey ; the wild 

 bees and the flowers are the same in 

 both cases. My theory is, that the cause 

 of wild honey being poisonous is owing 

 to the fact that when a tree is cut and 

 falls, it produces a sensation in the hive, 

 often smashes combs, honey, bees, pol- 

 len and rotten wood all together, in 

 which operation it is the nature of the 

 bees to sting, depositing the powerful 

 acid in the honey ; then it is eaten and 

 is quite liable to produce sickness, and 

 the stomach may be in such a state as 

 to produce death, if enough of the poi- 

 son is taken. We kept bees in Vermont, 

 and our honey never made any one sick. 

 A bee-tree was cut near by, and all who 

 ate of the honey were sick. There was 

 a great deal of argument made over it, 

 but they finally settled the question sat- 

 isfactorily to themselves by supposing 

 the honey was gathered from kill-lamb. 

 L. Martin. 

 Hesperia, Mich., Dec. 10, 1880. 



about 2 inches and gable roof with ven- 

 tilator at each end. By removing the 

 cover the upper story may be nicely 

 packed, while with the cap fastened to 

 the cover it is more trouble and cannot 

 be done so well. It is not necessary to 

 state that we have severe weather, etc. 

 Since the beginning of November our 

 bees have had no tly, excepting 3 colon- 

 ies which were outlast week. The alight- 

 ing boards and the snow around was 

 considerably soiled, and some of the 

 bees chilled and remained out. We 

 have lost none yet and hope to gel them 

 all through, but won't whistle until 

 nearer out of the woods. 



W. II. Stout. 

 Pine Grove, Pa., Jan. 15, 1881. 



Bee Keeping in Texas. — I have re- 

 ceived the first copy of the Weekly 

 Journal. It is very fortunate to be 

 able to greet such a visitor once a week. 

 I am much interested in bee-culture, 

 especially in our State, for we have as 

 good a country as there is on earth, for 

 bees and honey. Very few have thought 

 of it, beyond having some old gums in 

 fence corners. I have the simplicity 

 hive ; the first movable frames I ever 

 saw. I have also the first Italians I 

 ever saw. I love to see the interest de- 

 veloping everywhere in this pleasant as 

 well as profitable industry. I am de- 

 termined to aid its progress every way 

 in my power, and if all who take an in- 

 terest would do the same, we would 

 soon become a power for good in this 

 great land. This is a gloriously bright 

 New Year's morning ; the past 5 or 6 

 days have been very cold, the thermo- 

 meter as low as 11° above zero — the 

 coldest for 30 years. Bees have done 

 well this year, God prosper us all, and 

 gives us a plenteous year. 



J. E. Lay, M. D. 



Hallettsville, Texas, Jan. 1, 1881. 



enough to have wintered them. That 

 was something new to me, so I thought 

 I would see it you ever saw or heard 



anything like it. C. HOLLOWELL. 



Dunreith, Ind., Dec. 25, 1880. 



[We have frequently known swarms 

 to settle after flying a long distance. 



and make considerable progress in i li 



building; apparently as though they 

 had been disappointed in their selection 

 of a home, and were keeping them- 

 selves busy until a satisfactory home 

 could be found. The case you cite was 

 probably similar, except that their delay 

 was extended until after the storing of 

 honey and depositing of eggs took place, 

 when they were loth to leave and the 

 early setting in of winter found them 

 unprotected, and they perished. These 

 cases are not frequent.— Ed.] 



Errata.— On page 2, column 4, of the 

 Weekly American Bee Journal, I 

 was made to say that I returned the 

 queen to the colony ; I did not. Before 

 the queen is expected to emerge, the 

 cage is adjusted to the entrance of the 

 hive, and remains there until the object 

 is accomplished, when she immediately 

 returns to the colony without aid. It 

 takes but a few minutes for the bees to 

 learn their passage and resume their 

 work. M. B. 



Small Share of Honey.— My bees 

 were in the best of condition to winter ; 

 plenty of stores and of fine quality. 

 The bee keeper had but a small share 

 of honey for last season's labors. I 

 think the prospect is good for another 

 year. Success to the Weekly Bee 

 Journal and our honey gatherers. 



Bethany, 111. A. M. Rhodes. 



Dysentery.— I am sorry to say that that 

 fearful disease, dysentery, has visited 

 our vicinity and destroyed more than 

 half of the bees in the neighborhood ; 

 some loosing all. We have lost but 7 

 colonies as yet, but what the end will be 

 we cannot say. We have every number 

 of the Bee Journal from June, 1878, 

 as neat as when received, but they are 

 worth more than money to us, I could 

 not part with even one number. 



Fincastle, Ind. Mary Brothers. 



About Fertilization in Confinement. 



— Your correspondent,-M. B., from In- 

 diana, seems to think that he has suc- 

 ceeded in having his queens fertilized 

 in his new f angled cage. I would be 

 j glad to know that it was a success, but 

 like " blind Jack " I would " rather see 

 it than hear tell of it." In the back 

 Nos. of the Journal some one claimed 

 to have had queens fertilized by hold- 

 ing them in his fingers, which I have 

 thought might succeed if the queen 

 could be made to open the vagina or 

 spermatheca, either voluntarily or 

 spasmodically. Suppose they were made 

 to gape open the vagina, by the use of 

 chloroform or some anaesthetic, say 

 puff ball or some of Mr. Alley's tobacco 

 smoke, say not enough to destroy life, 

 but just enough to cause them to open 

 up the parts ; the drone, I think, can be 

 made to do its part by first squeeze his 

 head, and then let the pressure gradu- 

 ally extend back to the abdomen. Those 

 that have never tried it, can learn some- 

 thing ; this is only thrown out as a sug- 

 gestion for experiment. J. F. Love. 

 Cornersville Tenn. 



First Year's Experience.— I am highly 

 pleased with the idea of a Weekly 

 Bee Journal ; it looks like business, 

 j to get the Journal weekly. I com- 

 menced with 3 box hives, last spring, I 

 have 8 Langstroth hives in pretty fair 

 condition — 2 of them Italianized and 2 

 hybridized. This is the hardest winter 

 I ever saw in this country by half. Six 

 to eight weelis earlier than ordinarily 

 winter commenced in this latitude. We 

 had 8 or 10 weeks of drouth last sum- 

 mer — causing bees to be rather short of 

 stores, I have had to feed and, but for 

 buckwheat and the fall weed bloom, all 

 my bees would have starved before 

 winter came. We took no honey — 

 many of the bees of the neighborhood 

 have died long since, of starvation ; one 

 man has lost all his bees— they were all 

 in box hive and " tree gums." — There 

 are but very few movable frame hives 

 in this portion of the country. If I can 

 only be successful with my 8 colonies 

 and get them through the winter, there 

 will be a revolution in bee keeping in 

 this section. Men will try Bee Journals 

 and Langstroth hives, etc. 



J. A. Burrow, M. D. 



Santa Fe, Teniv, Jan. 17th, 1881. 



Honey Season in Pennsylvania. — We 



have the first two numbers of the 

 Weekly and are very much pleased with 

 it, and the prospect of getting such 

 valuable information as the Journal 

 always contains, just fresh from the 

 authors, is alone worth the additional 

 cost, it is agreable reading these long 

 winter evenings. This shows progress 

 that deserves encouragement. No tell- 

 ing but what a daily may yet be issued, 

 and even progressive bee-keepers be 

 connected by telephone with the ex- 

 change in the Journal building. Ave 

 had a very good season for honey and 

 increased till Julv, but afterwards about 

 as poor as it could be. We got about 200 

 lbs. of honey, and doubled our number 

 of colonies. We now have 21 colonies 

 packed in oat chaff, 6 inches on all sides, 

 and the bees covered with quilts and 

 old sacks filled with chaff pressed tightly 

 into the upper stories. We will have 

 no more hives without a moveable cap. 



Long Confinement.— Our bees have 

 not had a flight since the first of Nov- 

 ember. The thermometer, is 16° below 

 zero. We winter in cellars here. I 

 never knew a man to lose a colony if 

 they had plenty of honey, and proper 

 ventilation, in this country. Success to 

 the Weekly Bee Journal. 



Harlan, Iowa. John McGinness. 



Of Much Benefit.— I must have the 

 Weekly Journal. I hope I will get as 

 much for the amount invested as I have 

 for the past volume. The past year 

 was i the amount of the Weekly, but I 

 was benefited many times the amount, 

 besides the knowledge I have for next 

 year's work. I began my apairy with 

 the Journal, last spring, and by every 

 number I revised my work, otherwise I 

 would give the business up. I have 

 •55 colonies, 43 in the celler, and 12 

 packed in planer shavings. 



Cedar Falls, Iowa. A. J. Norms. 



Homeless Swarm.— Two of my neigh- 

 1 bor's boys found a swarm of bees and 

 ! about a 'half a bushel of comb hanging 

 'to a fence rail, about two weeks ago, 

 during our coldest weather. It is need- 

 less to say they were all dead. The 

 comb contained considerable honey— 



Comb Foundation Machines.— I [have 

 read the article of Dr. Brown, in the 

 American Bee Journal of the 5th 

 inst., and as I do not agree with him, 

 I wish to answer as follows : 



1. He says that the Dunham machine 

 is sold at the same price as the others ; 

 but I am assured that he does not know 

 the price of every machine. 



2. He says the Dunham machine is 

 more difficult to make on account of its 

 high side-walls. Had he the experience 

 in making machines that I have, he 

 would not say so, because the punch 

 has only to be driven deeper into the 

 rolls to create this slud. I do not make 

 high side-walls on my machine, and I 

 have good reasons for not doing so, 

 which if Mr. B. wishes to know I can 

 tell him. John Bourgmeyer. 



Fond du Lac, Wis., Jan. 17, 1881. 



[The above is a very curious letter — 

 curious, because incomprehensible. We 

 have read and re-read the article writ- 

 ten by Dr. Brown, above alluded to, 

 published on page 5 of our issue of the 

 •5th inst., and cannot possibly give itthe 

 construction Mr. Bourgmeyer places on 

 it. The Doctor's remarks are applica- 

 ble to the cost of the foundation, and 

 not the machine, and his eulogistic men- 

 tion of it is endorsed by nearly all who 

 have used it ; he is too careful of his 

 very high reputation to risk it on an un- 

 worthy commendation.— Ed.] 



