1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



85 





Wintered Well.— 1 have wintered 40 

 colonies of Italians on the summer 

 stands ; they have wintered well. 



James H. Davis. 



New Holland, Pa., March 8, 1881. 



Mortality Reports.— It seems to me 

 that the only way of profiting by the 

 experience of bee-keepers throughout 

 the country, this exceptionally severe 

 winter, is to reduce their reports to a 

 tabular statement. If they could be 

 induced to send in these reports, in the 

 form of brief answers, to questions 

 like the following, we could read the 

 history of the past winter on a sin- 

 gle page of the Bee Journal, and 

 learn from it lessons of scientific value. 

 I mean such questions as these : 



1. How many colonies did you winter? 



2. Where ? (out doors or in cellar.) 



3. What hive did you use ? 



4. How did you prepare it ? 



5. What entrance was left open, bot- 

 tom, top, or both ? 



6. How late did the bees breed ? 



7. How many lbs. of honey were they 

 allowed to keep V 



8. When did they have their first 

 flight V 



9. How many colonies did you lose ? 



C. F. Kroeh. 

 Hoboken, N. J., Mar. 5, 1881. 



[It would be difficult to get up a reli- 

 able report of this kind for many rea- 

 sons, chiefly, perhaps,the following : 1st. 

 Spring does not open simultaneously all 

 over the country, and by the time the 

 last were heard from, the table would 

 have lost its interest; 2d. Many are 

 sensitive, and prefer not to give their 

 experience; 3d. Many have partially 

 reported already, and would scarcely 

 care to do so again. We agree with 

 Mr. Kroeh, a table of that description 

 would be invaluable for reference; but 

 it is difficult to obtain.— Ed.] 



not discouraged. If I had to make a 

 living from bees it would be slim. I can 

 learn more in 1 week about taking care 

 of bees from the Bee Journal, than I 

 could in 1 year without it. 



Edmund DeLair. 

 Oketo, Kan., March 1, 1881. 



Honey Sections.— In the Bee Jour- 

 nal of March 2d Mr. Ileddon says he 

 prefers a section that he can press to 

 any angle and have it solid, but I fail 

 to see that any other angle than square 

 is of any advantage. Again, Mr. II. 

 asks, " Is it not better to wait and see 

 which goes into general use ? " Perhaps 

 the following figures may show which 

 has gone into general use, at least with 

 our customers. I make any kind that 

 are wanted, and therefore the figures 

 will show which are the most desirable. 

 In 1879, the first year that the one-piece 

 sections were put upon the market, and 

 at a higher price than other kinds, my 

 sales were: 



104,578 one piece sections. 

 1:24,1 »58 dovetailed. 

 38,270 nailed. 



In 1880, the following are the figures : 



233,898 one-piece sections. 

 47.980 dovetailed. 

 50,950 nailed. 



According to Mr. Heddon's test, there- 

 fore,the one-piece sections are the most 

 desirable, because they have gone into 

 general use. G. B. Lewis. 



Watertown, Wis., March 8, 1881. 



Nineteen Weeks' Conflneiuent.— Bees 

 have at last had a purifying flight after 

 19 weeks' confinement. I find 28 dead 

 from 153, 1 packed in chaff. Tempera- 

 ture has been below zero 7 times, and as 

 low as 17° below, this winter. A few 

 of the remaining colonies are weak and 

 may die yet, but nearly all are strong 

 for this season of the year. One has 

 had dysentery since Dec. 15, but is 

 alive yet, with a fair prospect of getting 

 through. II. D. Burrell. 



Bangor, Mich., March 10, 1881. 



Bees in Wood Condition.— The Weekly 

 Bee Journal is a welcome visitor and 

 is the first paper I read when I return 

 home on Friday evening. It is a friend 

 that introduces me to my fellow bee- 

 keepers, and their manner of manipu- 

 lating our pets. My bees are in good 

 spirits, yet they had but 2 flights this 

 winter. I have them packed in a shed 

 in new Langstroth hives, manipulating 

 sides. They are 6 inches apart ana 

 packed all around with straw, excepting 

 the fronts. They face the south, with 

 a division board on each side of the 

 frames, leaving a dead air space. 



John W. Sturwold. 



Haymond, Ind., Feb. 7, 1881. 



Wintered Safely.— We had a very 



Eoorseason last year and the winter has 

 een very severe. I began the last sea- 

 son with 18 colonies, increased to 34 and 

 obtained about 500 lbs. of surplus. I 

 wintered in the cellar, and lost 3 colo- 

 nies with dysentery. My bees had a 

 cleansing flight about 2 weeks ago and 

 I think we will have no more losses this 

 winter. There are quite a number of 

 bee-keepers iff this vicinity, but most 

 of them report very heavy losses, some 

 having over 100 colonies and losing 

 nearly all. We are very much pleased 

 with the Weekly Bee Journal, and 

 think it far superior to any Monthly. 

 L. E. Welch 

 Linden, Mich., March 8, 1881. 



A Slim Living.— I prepared 21 colonies 

 on Dec. 1st, for wintering on summer 

 stands. Hives were sitting on 4 inch- 

 blocks, and the colonies were all strong. 

 I placed woolen blankets over the tops 

 of the frames, then the honey-boards 

 and covers, and left them for the win- 

 ter — my usual way. Always heretofore 

 they have come out bright. Feb. 22d I 

 felt uneasy about them, and being a 

 bright day, I opened the hives to find 11 

 dead out of 21 colonies, and the remain- 

 ing 10 weak. The hives were filled 

 with frost and ice, and blankets wet 

 with water; 5 out of the 11 dead had 

 Italian queens, which I purchased from 

 Mr. A. fl. Newman last summer. I am 



Wintered Without Loss.— I have kept 

 bees for 7 years and my greatest trouble 

 has been wintering them, but I think I 

 have that perfect now. I winter on 

 summer stands packed in chaff. Last 

 fall I had 72 colonies, and on Feb. 9 all 

 were right. I think I shall have to feed 

 them. Last fall some had 15 lbs. and 

 others 25 lbs of honey; that is if bees 

 and comb weighed 10 lbs. The combs 

 were all new, and it may be that 10 lbs. 

 was allowing too much. 



George Wickwire. 



Weston Mills, N. Y., March 4, 1881. 



Mourning for the Bees.— It is lament- 

 able to hear the reports throughout this 

 country. Some have lost all; others all 

 but 1 or 2. I think about four-fifths of 

 the bees are dead through this country; 

 as nearly all left their bees unprotected, 

 they had to suffer losses. But I think 

 the present winter will in part decide 

 the best methods of wintering. I 

 started last spring with 4 colonies, in- 

 creased to 6, but obtained no surplus. 

 In Sept. I bought 2 Italian colonies 

 which are doing' well. I packed 2 in 

 chaff and 6 I put into the cellar, but 2 

 of these died, 1 starved, and the other 

 had the dysentery. Those packed in 

 chaff had a good flight on Feb. 26. 

 Those in the cellar had no flight since 

 Nov. 1. The weather is now breaking 

 up, the snow has nearly all gone, and 

 the roads are muddy. I am highly 

 pleased with the Weekly Bee Journal. 

 I could not be persuaded to do without 

 it. H. Cripe. 



North Manchester, Ind., Mar., 8, 1881. 



very late spring. I prepared 148 colonies 

 for winter, (123 in chaff hives and 25 in 

 the common box hive.) I have lost but 

 one in chaff tiive yet, and 10 in the box 

 hive already, and doubt if one-half of 

 what are left will see the middle of 

 April. I wish to congratulate our ed- 

 itor on the success of the Bee Joukn a l. 

 I have received it regular since assum- 

 ing its new form, and think it just 

 splendid, and if I had but 1 colony of 

 bees I would try to take the Weekly 

 Bee Journal to aid me to make a 

 success of that 1. I hope the editor 

 may be liberally supported by the bee- 

 keepers of America, for I believe with 

 his experience and that of his able con- 

 tributors, he can give us a paper that 

 we cannot afford to do without. 



J. M. France. 

 Auburn, l'a. Feb. 24,1881. 



Vexatious to Sell Honey.— I only real- 

 ized $300 last year from my bees. I put 

 50 colonies in winter quarters in the 

 fall of 1879; lost none, but doubled up 

 on account of queenlessness, weakness, 

 etc., to 45, all in first class order. I 

 bought 50 colonies in old-fashioned 

 Langstroth hives; they were wintered 

 in a good cellar, and were, with a few 

 exceptions, weak in bees, combs in bad 

 order, short of stores, and badly man- 

 aged the preceding season. I united 

 them down to 27 before I moved them. 

 At the beginning of honey harvest 

 (basswood bloom) I doubled up to 15, so 

 that when the honey season opened I 

 had 60 first class colonies, and obtained 

 3,500 lbs. of summer honey. I extracted 

 only once. I increased by natural 

 swarming to 88, and at the close of the 

 season doubled up to 74. I have lost 1 

 this winter through my own fault. I 

 winter out-doors, hut would winter in- 

 doors if I had a proper place. I sell 

 nearly all my honey to the consumers, 

 but confess this is a vexatious way of 

 disposing of it; it is the most annoying 

 part of the business; in fact, I feel dis- 

 gusted when I think of it. People cry 

 Fraud, fraud, when there is no fraud; 

 but wlien a spurious article is offered, 

 they swallow it as quietly as desired. 

 George W. Horner. 

 Dubuque, Iowa, Feb. 15, 1881. 



Bees in Prime Condition.— I have 110 

 colonies in the cellar in prime condition. 

 Nearly all bees out doors are dead. 



C. II. DimiERN. 



Milan, 111. Mar. 9, 1881. 



Prospects Better.— This has been a 

 fine day; my bees had a cleansing flight 

 today. They are all alive and strong, 

 and seem to be in splendid condition, 

 with plenty of honey and perfectly dry. 

 I think all the danger is over with them 

 now. I am in favor of double-walled 

 hives, but not packed with chaff, for I 

 have noticed that where there is chaff 

 there is frost on the inside wall. I pre- 

 fer a dead air space, for then it is al- 

 ways dry. What is the use of chang- 

 ing black bees for Italians, if Mr. 

 Loucks, of California, can get so much 

 honey from the black bees, they surely 

 must be the " boss " bees? I think we 

 had better take our bees to California, 

 where milk and honey flows. 



David Hohenshell. 



Collins, 111., March 6, 1881. 



Paris (<reen. — It is not very good for 

 bees, as I had an opportunity last spring 

 to find out. I have in my garden a 10 

 year old plum tree that never perfected 

 any fruit and knowing that Paris 

 green would kill bugs I thought it 

 might also kill the •"little turk," or 

 Uurculio. Acting upon the suggestion 

 I mixed some Paris green in a water- 

 ing can and put up through the branches 

 of the tree a long ladder, from the top 

 of which I sprinkled the whole top of 

 the tree just before dark, and a day or 2 

 before the bloom went off. Next day 

 afternoon as I was passing through my 

 bee yard I was very much surprised to 

 see on the ground a good many bees in 

 a dying condition winch I could not ac- 

 count for. I came at last, however, to 

 the conclusion that they had gone to 

 the plum tree in the morning before it 

 was dry and partaken of the poison. I 

 lost a good many bees but I have 

 learned this lesson, " never to put Paris 

 green on trees when in bloom;" still I 

 am satisfied that by sprinkling or 

 syringing 2 or 3 times, when the plum 

 is in its incipient state, it will insure a 

 crop. Who will try this spring and re- 

 port ? Geo. Thompson. 

 Geneva, 111. 



Making Progress.— Although behind 

 some other States, yet we have made 

 some progress. Bees seem to do best in 

 the newer counties, where the timber 

 has not been cut off. It might be sup- 

 posed that the northern portion of this 

 State was not favorable for bees, but 

 Aroostook county, in the extreme north, 

 produces nearly as much honey as all 

 the other 15 counties, and the honey is 



Eut up in the most marketable shape ; 

 ut I fear the bees are not protected as 

 they should be in this northern climate. 

 We have had a cold winter, and the loss 

 has been very great. I winter my bees 

 in the cellar with success, and obtain 

 much pleasure, as well as profit, from 

 the time I devote to them. The Weekly 

 Bee Journal is my constant compan- 

 ion. Isaac F. Plummer. 

 Augusta, Maine. 



All Alive.— My bees are all alive and 

 in fine condition. They were wintered 

 out of doors, In shed, packed around 

 with straw, but open to the east. 



J. R. Mead. 



Wichita, Kas., March 7, 1881. 



Winter yet in Kentucky.— Bees are 



wintering very badly here, and 2 of my 

 neighbors have lost all they had. The 

 ground is covered with snow, and looks 

 as much like winter as it did a month 

 ago. A. E. Foster. 



Covington, Ky., March 5, 1881. 



Wintering. — My experience of over 

 25 years in trying all modes of winter- 

 ing is as follows: On summer stands, 

 and in the cellar for 10 years; I then 

 built a house to winter in, used that 2 

 years and then abandoned it. The last 

 3 years I have been using the chaff 

 hive and winter on summer stands, with 

 the least loss of any way I have tried. 

 Mv bees had a splendid fly on the 11th, 

 it being the first chance for them since 

 the 8th of Nov. I think they will go 

 through all right now unless we have a 



No Surplus nor Increase.— This has 

 been a hard winter on the bees. I think 

 all that were not protected and those 

 partially protected will die. There was 

 no surplus nor increase here worth men- 

 tioning, last summer. James Nipe. 



Spring Prairie, Wis., Feb. 26, 1881. 



Great Loss of Bees.— The bees in Mc- 

 Donough county that were wintered on 

 the summer stands are nearly all dead. 

 Those in double- walled hives, and those 

 packed in straw,dy ing the same as those 

 in single-walled hives. My loss is 

 about 95 out of 100. S. H. Black. 



Sciota, 111., March 5, 1881. 



Not Discouraged.— Should I be per- 

 suaded to give up the business of keep- 

 ing bees for profit, I do not know what 

 I could find that would pay better. I 

 have 25 colonies in good condition and 

 every one in this town wants honey, and 

 I shall try to supply it to them. 



Osage, Iowa. Charles Follett. 



Lost but 4 out of 273.— My bees are 

 wintering well ; I have lost but 4 out of 

 273 colonies, wintered on the summer 

 stands, packed with sawdust and planer 

 shavings. It has paid me to advertise 

 in the Weekly Bee Journal. I have 

 all the work I can do. A. E. Manum. 



Bristol, Vt., March 9, 1881. 



Dead Bees in the Cells.— I took 6 combs 

 out of 2 hives in which the bees died, 

 that had plenty of honey in the 2 out- 

 side frames. In every cell of the 3 mid- 

 dle frames is a dead bee. I tried to pick 

 them out with a pin, but gave it up for 

 a bad job. Is there a way to clean them ? 

 Can I use the combs again next spring? 

 Please let me know in next Journal. 

 John W. Sturwold. 



Haymond, Ind., March 11, 1881. 



[You will find our method given in 

 answer to Mr. Phillips, page 86 o£ this 

 number. The combs can be used again 

 this spring.— Ed.] 



Progressing.— My bees are getting 

 along well. I have lost 3 weak colonies 

 that were left unprotected ; but it was 

 my own fault. A hive peddler was in 

 this section this winter selling hives 

 without frames. I showed him my 

 hives, similar to the Langstroth, and he 

 took the measure of it, and said I was 

 " well fixed" for bee-keeping. He never 

 said a word about selling his hive tome. 

 I do not know how many he sold. 



John Boerstler. 



Uilead, 111., Feb. 26, 1881. 



