1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



77 



All Right.— Last fall I packed my bees 

 with chaff; they are wintering finely; 

 they had a good Might to-day. I am de- 

 lighted with the Weekly Bee Journal. 

 <.. n. Adams. 



North Nassau, X. Y., Feb. 11, 1881. 



Why Is it? — We have 2 colonies ven 

 nicely packed in chaff. Last week, with 

 the thermometer at 45 . many of them 

 came out, discharged their feces, and 

 dropped on the snow. We gathered up 

 several, warmed and returned them to 

 the hive, but they came out again. 

 Others flew off and dropped at a Long 

 distance. The\ had been confined about 



14 weeks. What is the cause ? 



Robert 11. Smith. 

 Faulkenburg, Out., Feb. 14, 1881. 



[They had contracted dysentery from 

 long confinement, and cameout of their 



hives to die, which would have resulted 

 had they remained in. The loss to the 

 colony will hardly be perceptible, it' 

 those remaining are healthy. — Ed.] 



Italians vs. Blacks for Wintering.— 



The loss of bees here is over 150 colo- 

 nies, there not being more than a dozen 

 left. The loss was mostly caused by 

 poor, unsealed honey and long confine- 

 ment. The winter has been unusually 

 severe. The past 2 years were poor for 

 bees, especially the last. I had but 2 

 swarms and obtained 400 lbs. of honey 

 from 23 colonies last year; and now I 

 have only 8 left out of 24. I use the 

 Quinby hive packed with chaff; but 

 like the Langstroth frame best, as it is 

 more easily handled. The black bees 

 are nearly all dead ; of 12 black colonies 

 I have only 1 left ; out of 12 Italian col- 

 onies, 7 are alive. I hope to get some of 

 the best strains in the country, and 

 build them up again, as I have plenty 

 of combs on hand. The Bee Journal 

 is a welcome visitor. 



Charles F. Uphaus. 

 Batesville, Ind., Feb. 18, 1881. 



Shallow Hives for Winter.— I went 

 into winter quarters with 14 colonies 

 (13 blacks), 12 were in Langstroth 

 and simplicity hives, 2 in box hives; 10 

 colonies had sufficient stores; 2 were 

 weak. The cold spell in Nov. caught 

 me unprepared, to some extent, al- 

 though all but 2 in Langstroth and sim- 

 plicity hives, had 7 inches of chaff cov- 

 ering. After it warmed up a little I 

 packed the 12 with dry straw on all 

 sides but the front, and covered them 

 so that the straw would not become wet. 

 Nine lived through the second cold 

 wave, but now 8 more are dead; all left 

 plenty of stores, so that so far, I have 

 lost 11 out of 13, and 1 that is now liv- 

 ing was shipped by rail 25 miles, on 

 Dec. 15, in a tall box hive. All the bees 

 in this neighborhood in Langstroth 

 hives are dead, while, as far as my 

 knowledge goes, those in tall box hives 

 are living. Now why is this? Do you 

 not consider the Langstroth hive too 

 shallow for wintering, especially in se- 

 vere winters like this? I am more than 

 satisfied with the Weekly Bee Jour- 

 nal. J. H. Eby. 



North Robinson, O., Feb. 28, 1881. 



[The deep frames, as also the shallow 

 ones, have their ardent admirers, and 

 all claim especial advantages for their 

 favorite hives. With everything favor- 

 able, we cannot imagine why one should 

 be preferable to another; in other words, 

 the most successful hive one winter of- 

 ten proves most disastrous the next. 

 Could we regulate the winters, it would 

 be an easy matter to determine the 

 proper depth of frames. — Ed.] 



Bees in Good Condition.— We are hav 



ing one of the most severe winters, that 

 we have had in this part of the world 

 for many years ; in fact its equal is only 

 remembered by the oldest settlers. On 

 Feb. 3d the thermometer stood 30° below 

 zero. Last winter oui coldest weather 

 only reached zero. Our bees have been 

 confined since the 5th day of Dec. until 

 the 11th clay of the present month, mak- 

 ing in all 67 days, or a little over nine 

 weeks. .A part of our hives which stood 

 in a row near a fence, was completely 



drifted out of sight; the rest were only 

 partially covered with snow. Since I hi' 



thaw, it has been quite cloudy, the ther- 

 mometer being at 17 above '/.cni ; SOO06 

 of the bees flew quite briskly, but the 

 most of them were rather inclined to 

 remain quiet. As far as we have exam- 

 ined we linil them in very good condi- 

 tion ; much better than we expected. 

 A lew show signs of dysentery, though 



not to a bad extent. There are quite a 



number of beginners in this vicinity, 

 with only or 8 colonies each, that have 

 lost a number of colonies; undoubtedly 

 the cause was a lack of proper protec- 

 tion for winter. But perhaps the "win- 

 ter of ourdiscontent" may come during 

 the cold, stormy blasts of March ; lint 

 it is to be hoped they will come out all 

 right. V. II. Ormsby. 



Pierpont, O., Feb. 14, 1881. 



Bee Dress for a Girl.— My father has 

 long been a bee-keeper, and proposing 

 to assist him the coming summer, I de- 

 sire information through your Journal 

 for a most suitable bee dress for a girl, 

 in regard to material and style of 

 making. Bell Tomlinson. 



Allegan, Mich., Feb. 20, 1881. 



[In answer, we copy from Prof. Cook's 

 " Manual of the Apiary, page 197. — Ed.] 



"For ladies, my friend, Mrs. Baker, 

 recommends a dress which, by use of 

 the rubber skirt-lift or other device, can 

 be instantly raised or lowered. This will 

 be convenient in the apiary, and tidy 

 anywhere. The Gabrielle s'tyle is pre- 

 ferred, and of a length just to reach the 

 floor. It should be belted at the waist, 

 and cut down from the neck in front, 

 one-third the length of the waist, to 

 permit the tucking in of the veil. The 

 under-waist should fasten close about 

 the neck. The sleeves should be quite 

 long to allow free use of the arms, and 

 gathered in with a rubber cord at the 

 wrist, which will hug the rubber gaunt- 

 lets or arm, and prevent bees from 

 crawling up the sleeves. The pantalets 

 should be straight and full, and should 

 also have the rubber cord in the hem to 

 draw them close about the top of the 

 shoes." 



No Flight since November.— My 30 col- 

 onies of bees have had no flight since 

 Nov. 1, and I fear they need it very 

 much — a part of them being " packed " 

 on the summer stands, while the rest are 

 in the cellar. The Weekly Bee Jour- 

 nal never comes before I am ready for 

 its valuable instruction. I do not see 

 how I could get along without it. I wish 

 it every success. H. H. Mitchell. 



Maquoketa, Iowa, Feb. 28, 1881. 



Bees in Missouri. — Is it possible to 

 transmit foul brood in foundation ? I 

 have been using it to some extent, and 

 expect to use it more extensively in the 

 spring. We have had a long, cold win- 

 ter; bees have had but one good fly since 

 Nov.; about the 5th of Feb. they had 

 a partial fly. I think fully one half of 

 the bees in the country will die. The 

 thermometer has indicated 18° below 

 zero. A poor season, with an enormous 

 fruit crop, is, perhaps, the cause. My 

 bees appear all right; they are all well 

 packed in chaff. My neighbor's bees are 

 in moderately good American hives, 

 without protection, except open honey- 

 boxes on top, and they are all right. So 

 I do not know which method is best. 

 I know of no other bees packed in the 

 country, but hundreds are dead; per- 

 haps packing would have saved some. 

 Linden timber is plenty with abun- 

 dance of white clover, and a perfect 

 sea of fall flowers, at the head of 

 which, as a honey producer, stands the 

 Spanish needle. The so-called "Simp- 

 son honey plant," grows wild, but not 

 in sufficient auantity to be of much 

 benefit, only to show that it is a favor- 

 ite with the bees, from daylight until 

 dark. Buck-wheat does not amount to 

 much here; it often fails to secrete 

 honey. I shall, this summer, try alsike, 

 white, and melilot clovers. 



A. R. Leeper. 



Odessa, Mo., Feb. 28, 1881. 



[Foul brood will not be transmitted 

 by the use of comb foundation, even if 

 the wax came from diseased colonies. 

 —Ed.] 



Granulation of Honey. — I should like 

 to know Mr. lloge's plan for keeping 



honey from granulating. Heating 1 ej 



makes it darker, and if it boils it spoils 



the flavor. Please give it in the Bee 

 Journal. g. F. Northrop. 



Southport, Conn., Feb. 10, 1881. 



[We know nothing more of his plan 

 than that given on page 37. Perhaps 

 he will give it in some future number 

 of the Journal.— Ed.] 



Wintering in Maine. — I fear it is 

 too far north here in Maine to winter 

 bees on the summer stands. In winter- 

 ing in the cellar the combs get moldy. 

 Mr. Root advises wintering on the sum- 

 mer stands, and I have tried it for two 

 seasons. Last winter I put my weak- 

 est colonies into the cellar, but more 

 perished of those on the summer stands 

 than those in the cellar. This winter I 

 have 9 in chaff hives, 12 in tenement 

 hives, 4 in house packed with chaff and 

 straw, 6 in dry goods boxes stuffed 

 around with straw, and 23 in the cellar 

 with chaff cushions over the frames, 

 and chaff division boards. 



Dexter, Maine. L. French. 



tosses in the Cellar.— Live bees are a 



Scarce article here, and will be re so 



if winter continues much longer. Many 

 persons have lost all, while none have 

 escaped without considerable loss, l 



am often asked the question: ' l What is 

 the cause of the great loss of bees?" I 

 cannot give a satisfactory answer. The 

 continued excessive cold weather is 

 probably the main cause, in one cellar 

 that I know of, bees have, for several 



years, wintered well. This winter all 

 have died except 1 colony, and that is 



quite weak. They were put in after the 



fust cold snap, and were sinmg and ap- 

 parently in g I Order; all were well 



supplied with honey. At lirst I did not 

 like the change from monthly to weekly, 

 but am well pleased now. 



Isaac Sharp. 

 Waveland. Ind., Feb. 2.".. 1881. 



Queen Rearing.— Mr. Weed, on page 

 58. of the Bee Journal, asks how many 

 colonies I made yield $25 each, at queen 

 rearing. It was fifteen colonies. Per- 

 haps I ought to explain that all of the 

 income was not derived from queens, as 

 there were eighteen colonies sold in the 

 fall, and I had GOO lbs. of extracted 

 honey, but the rearing of queens was 

 my specialty, and the main income was 

 from this source. Judging from my 

 experience, I think I could care for 40 

 colonies, devoted to queen rearing. 

 More time, per colony, is required in 

 queen rearing, than in working for 

 honey, but I think queen rearing pays, 

 in the long run. a little the best. 



W. Z. Hutchinson, 



Rogersville, Mich. 



Death ! Death ! ! Death ! ! !— I have 

 long since found that it is not best to 

 " whistle until out of the woods." I 

 am out, and no mistake ; but I have not 

 a single bee left. My bees had plenty 

 of honey. I had a very small increase, 

 and that by natural swarming; but my 

 bees were not strong in the fall. There 

 was something the matter with them 

 last summer. From July on, thousands 

 of young bees came out of the hive as 

 though they would start for the field, 

 pitch off of the alighting board to the 

 ground, and make a few attempts to 

 rise, and then turn on their backs and 

 die. They would act just as though they 

 had been stung. Sometimes the ground 

 was covered with bees in front of the 

 hive, for several hundred yards. I had 

 just Italianized them; but now the bees 

 in the county are nearly all gone, there 

 is nothing left to build up with. I 

 weighed my bees on the 1st of Nov., 

 anil marked the weight on the hives, 

 and put them into winter quarters on 

 the morning of the 15th, and they never 

 lived long enough to eat more than 2 

 lbs. of honey. The walls of my winter 

 bee-house are 12 inches thick, tilled with 

 dry sawdust. I had 18 colonies in this 

 place, and 1 packed in sawdust out of 

 doors, and there was but one colony 

 alive by the 1st of Feb., and they died 

 before the month was out. I think it is 

 safe to say that 24 colonies out of every 

 25 are dead, in Randolph Co., Ind. I 

 will try again. I love bees and the 

 Bee Journal. Abe Hoke. 



Union City, Ind., March 4th, 1881. 



Five per cent, of Loss.— My loss is 5 

 per cent, up to date. I have not lost 

 one that was packed. The loss will not 

 vary much from 20 per cent, by the 1st 

 of May, and one half to those with no 

 protection. The January thaw, that 

 came February 10, has saved my bees. 

 Mr. Betsinger hit the nail on the head 

 when he said: " No honey, plenty of 

 foul brood; plenty of honey, no foul 

 brood." I hear complaints from Mich., 

 of " no honey, and of foul brood " mak- 

 ing sad havoc. The long and the short 

 of it is, that in a poor season it will 

 spread fast; and in a good season, it is 

 early cured by cutting out with a knife. 



W. L. COGGSHALL. 



West Groton,N. Y., Mar. 3, 1881. 



Duplication.— The finest queen I have 

 came from I). A. Pike. She is light in 

 color, and prolific, and produces the 

 finest marked workers that I ever saw. 

 She does not duplicate her bees; but 

 they are very fine. They do not dupli- 

 cate, and never will. 



A. J. Tunnell. 



Carrollton, Ills., Feb. 23, 1881. 



Sad loss of Bees. — In this vicinity 

 nearly all the bees are dead, caused by 

 neglect in preparing for winter. Some 

 have starved for lack of stores, but 

 many died with plenty in their hives. 

 Mine are packed in chaff on the sum- 

 mer stands, and are yet in good condi- 

 tion. H. B. Brittatn. 



Alexandria, Ind. 



Will soon be ready for the Harvest.— 



My bees are never moved from their 

 summer stands, and out of over 80 col- 

 onies I have only lost 4. They have 

 had a severe time, but as soon as they 

 are ready to go to work I shall give 

 them fresh ground rye-meal. 



E. C. Jordan. 

 Stephenson's Depot, Va., Feb. 22. 



Highly Pleased.— Your neat and very 

 desirable Weekly Bee Journal I read 

 through as soon as it comes. I am 

 highly pleased with it, and rejoice that 

 we are, through your foresight and gen- 

 erosity, to have the pleasure of greeting 

 your valuable Journal four times each 

 month. A. W. Hale. 



San Bernardino, Cal. 



Three per cent, of Loss.— Last fall I 

 put 35 colonies into winter quarters. 

 They were in Langstroth double- walled 

 hives, packed with chaff on the top, 

 botttom, and on three sides. I have 

 lost but 1 yet, though they did not have 

 a flight from early in Nov. untilFeb. 11. 

 Yesterday I looked over 3 colonies, 

 which I found strong, having a little 

 brood, and honey enough to last them 

 until the middle of April, when I shall 

 have to feed them. Losses are very 

 heavy in this locality among the inex- 

 perienced. The time is coining when 

 none but the progressive will keep bees 

 — the sooner it comes the better. I am 

 well pleased with the Weekly Bee 

 Journal. Edson J. Smith. 



Addison, Vt., March 1, 1881. 



Good Enough. — With 12 colonies, in 

 the spring of 1880, 1 increased to 35, by 

 natural swarming, and obtained 1000 

 lbs. of surplus nearly all in 2 lb. sec- 

 tions, which I sold at 20 cts. per lb. at 

 home. One colony gave off 3 swarms. 

 My bees are all in good condition, and 

 they will not need any feeding this 

 spring. E. Doty. 



Macksburg, Iowa. 



Lost but few.— Our bees have had a 



ily, and we find we have lost but few; 



but they are needing fair weather, and 



a backward spring would be disastrous. 



Chas. Dadant & Son. 



Hamilton, 111., March 3, 1881. 



About Half Dead.— I am well pleased 

 with the Weekly Bee Journal. My 

 bees are not wintering well. About 

 one haif of each colony are dead now. 

 It looks as though they would come out 

 very feeble in the spring. M. S. 



North Wayne, Me., Mar. 1, 1881. 



