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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mar. 23, 



Bees Doing Well.— My bees had a nice 

 flight on the 9th, 10th and 11th of this 

 month and are now doing well. It is 

 cold again to-day. 



J. R. Waggoner. 



Grantville, Kan,, March 12, 1881. 



Dwindling in the Cellar.— I put.53 col- 

 onies in the cellar, in good condition, 

 which are all alive but one ; but there 

 are a great many dead bees on the bot- 

 tom of the cellar — more than I ever 

 knew before. I gather them up and 

 carry them away occasionally, to pre- 

 vent their tainting the air. Will the 

 loss of so many weaken the colonies, 

 and what is the cause of it? My bees 

 have not seen the light this winter, yet 

 they seem all right excepting the loss of 

 so many on the cellar bottom. 



W.m. F. Standish. 



Evansville, Wis., March 9, 1881. 



[If the colonies were very strong, the 

 loss may not be appreciable. The cause 

 may be attributed to age of the bees 

 when put away, and subsequent long 

 confinement; or the cellar may have 

 been too warm at times, and the bees 

 become uneasy. — Ed.] 



Contradictory Experience.— The poor 

 bees have suffered dreadfully in this 

 locality, and the circumstances and con- 

 ditions under which some have perished 

 and others survived the past trying sea- 

 son, are so varied that I am quite at a 

 loss what to think about bee preserva- 

 tion during the winterseason. I had 12 

 colonies last fall ; I packed 6 with chaff 

 6 inches thick around them, and have 1 

 colony left of the lot. There is honey 

 in the combs, but the bees are all dead, 

 I put 3 colonies in the cellar ; 2 of them 

 are alive, but in a bad condition, the 

 combs being dirty and moldy. I left 3 

 on the summer stands, and 1 is yet alive. 

 None died for want of honey ; there was 

 plenty of food for them in the hives. 

 The 6 were put into the chaff in the lat- 

 ter part of November, and taken out on 

 the 8th of March. The combs look 

 clean and free from mold. About a 

 week before I took them out of the chaff 

 I had taken off the front boards, and 

 finding the bees alive, shut them up 

 again. Upon taking them out this was 

 the only colony that was alive. When 

 I took the chaff off, the bees were 

 crowded around the entrance ready to 

 fly, which they did at once, and had a 

 lively time until they were driven inside 

 by the approach of night. Do you think 

 the other 5 colonies were dead the first 

 time I looked at them. They had a 



Eassage through the chaff 1 inch high 

 y 4 wide. A triend of mine here had 

 4 colonies wintered outside, with an old 

 piece of sail-cloth over them, and only 

 lost one, while old bee-keepers, with 

 between 50 and 100 colonies, have lost 

 one-half, and others have lost all. 



F. A. Hutt. 

 South Bend, Ont., March 11, 1881. 



[Your question is a stunner ; we have 

 no data on which to base an intelligent 

 opinion.— Ed.] 



Wintered Without Loss.— My 27 colo- 

 nies came through the winter without 

 the loss of a single one, for which I can 

 thank 4 or 5 colonies of Italians, for 

 without them I should not have had 

 honey enough to have kept them 

 through, even a moderate winter, to 

 say nothing of such a stinger as we 

 have had. I have withheld my opinion 

 in regard to the change in the Journal 

 from a monthly to a weekly till I had 

 tried it a couple of months, and will now 

 say that it would be a great disappoint- 

 ment if you were to go back to a 

 monthly. I am glad that you have so 

 often devoted your first page in each 

 number to the subject of bee-pasturage, 

 for that is, or should be, our leading 

 study now, till we are on surer ground. 

 The best way to make bee-keeping pop- 

 ular is to make it pay; and it will pay if 

 we can get the pasturage every year. I 

 would rather have a tip-top honey plant 

 than an Apis dorsata, if it had a tongue 

 lone enough to lick the molasses out of 

 theTaottom of a 5 gallon keg. We shall 

 have plenty of white clover this year. 

 Wm. Camm. 



Murrayville, 111., March 12, 1881. 



Bees Uneasy in the Cellar. — This has 

 been a very hard winter for bees in this 

 section of the country. Nearly all the 

 bees are dead that were left on the sum- 

 mer stands. I have 40 colonies in the 

 cellar, all alive but restless. They need 

 a cleansing flight very much. The 

 Weekly Bee Journal pleases me very 

 much. Chas. H.Dow. 



Freedom, N. Y., March 12, 1881. 



Bees Mnch Better Than Expected.— 



My bees are much better than I had any 

 reason to expect. I left them on their 

 summer stands, and did not even take 

 the tops off, but I have them all off now. 

 I had about 80 and now have 70 colonies 

 in good shape. I find I must either at- 

 tend to my bees or quit the business, 

 and have made arrangements with a 

 friend who has about the same quan- 

 tity, who will take charge. We shall 

 call it the " Gipsy Apiary," and our 

 motto will be, " if the honey will not 

 come to us we will go to the honey." 

 Mr. Heddon thinks it wont pay to 

 move for honey, and he is pretty good 

 authority, but we will try. Keep us 

 posted through the Journal where is 

 the best place to sell honey. Keep the 

 ball rolling in the suppression of adul- 

 terated honev, as well as other adultera- 

 tions. I. H. Shimer. 

 Hillsboro, 111., March 14, 1881. 



Have Young Bees and Brood. — I put 



15 colonies of bees into winter quarters 

 and now have 13 in fair condition; some 

 had young bees 2 weeks ago, and all of 

 them have brood. The last 2 years have 

 been very poor for bees; the last the 

 worst, being followed by such a cold and 

 long winter. About one half of the 

 bees in this locality are dead. 



G. M. Givan. 

 Moore's Hill, Ind., March 14, 1881. 



Bees in the Cellar 135 Days.— I carried 

 22 colonies of bees out for a flight on 

 March 8. This is the first suitable day 

 for bees to fly there has been here 

 since they were put in the cellar on the 

 last of Oct. They came through the 4i 

 months' confinement very well, except 

 2 or 3 third-rate colonies that had more 

 hive room than they could well keep 

 warm through this cold winter, and now 

 they seem to be somewhat reduced in 

 numbers. The day was rather cold, 

 snow did not soften in the shade but 

 the sun shone brightly, "the winds were 

 asleep," and the bees seemed to enjoy 

 the fray, but left a good number of the 

 slain on untrodden snow. They were 

 returned to the cellar at night and will 

 be supplied with water in their hives, 

 hoping to secure the starting of a good 

 cluster of brood before they are placed 

 on their summer stands, about the 1st 

 of May. I usually keep them in confine- 

 ment without a flight for 5 or 6 months, 

 with good results, but in 1879 brood 

 rearing ceased about the 1st of Sept.; 

 the hives were destitute of brood when 

 carried out. April 18, and although the 

 hives filled rapidly with brood, before it 

 began to hatch nearly all the old bees 

 were dead, giving me the most disas- 

 trous case of spring dwindling that I 

 have known in an experience of 25 

 years. I hope to avoid such losses in 

 the future. A. Webster. 



E. Roxbury, Vt., March 10, 1881. 



Carrying in Pollen.— My 5 colonies of 

 bees wintered well on summer stands, in 

 double-walled Langstroth hives. They 

 are carrying in dark pollen to-day ; I 

 think they get it from the maple. 



H. H. Littell. 



Louisville, Ky., March 5, 1881. 



Chaff-Packing of Bees Triumphant.— 



The winter has been a severe one every- 

 where. Since the 1st of Nov. until the 

 first days of this month my bees had not 

 had a flight. I live in a very high alti- 

 tude, about the highest good land in 

 the State. The winter begins early and 

 lasts long. We have an abundance of 

 snow now and it is blustering wildly to- 

 day. I despaired of seeing my bees 

 come out alive; they were covered sol- 

 idly with snow for 3 months, only the 

 tops of the hives being visible. At last 

 the weather softened and I dug away 

 the snow. The next day or 2 the sun 

 came out warmly and my bees began to 

 fly, and greatly to my happy disappoint- 

 ment they are all alive — all that I had 

 out on the summer stands. One only 

 was dull, which I examined and found 

 enfeebled with dysentery, arising from 

 the feed I gave them in the fall. All 

 others were strong. Just 122 days had 

 intervened between the flights. The 

 sick colony has since died, but the 

 others are in the best condition. This 

 success is a tribute to the chaff-packed 

 hive. Is there another record of 122 

 days' confinement and yet come out 

 strong i 



W. S. Blaisdell. 

 Randolph, Vt., March 11, 1881. 



Mr. B. let the winters' blast try his 20 

 colonies and now has 12 empty hives; 

 Mr. F. packed 37 in chaff and has 11 

 left; Mr. A put up 57 in complete order, 

 but with all his precaution all are dead; 

 Mr. B. put into winter quarters 73 colo- 

 nies of fine Italians, 58 of them are 

 dead. I packed in clover-chaff 101 col- 

 onies, and 23 have gone the way of all 

 the earth. My bees were confined in 

 their hives from Oct. 20 until March 6. 

 I packed 24 in Langstroth hives with 

 space the whole width of hive left open, 

 to give plenty of fresh air, yet at the 

 same time warm, with a due amount of 

 packing, and in this lot have not lost 

 one colony, and very few bees; but the 

 end is not yet. To-day I found young 

 bees with brood in all stages. 



G. W. Naftzger. 

 South Haven, Mich., March 17, 1881. 



Look out for the Robbers.— We have 

 had a very hard winter on bees in this 

 section of the country. Bees that were 

 not properly packed for winter are 

 nearly all dead, while those that were 

 properly packed are nearly all in good 

 condition. We are having good weather 

 now and the bees are flying nicely. 

 Those having weak colonies and hives 

 of combs without bees will have to look 

 out for robbers and keep their small 

 colonies crowded upon as few combs as 

 they can, keeping the entrance con- 

 tracted, so that only 1 or 2 bees can en- 

 ter at one time. Hives in which the 

 bees have died should be closed tightly. 

 The Weekly Bee Journal is a wel- 

 come visitor. I could not think of do- 

 ing without it. J. A. Osborne. 



Rantoul, 111., March 17, 1881. 



No Loss in Wintering.— Nearly all the 



bees in this vicinity that were left to 

 care for themselves are extinct. I had 

 14 colonies packed comfortably in chaff 

 before the cold weather commenced, 

 and have not lost any yet. I am highly 

 pleased with the Weekly Bee Journal, 

 and wish it great success. 



J. P. Moore. 

 Morgan, Ky., March 14, 1881. 



Two-thirds of the Bees have Died.— 



Over i of all the bees in this part of 

 the State are now dead. I have met 

 with a heavy loss, on account of a eider 

 mill that was within 80 rods of my 

 apiary last fall. Hiram Roop. 



Carson City, Mich., March 12, 1881. 



The Best Honey for Winter.— By this 

 time I presume all the readers of the 

 Bee Journal know that the winter 

 has been quite severe — about as de- 

 structive to the older people as to bees. ] 

 Bella Lincoln, the oldest bee-keeper in 

 this section of the country, died this ! 

 winter; and since then nearly all of his [ 

 100 colonies of bees have also died. My ' 



00 colonies are in the cellar with chaff ' 

 over the frames; some are dead, and 

 the entrances to others are soiled, indi- j 

 eating dysentery. Several which had I 

 sealed honey stored in the summer are 

 all right. Some worked on a cider 

 mill, but if they have good sealed honey 



1 do not think it makes so much differ- 

 ence about the kind of winter. I like 

 the Weekly Bee Journal, because it 

 " enthuses " me every time I read it. 

 In any kind of business one needs some 

 enthusiasm, at least once a week. 



C. F. Smith, Jr. 

 Vandalia, Mich., March 12, 1881. 



Bees in Good Condition. — We put out 

 on the summer stands on the 9th and 10th 

 of March, 1.50 of our 200 colonies that 

 we had in the cellars in good condition. 

 These were the first days that bees 

 could fly with safety since the first of 

 Nov. We have 50 colonies more in one 

 cellar, but as they seem to be doing 

 well, we shall leave them in until it be- 

 comes settled weather. We left 9 colo- 

 nies on their summer stands but the 

 winter was so long and severe that 

 we could not feed them and 3 of them 

 starved. Now we are busy transferring, 

 that is shaking the bees off the combs, 

 cleaning them off and putting them in- 

 to clean hives. If we find any not strong 

 enough we double them up. We con- 

 sider ourselves nearly masters of the 

 wintering question, as our real losses 

 for the last 10 years, we think, would 

 not exceed 6 per cent.; in fact we did 

 not lose a colony in winter or spring, 

 until the number had reached about 

 100. The Bee Journal is a welcome 

 Weekly visitor. 



T. S. Bull & Son. 



Valparaiso, Ind., March 15, 1881. 



Death Reigns among the Bees.— Hav- 

 ing made some inquiry concerning the 

 bees within a radius of about 2 miles, I 

 find some bee-keepers, some who keep 

 bees, and those that let the bees keep 

 themselves. Mr. II. had 3 colonies, all 

 are dead; Mr. L. had 7, one left; Mr. D. 

 left his 11 colonies without protection 

 and now has 11 empty hives for sale; 



Poor Season but Fair Profit.— After 



selling my surplus colonies, I com- 

 menced the season of 1880 with 37 colo- 

 nies in fair condition ; increased by 

 division and natural swarming to 63, 

 and 12 nuclei. I reared 30 Cyprian and 

 Italian queens ; had 100 Gallup frames 

 of foundation drawn out, and extracted 

 400 lbs. of honey. Estimating the in- 

 crease at $6 per colony, and deducting 

 the expenses, my income for care and 

 labor is $250, or about $6.50 for each 

 colony in the spring. I put 75 colonies, 

 in fair condition (including the 12 nu- 

 clei), into winter quarters Dec. 8 ; some 

 were short of stores, and all had poor 

 honey. On March 1st I found 8 colonies 

 and 4 nuclei dead — 4 starved and 8 died 

 from the effect of poor honey and long 

 confinement. More of them are dis- 

 eased and must have a flight soon ordie. 

 With the loss of stock already men- 

 tioned, and allowing for more to follow, 

 the credit will be cut down to $3.50 per 

 colony. The season has been the poor- 

 est I ever knew, but even $3.50 is a fair 

 profit on the investment. White clover 

 gave no honey ; basswood lasted only 10 

 days, but yielded well ; had it lasted 2 

 weeks longer I should have had an ave- 

 rage yield of honey for the season. 

 Without this flow of basswood honey, 

 the bees must have been fed, but now 

 they have enough stores to carry them 

 through till spring. As the heavy snows 

 have no doubt preserved the clover, the 

 outlook for honey this summer is good. 

 I hardly need say that I am pleased 

 with the Weekly Bee Journal. 



T. E. Turner. 

 Sussex, Wis., March 1, 1SS1. 



Planting Buckwheat for a Honey Yield. 



—In answer to Mr. A. Hodges, on page 

 78, 1 will say that buckwheat is a pecu- 

 liar plant about yielding honey. I have 

 never known it to fail here in yielding 

 enough honey for the bees' winter 

 stores, and usually very much more ; in 

 other localities in the same latitude, it 

 cannot be lelied on at all for a honey 

 crop. It seems, however, that it never 

 yields through the entire season in 

 which it can De made to bloom. Quite 

 a large amount of it is cultivated every 

 season in my vicinity, much of it gener- 

 ally coming into full bloom as early as 

 the middle of July, yet I have never 

 known it to yield any honey earlier than 

 the lstof August, and very rarely before 

 the 10th ; but when it commences to 

 yield honey, it does so profusely until 

 the plant itself is ripe, or killed by frost. 

 I would say to Mr. Hodges, or any one 

 else intending the sowing of successive 

 crops of buckwheat, that it is useless to 

 sow any early in the season, to blossom 

 before the lstof August. I am intend- 

 ing to sow about 20 acres of it this sea- 

 son for my bees. I shall put the first 

 crop of it in the ground about June 25 ; 

 the rest about July 10. That from the 

 last sowing will remain in bloom until 

 frost comes, even if that is delayed later 

 than ordinary. O. O. Poppleton. 

 WUliamstown, Iowa, March 9, 1881. 



