1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



59 



we made 2 of the 7, gave them empty 

 frames and fed a little honey, and the 

 rest, enough of sugar to see them thro' 

 the winter. These 7 made 2 strong col- 

 onies, and they have considerable brood 

 started, hut have had neither water nor 

 pollen except what was contained in 

 the food furnished them, which leads 

 us to believe that they do not require 

 either water or pollen until the warm 

 weather of summer. Those who left 

 their bees unprotected in this vicinity 

 are losing many. One person near us 

 lost 11 out of 13, another 7 out of 20, 

 and all around we hear of losses. 



W. II. Stout, 

 Pine Grove, Pa., Feb. 13, 1881. 



i)4 Days.— It is 9-t.days since my bees 

 have had a My. and' to-day is the worst 

 of any, for it is snowing with a gale of 

 wind from the N. E. My hives are out of 

 sight under the snow. My bees are well 

 prote'cted with boxes packed with chaff 

 and straw, but the tall honey was so 

 poor that, unless they have a fly soon, 

 -they will suffer badly. I will venture 

 to say that one-half the bees wintered 

 on summer stands in this section (north- 

 ern 111.) will go to bee heaven before 

 next May. I see, on page 28 of the 

 weekly Journal, you advise to plant 

 basswood seed in drills. Please inform 

 me when to gather the seed, and when 

 to plant, whether in spring or fall. I 

 have tried it various ways, but never suc- 

 ceeded in a single instance in making 

 them grow, and am very anxious to set 

 300 or 400 of the trees around my lots, 

 for shade as well as honey. I think 

 your article on adulteration the best I 

 ever read, and I have read it to a great 

 many people of our town, and they all 

 pronounce it good. I don't think there 

 js much danger of over-stocking in this 

 part of the country, unless we can de- 

 vise some better mode of wintering, for 

 one winter they do well in the cellar, 

 and next on summer stands, and vice 

 versa.' If my bees all die I shall get 

 another colony if I have to sell the cow 

 to get it, and the Journal. 



D. L. Whitney. 



Rockton, 111., Feb. 12, 1881. 



[Gather the basswood seed as soon as 

 ripened, either after or just before fall- 

 ing from the trees. In spring soak well 

 in tepid water, then plant in drills 3 or 

 4 inches apart. When 1 year old, trans- 

 plant into a sandy loam soil, if possible. 

 Keep partially shaded till well devel- 

 oped, as the young plants will not stand 

 much exposure to sun or drouth.— Ed.] 



Bees in Northern Michigan.— The 



many reports of a poor season last year, 

 in different parts, may show that this 

 northern country is not such a poor 

 place to keep bees as many may sup- 

 pose. We are having pretty cold weather 

 now ; the mercury going down to 20° be- 

 low zero on the 2d inst., which, by the 

 way, is the coldest we have had ; at the 

 present time it is 17° below, but no wind 

 with it, or we should feel it pretty sharp. 

 There is plenty of snow ; about 3 feet 

 in the roads on a level. Two years ago 

 I started with the American Bee 

 Journal (which no man who keeps 

 bees ought to do without, especially the 

 Weekly), and one colony of bees, and 

 increased to three ; the next year I in- 

 creased them to 11, using all the Dun- 

 ham foundation they would work, and 

 rearing my queens all in June, except- 

 ing one bought of Alfred II. Newman, 

 which I successfully introduced. I think 

 they have plenty of honey to winter on ; 

 they are packed in chaff on their sum- 

 mer stands with snow enough around 

 them to help keep out the irost. We 

 generally have snow enough for that 

 purpose every year, so that the ground 

 never freezes, the soil being sandy and 

 clay loam the water works away as fast 

 as it thaws, and we are never troubled 

 with mud or water in the hives. We 

 had honey from the willows and soft 

 maples about the 1st of April last, then 

 followed hard maple and an immense 

 crop of fruit blossom honey, so much 

 that I had to extract to make room for 

 the queen in one hive, and although 

 white clover blossomed profusely yet 

 we received no honey from it. We had 

 a fair crop of Alsike, an abundance 

 from wild raspberry and blackberry; 



basswood yielded fair and buckwheat 

 gave a big yield. I increased as much 

 as I could, not expecting to get much 

 honey tosell ; 200 IDS. Of extracted honey 

 being all I had. II. K. BeechAM. 



Acme, Mich., Feb. 4, 1881. 



Deep Snow.— My bees are all on the 

 summer stands, not having a flight this 

 winter ; they seem to be all right, but 

 the snow is so deep that it is difficult to 

 keep the hives from being buried in it. 

 My straw hives I think will take the 

 prize again this winter. 



H. Klosterman. 



Shawano, Wis.. Feb. 12, 1881. 



Report Your Losses.— My bees did 

 poorly last season. I have 60 colonies 

 packed in chaff. 40 of these were very 

 strong when I put them away for win- 

 ter ; but I very much fear that the long 

 severe winter will destroy all that I have. 

 I will report when I take them to their 

 summer stands, if it ever gets warm 

 enough to take them there. I suggest 

 that the name given to the Holy Land 

 bees, be Palestine bees. I think it much 

 more euphonious than " Holy bees. " 

 What say you, bee-keepers ? I hope 

 the readers of the Bee Journal will 

 make brief reports for its columns. 

 Let us know the worst "though the 

 heavens fall." J. R. Baker. 



Keithsburg, 111., Jan. 9. 1831. 



Letter from Australia.— The Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal is full of most use- 

 ful and interesting information. Its 

 correspondents are evidently experi- 

 enced and astute observers, and I have 

 much pleasure in giving testimony to 

 the excellence and variety of matter, all 

 tending to make bee-keeping a popular 

 and practical science, which appear in 

 its columns. S. McDonnell. 



Sydney, Australia. 



Cutting Bee-Gums.— I have found a 

 bee-tree— a large basswood. I wish to 

 save the bees, when is the best time to 

 cut it V Give general directions. 



Belleville, Ont. A. B. 



[The best time will be in early spring, 

 .just after honey-flow sets in and before 

 the combs are filled with brood. Fall 

 the tree in the direction of the entrance, 

 which is done by chopping the tree 

 nearly off on that side first. When it 

 begins to swing, a few strokes on the 

 other side will lay it in the position you 

 want it. Now chop (or saw) above and 

 below the bees, and your " gum" is 

 ready for transportation. If, however, 

 the tree should break, in falling, right 

 where the bees are located (which fre- 

 quently happens), then save and trans- 

 fer all the combs you can into frames, 

 and get the queen and bees into a hive, 

 which you should have provided in ad- 

 vance.— Ed.] 



Give us all the Facts.— Vour issue of 

 Jan. 26 reached us on Feb. 2. We gave 

 an audible smile when we were inform- 

 ed, on page 28, that the weather is mild- 

 er. Our weather has not let up enough 

 to thaw for a month, and now our ther- 

 mometer, the first days of February, 

 ranges at about 18° below zero, with 

 the thinnest kind of a north wind. 

 While at work in our shop we have to 

 feed our stove constantly and work live- 

 ly to keep off the effects of Jack Frost. 

 We have enjoyed eighty days of excel- 

 lent sleighing. We think if the present 

 weather continues, the chaff hive advo- 

 cates will have a winter severe enough 

 to test their plan of wintering. We no- 

 tice several reports of losses, and we 

 hope hereafter each person will state 

 how their bees were wintered, in chaff 

 or in the cellar, or without protection. 

 We winter in the cellar, and think it the 

 very best plan. We have a few swarms 

 packed in chaff, and we have wished 

 them in the cellar several times during 

 this extreme winter we are having, and 

 are very solicitous about their comfort 

 and final condition. We are therefore 

 anxious to hear how others are winter- 

 ing when packed in like manner. Bee- 

 keepers, as a rule, are peculiar in their 

 statements of success and failure. A 



good season that ensures plenty of new 

 swarms and a bountiful harvest, makes 

 him feel very important, and his great 

 success is spread far and near. But 

 should he lose 25 per cent, of his bees in 

 wintering, he is very quiet about men- 

 tioning it. In fact, ten chances to one 

 he does not mention it at all. The farm- 

 er that loses a few sheep or a few cows, 

 thinks it no disgrace, and makes no con- 

 cealment of the fact, but discusses the 

 causes of his loss with his neighbors and 

 tries to avoid disaster in the future. 

 The bee-keeper has one advantage over 

 the farmer; while the farmer has nothing 

 to show after his loss, the bee-keeper has 

 his empty hives, and they are placed 

 carefully in their usual position upon 

 their summer stands, and no one would 

 suspect loss unless an examination is 

 commenced. Then if the bee-keeperis 

 finally cornered, his loss is about so 

 many. About means anywhere from 5 

 to 20, and he will not talk freely about 

 it until the next fall. Knowing these 

 peculiarities of bee-keepers (we are one 

 of them), we want full and straight re- 

 ports. We will promise such a one on 

 our part, and hope others will not be 

 ashamed of theirfailures as well as their 

 successes. J. H. Martin. 



Hartford, N. Y., Feb. 3, 1881. 



Width of Sections.— Are not l 1 ^ inches 

 about the proper thickness for section 

 boxes, where no separators are used ? 



2. Are they not more liable to build 

 the. combs straighter than if they were 

 thicker ? 



3. ,Can there not be more honey ob- 

 tained without the separators than with 

 them ; and if so, what per cent. V 



A. J. F. 

 East Liverpool, O., Feb. 14, 1881. 



[1. No; we would use them 2 inches. 



2. No ; if you use starters. 



3. There will, of course, be the addi- 

 tion of as much honey in each section 

 as would be taken up in space for the 

 separators. We do not think the sepa- 

 rators make any perceptible difference 

 in theamount of honey gathered.— Ed.] 



Bees in Georgia.— My bees went into 

 winter quarters with but little honey, 

 and some of them have perished on ac- 

 count of the weather being too cold to 

 feed them. I am feeding some weak 

 colonies now, hoping the weather will 

 soon break, so that they can get a living 

 for themselves. My bees stopped brood 

 rearing very early in the fall and have 

 not yet begun again. Last year, brood 

 rearing continued every month during 

 the year. We are not troubled here 

 about wintering ; we leave our colonies 

 out unprotected all winter. I think of 

 stimulating soon, so as to encourage 

 brood rearing. Peaches bloom by the 

 1st of March ; then our bees can live 

 without feeding. I am the only man in 

 this locality that has the movable 

 frame hive, and I have the only station 

 bees in the county. I have 30 colonies, 

 28 being Italians. I find comb founda- 

 tion a great help, and shall send 50 lbs. 

 of wax to be made into Dunham foun- 

 dation. I am proud to see the Weekly 

 Journal come in. I read every word 

 in it as soon as I get it. Success to it. 

 H. M. Williams, M. D. 



Bowden, Ga., Feb. 14, 1881. 



Wintered in a Cave.— I have 35 colo- 

 nies of bees, 10 in Root's chaff hives, 

 and the balance in simplicity hives. I 

 shall get about as many more, and want 

 to make a lot of hives, but am undecided 

 which kind to make. I have my sim- 

 plicities all packed in good boxes, and 

 all appear to be wintering well, although 

 we have had an unusually cold winter ; 

 thermometer has been as low as 28° be- 

 low zero, and has remained below zero 

 for 10 days at a time. I like the sim- 

 plicities for summer, as they are more 

 convenient to handle, but which is best 

 to make, chaff hives or the others, and 

 pack in boxes, I have not been able to 

 decide. In the winter of 1879-80, 1 had 

 nine, all in simplicity hives, and made 

 a cave on the top of the ground with 

 ventilating tubes, &c. I put 51 in and 

 took out 22 alive, and only 15 of these 

 were able to give me any surplus. I ob- 

 tained about 1000 lbs. from 15 colonies 

 and their increase to 35 by natural 



swarming and dividing. I think I am 

 in a good location here for hoes, and 

 Dear a good market, Des Moines, only 8 



miles distant. I obtai I I8and20cts. 



for comb and 15 to 20 els. for extracted 

 honey. I have plenty of linn, white 

 clover, sumac and Simpson honey plant 

 growing wild here. I am well pleased 

 with the Weekly Bee Journal. 



Mn.o Smith. 

 Greenwood, Polk Co., Iowa. 



Placing Sections Crosswise.— Will bees 

 work as readily in the sections where 

 they are put on crosswise of the brood- 

 frames ? Peter Billing. 



Pawnee, Neb., Feb. 10, 1880. 



[We think it makes but little differ- 

 ence, so long as the usual space is left 

 between the tops of the brood frames 

 and the sections.— Ed.] 



Feeding Candy.— My 25 colonies of bees 

 had a flight on January 30, and Feb 10, 

 but to-day is very cold. I am feeding 

 candy made of granulated sugar and 

 flour, laid on the frames under the quilt. 

 I use the Langstroth hive. I have had 

 a few for 15 years, but never knew the 

 value of a movable frame until I took 

 your Journal, and now I read every 

 thing I can get on bee culture, and am 

 much pleased with the Weekly. The 

 last 5 years were poor honey seasons ; 

 our honey crop here is from white clo- 

 ver, there being no basswood, poplar 

 nor -golden rods near. I intend to sow 

 some alsike and melilot clover this 

 spring on waste places. 



L. T. Mobberlt. 

 Long Grove, Ky., Feb. 14, 1881. 



Mitchell Hive. — I have 14 colonies in 

 the Mitchell hive, in fair condition so 

 far. I have used the Mitchell hive 2 

 years now and like it well. Bees done 

 well here last summer. I commenced 

 last spring with 6 colonies, increased to 

 14, and received from each colony 80 

 lbs. of extracted honey. I have re- 

 ceived 5 numbers of the Weekly Bee 

 Journal. I am well pleased with it, 

 and would not give it up for twice its 

 cost. It is just what I want, as I am a 

 new hand at bee-keeping, so I can 

 hear form those who have kept bees for 

 a good many years. Success to the 

 Weekly Bee Journal. 



H. J. Smith. 



Burlington, Wis., Feb. 8, 1881. 



Information Wanted.— I was very 

 much interested in Mr. James Heddon's 

 article in the Journal for February 

 2d. He says : " I find that by the use 

 of proper methods of adjusting sections 

 on hives, and proper care after so doing, 

 there is no need of those nuisances 

 called separators." Now I should be 

 very much pleased to have Mr. Heddon 

 tell how to adjust the sections, and also 

 how to care for them after adjusted. It 

 is sure, that bees are hindered by sepa- 

 rators, and from my experience, I find 

 that metal is the only practical material 

 to use, and the first cost of this is quite 

 an item. Carl Tuttle. 



Berlin Heights, O., Feb. 5, 1881. 



Spider Plant.— Will stock eat flgwort 

 or spider plant ? I have some waste 

 ground on which I can use both for bee 

 food, but it is nnfenced. Please answer 

 through the Weekly Bee Journal. 

 E. S. Hopkins. 



Jeffersonville, Ind., Feb. 17, 1881. 



[We think they would not, unless 

 there was great scarcity of other forage. 

 Why not harrow in melilot? It pos- 

 sesses many advantages over either of 

 the plants named, and the sooner put 

 in the' ground the better.— Ed.] 



Bees Nearly All Dead.— My 40 colonies 

 of bees are nearly all dead ; if I have 5 

 colonies alive in the spring I shall be 

 thankful. Some of them were in large 

 boxes filled in with straw all around, 

 and 6 inches of straw over them. I had 

 8 put up in that way, and not more than 

 3 of the colonies arenowalive ; the rest 

 were in Langstroth hives, with straw in 

 the caps, on the summer stands. I ex- 

 pect nearly all the bees in this section 

 will die this winter. H. M. Noble. 



Swedesburg, Iowa, Feb. 10, 1881. 



