1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



3 



aperture, open or shut the bees sealed 

 up every mesh in the wire-cloth. Nor 

 have i been able to cover my bees with 

 anything that they would not enamel 



With propolis, unless it was already 



enameled. 



The double-width hive, with division 

 hoard and root'. or a set of lluber frames 

 surrounded by an outer case, are the 

 best ••contraptions" 1 know of. and if 

 these were kept under a shed so that in 

 winter they could be covered with straw, 

 and the straw kept dry, it would be the 

 best we could do. and the easiest and 

 cheapest way of doing it. 



Winchester. Dec. 6, 1880. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



How to Make and Feed Good Candy. 



F. C. BENEDICT. 



As winter is upon us so early and so 

 severe. I fear many of our little pets will 

 want for stores before next May. and 

 sonic may lie triad to know how to make 

 candy that will be right, without any 

 guess-work. 



Take coffee A sugar 4 lbs., water lib. 

 (add wheat or rye Hour 1 lb., if you wish 

 to stimulate brood-rearing), put in a pan 

 over a moderate tire (being careful not 

 to scorch it), boil for 20 minutes ; then 

 place it in a pan of cold water or on 

 snow ; stir until quite stiff, which will 

 make it line grain ; place in frames that 

 will cover one-half the brood chamber, 

 leaving a space under the candy so that 

 the bees can get at the whole surface ; 

 place the blanket over the other half of 

 the brood chamber, and the chaff cush- 

 ion over the whole, and they are in fine 

 shape. Moisture enough will gather on 

 the candy that the bees can take it 

 readily, and the balance will escape 

 through the quilt and cushion. As this 

 candy may be given any time during 

 the winter, when the weather is mild, 

 do not let your bees starve from neglect, 

 nor poison them with grape sugar. 



Perry Center, N. Y., Dec. 13, 1880. 



For tbe American Bee Journal. 



Bees Deserting Winter Quarters. 



D. S. KAI.LEY. 



Mr. Editor : Will you, or some of 

 your readers, tell me what is the matter 

 with my bees ? I put IB colonies into 

 winter quarters on their summer stands, 

 wrapped veil in straw and chaff, on the 

 20th of October, and all through Novem- 

 ber and until now (Dec. 8) they are com- 

 ing out and flying away, leaving plenty 

 of honey to winter on. Great numbers 

 come out on the platform after night 

 and die by the handfull ; four colonies 

 have all absconded. I am perplexed 

 over the matter. The coldest mornings 

 we have had, they come out at daylight 

 and fly away. Success to the Bee Jour- 

 nal ; I like it well. 



Mansfield, Ind., Dec. 8, 1880. 



[Without knowing the exact manner 

 and amount of packing, the appearance 

 and condition of the combs and honey 

 left in the hives, and peculiar motions 

 of the bees on coming out, it is impos- 

 sible to more than surmise or guess at 

 the cause.— Ed.] 



V 



cttcv Xlvawcv. 



Foul Brood.— In the proceedings of 



the Convention at Cincinnati, I see Mr. 

 C. F. Muth gave his plan for treating 

 foul brood, to which I can heartily sub- 

 scribe. I bought some old combs last 

 spring that bees had died on. The re- 

 sult was that I had one case of foul 

 brood. I took a new hive and filled it 

 with foundation and fed the bees with 

 honey containing a little salicylic acid 

 mixed with it. This fall it was as good 

 a colony as I had in the yard. Bees 

 hardly made a living in the early part of 

 the summer, but they did splendidly in 

 the fall. I am well pleased to know we 

 are to have weekly visits from the Bee 

 Journal. Long may it live. 



L. A. Pennoyer. 

 Winona, Minn., Dec. 2, 1880. 



the best lice paper and adviser on every- 

 thing pertaining to bees and the inter- 

 estsof bee men I ever saw. I owe what 

 little bee. knowledge I have principally 

 to the American Bee Journal and 

 its advertisements; and I shall ever 



"speak well of the briidgc that carries 

 me safely over." Jos. II. FISHER. 

 Napoleon, O., Nov. 17, 1880. 



Lale Breeding.— 1 can remember no 

 time when bees presented such activity 

 so late in the season as they did this. 

 As late as Oct. 10 they gathered honey 

 with great profusion from asters, red 

 and white clover. In the first week in 

 October the bees gathered more honey 

 than they did during the August drouth, 

 and by an examination, I also found 

 that a majority of my colonies were 

 then rearing brood to a great extent and 

 in some cases the queen was then laying. 

 Does this indicate a good winter for 

 bees V The great progress now in bee- 

 keeping is not lacking here. Mr. E. 

 Market, an old bee-keeper of 15 years' 

 experience, formerly used the common 

 box-hive, but now uses the Langstroth, 

 with all other additional improvements 

 in the apiary. He has partially Italian- 

 ized his apiary. It is a great credit to 

 him to bring such fine honey in 2-lb. 

 sections to the LaCrosse market ; the 

 American BeeJournal is his constant 

 guide in the mangement of his apiary. 

 I am glad that we are to have a Weekly 

 paper during 1881. It has long been 

 needed, and I hope all the old sub- 

 scribers to the American Bee Jour- 

 nal will promptly renew their subscrip- 

 tions, and thus show their appreciation 

 of this "new departure" of the Editor. 

 L. H. Pammel,'Jr. 



LaCrosse, Wis., Nov. 20, 1880. 



surplus honey, give us warm nights, for 

 then the Mowers secrete nectar. We 



Obtained but little honey during a sea- 

 son when we had cool nights. There 

 are, however, some good feat ores about 

 this bee business, when we have no 

 hone; crop, i.e. we have plenty of empty 

 hives, sections, separators, foundation. 

 I glass, etc., to run us for many years to 

 conic if we do not use more than we did 

 during the last two seasons. Caution to Healers.— A little over two 



D. D. Palmer. . months ago 1 received my first lesson, 

 New Boston, 111., Nov. 14, 1880. ' and I think the last one while I am in 



the supply business. Mr. W. L. Wood- 

 ward, formerly of Salford, Out., wrote 

 to me stating that he had gathered up 

 for me 275 lbs. of beeswax. 1 offered 

 him 28c. per lb., cash on delivery. He 

 thought as we had dealings with each 

 other the last 2 years, I ought to remit 

 first, which I declined to do, as it would 

 amount to $77, we being strangers to 

 each other personally. Finally, he said 

 if I would remit $28, he would forward 

 the 275 lbs. of wax at once on receipt of 

 My Report.— I started last spring with the money, at the same time stating 

 44 colonies and I have at present 54, i that two other parties were after the 

 nearly all in good condition for winter. ! wax, at the same offer. I remitted the 

 My expenses were $41 .50 and my income I $28 in a registered letter, which he re- 

 is about $22.00 for honey, and the in- ceived, and that is the last of it, for he 



Mustard Plant.— We cannot keep up 

 with the times in keeping bees without 

 the Bee Journal. The honey season 

 for 1880 was good in this locality. Can 

 we get mustard to blossom by the 15th 

 or 20th of June, if sown very early V 

 A. A. Decker. 



Granger, Wis., Nov. 19, 1880. 



[Of course you can.— Ed.] 



crease of 10 colonies of bees. It was a 

 poor year for bees here. 



John Boerstler. 

 Batchtown, 111., Nov. 21. 1880. 



The Mitchell Hive.— Do not stop my 

 Journal if I should not get you the 

 money by the first of January. Put me 

 down for the Weekly Journal for 

 1881 ; I cannot do without it. My bees 

 are packed for winter on the summer 

 stands with 12 inches of straw around 



left for parts unknown , as I am informed 

 by people in Salford. 



M. Richardson. 

 Port Colborne, Out., Nov., 1880. 



[We publish the above, as a caution 

 to supply dealers and others, at Mr. 

 Richardson's request. We can sympa- 

 thise with Mr. R., having had many 

 similar experiences. One such swind- 

 ler, after running into our debt, had the 



except in front. I am using the Mit- 1 audacity to write thus to us : " Let me 



cliell hive but have never yet paid $5.00 give you a piece of advice— never to 



for the privilege of using and do not ex- tnist stra ngers."' What a pleasure it 



pect to. I am glad at the prospect pt , » 1)usiness ; f -n W ere 



getting the Bee Journal every week, i wo » ld be ' J° cl ° business, t an weie 



Calvin Hollowell. , honest. But there are black sheep m 



Dunreith, Ind., Nov. 23, 1880. I every flock; dishonest men in every 



[Certainly ; if requested to do so, we { community, and annoyances in every 



will cheerfully send on the Bee Jour- , business.— Ed.] 



nal and give a few month's time. We 

 do not desire to be uuaccomodating— 

 but cannot do a general credit business ; 



still there are exceptions to all rules. ] the early part of the season. 



If anv one desires the Weekly Bee gathered some honey late in the season, 



t i it i D ™t mmve.itent to ' about 10 lbs. to the colony, and put it 



[This is a good idea ; no one can show , Journal and it is not com ement to ^ combg buiu [q m9 _ My beeg are jn 



their appreciation in a better way than | pay for a year at once, they can send my winter repository, in fair condition. 



by promptly renewing their subscrip- 1 $1-00 for 6 months or 50 cents for 3 I Bees are not my resource, but my pleas 



tions for the Weekly for 1881 .-Ed.] \ months. It costs no more m that way 



except the trouble and postage, i or all 



Preparation for Winter.— I have just j fractions of a dollar send one, two or 



finished putting my bees into winter | three-cent postage stamps.— Ed.] 



quarters. They are nearly - 



Side Storing.— This season 1 have had ' .. 



another chance to test the utility of Bees Starving.— I had to teed this fall; 

 side-storing W T e had no honey until , all the bees had was comb. I fed them 

 Aug °0th when we knew it was too late coffee A sugar melted, and I think may 

 to let two crates of honey from any get them through the winter safely, 

 hive but most of our colonies would ; This was the worst honey year we have 

 more than fill one crate, hence I could , had for a long time. I think this win- 

 not " tier up " Here is how they did it ter will about clean all of the bees out 

 ; " those hives with 15 frames surround- of the old box hives, for I do not t 



re nearly all in tine 

 condition, to gb through the winter, 

 having an abundance of sealed honey 

 and a fair amount of bees. I winter 

 them under a shed, facing the east. I 

 contract the brood-chamber, by use of 

 division-boards, and then pack straw or 

 leaves around them and on top. 1 think 

 queens may be too prolific. Several of 

 my hives were overflowing with bees 

 during August and September, and two 

 of them threw off large swarms. All ; 



Keeping Bees for Pleasure.— My bees 



(35 colonies) have done very poorly. I 



! fed about half a barrel of sugar during 



Bees 



ure, so I am not as badly disappointed 

 as some. My farm of 450 acres demands 

 my attention sometimes when the bees 

 need it, so I do not expect the largest 

 results. Alvah Reynolds. 



Oneida. 111., Dec. 8, 1880. 



ins the brood-nest, they not only gave there is any honey in them to winter on. 



nine one beautiful crate of honey, (35 lbs. We had lots of white clover, but the 



of these are now poorer than others not ie ™™j ^^ Qf wm . k begg dja |)ot wQrk o]] u the wbo]e year 



bavins* so many bees at that time. The !"";-, J "" "„" , ,-,.„ v„„ „#„«„ tn'f n , «, m (> ranw nv ntlinr. I sunoose 



From the Prairie Farmer. 



Honey- Wash for the Eyes. 



WILL. M. KELLOGG. 



Honey is an excellent remedy for in- 

 flammation of the eyes. In 1878 I was 

 afflicted with inflammation of the right 

 eye, which became very painful. Mr. 

 C. O. Perrine, of Chicago, told me honey 

 would cure my eye. His method was to 

 put a few drops of pure liquid honey into 

 a teaspoonful of lukewarm water, and 

 stir with the finger until thoroughly dis- 

 solved, then lie down and drop three or 

 four drops into the eye, lying still a few 

 minutes, then wiping the face and eye- 

 lids, but not washing out the eye. Re- 

 peat this 4 or 5 times a day, and the last 

 thing before going to bed. I followed 

 directions faithfully, got immediate re- 

 lief, and in a few days the inflammation 

 was entirely gone. 



Oquawka, 111. 



having so many bees atthat time 



abundance of bees consumed the spring 



supply of honey and were not able to 



gather any in the fall. _ I jiave^recenUy ^^SpSfiilbr honey. 



in the side chambers. None offered to 

 swarm, while those in other hives took 

 the swarming fever just in time to " 



traveled over parts of six 

 Ky., and find many colonies in a poor 

 condition to stand a hard winter. Un- 

 less they are well cared for, and freely 

 fed, many merry hives will be silent in 

 death long before spring. When, Oh ! 

 when will farmers give their bees the 

 same care they do other stock on the 

 farm ? L. Johnson. 



Walton, Ky. 



Report for 1880.— We started the sea- 

 son with 240 colonies in good condition. 

 Our surplus boxes were put on early and 

 everything was done to secure a crop of 

 honey that could be. During fruit 

 bloom and white clover, bees gathered 

 enough to keep even. On bass wood 

 they filled their hives. Nights were 

 cool all spring and summer till July, 

 then we had warm nights when there 

 was no bloom, cool nights all fall. Our 

 surplus, therefore, from 246 colonies is 

 10 lbs. of honey and 1 swarm, and that 

 10 lbs. is honey-dew and not honey— the 

 nectar of flowers. Of all conditions for 



hies" in "such hives, and would be sur- 

 prised to find one dead next spring. 

 Hiram Roop. 

 Carson City, Mich., Nov. 25, 1880. 



Well Pleased.— Friend Newman : 

 I read everything I can get hold of per- 

 taining to bees or bee men, and I deem 

 you the most devoted and unselfish 

 friend the bee-keepers now have. I am 

 a stranger to you, though I have ev< 



for some cause or other. I suppose 

 there was no nectar, and it was so dry 

 that bees obtained nothing from golden- 

 rod; it just burned up, without blos- 

 soming out full, and I have had a siege 

 of feeding. My bees will not pay ex- 

 penses this year, but still I live, in hopes 

 of a good honey crop next year. Suc- 

 cess to the weeklv Journal. I could 

 not do without it for twice its cost. 



R. L. Aylok. 

 Waterloo, Ky., Dec. 8, 1880. 



Wintering Bees.— I had 20 colonies 

 last spring, which wintered without loss; 

 l^^^^^O^O^ilMBJhim-, sold 800 Ibs.of honey 

 first conimenced Sc taWng the American i 

 Bee Journal, over two years ago I 

 was first induced to subscribe for the 

 Journal through Mr. D. Kepler, a 



in 5-lb. boxes ; each colony 

 average 50 lbs. of honey to winter on. 

 I winter in a shed covered with hay, dug 

 in the east side of a hill, 24 ft. long, 8 ft. 

 wide and 6 ft. high, banked up on the 



neighbor and friend of mine, who was : wide and tt, nign DanKeu u on u.e 



lished, and which no bee-keeper could 

 afford to do without, After reading 

 the Journal 2 years, I find that his 

 "words and advice were good and 

 timely," and I shall always remember 

 him gratefully for introducing to me 



weather I remove the hay for the bees 

 to have a fly without removing them. 

 I have wintered twice in this way with- 

 out loss. Alfred Gale. 

 Lowell, Ind., Dec. 9. issn. 



