1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



101 



OUR LETXtH 



The Lime Remedy.— Clark county 

 contains man; practicable ami enthusi- 

 astic bee-keepers. We are Dot all dis- 

 couraged, as we have a few left yet. 

 Such losses were never witnessed by the 

 oldest inhabitants in this part of the 

 country: one person had 40 colonies in 

 a bee-lionse, all are now dead. Another 

 ha<l 32 on the summer stands ; all gone 

 but one ; another had 60, half in cellar, 

 half out doors ; all are gone but 8 ; 

 those in cellar did no better than those 

 out doors. Another had 12 ; all gone. 

 Another had 4 ; 2 are left. Another 

 had 125, lost over J^, 3 weeks ago. One 

 had and lost one. Another had 5 and 

 all are dead. I lost 4 out of 10, in 

 double-walled Langstroth hives except 

 3 colonies, which are now dead. I took 

 to the lime project " like a duck to the 

 water" and have used lime in 3 colo- 

 nies and they are as strong as bees 

 usually are in the middle of April. I 

 like the Weekly Bee Journal very 

 much. J. C. Oldham. 



Springfield, O., March 19, 1881. 



Bee-Keeping in Kansas. — I bought 2 

 colonies last June, but did not get them 

 home until July 5 ; they gathered 

 enough honey for winter but no surplus. 

 I am wintering them on the summer 

 stands in Langstroth hives, with chaff 

 cushion over the frames and an outer 

 case, but not packing between the case 

 and hive. They are wintering nicely, 

 but had no flight all winter. Early 

 plants are getting green, but we have 

 had the hardest winter ever known 

 here ; twice the mercury was 18° below 

 zero at sunrise. There are not many 

 bees in this vicinity and what are here 

 are poorly cared for, and some have 

 died, as they have to go through the 

 winter the best they can. Will Emer- 

 son's binder hold more than one volume 

 of the Weekly Journal ? I wish the 

 Journal all prosperity. It is a wel- 

 come visitor. S. C. Frederick. 



[The binder will hold but one year's 

 numbers. They can be removed and 

 and bound, and the binder used for 

 years. — Ed.] 



Chaff Packing. —I have set some grape 

 vines out in my bee yard and would 

 like to put sawdust in if it will not hurt 

 the grapes ; if so, please answer in the 

 Journal. Bee-keeping was a failure 

 last season ; the bees obtained no honey 

 from white clover, and not much from 

 linden. The most honey I got was 

 through August. I had 12 colonies last 

 spring and got about 12-5 lbs. of surplus 

 honey, all extracted. Increased to 22 

 and lost 5 through this cold weather. I 

 now have 17 in the cellar. I put them 

 in the cellar Dec. 10. They are doing 

 well so far. I wish success to all the 

 bee-keepers and the Bee Journal. I 

 take, 4 bee-papers, and I think the 

 Weekly the best of all. It is cheap at 

 $2 a year. David K. Knoll. 



Salamonia, Ind. 



[Keep the sawdust away from the 

 roots of the grape vines.— Ed.] 



Wintered Safely by Chaff.— My bees 

 gave but little surplus honey last sea- 

 son. I commenced the season with 18 

 colonies and increased to 34 by natural 

 swarming. I never saw bees breed up 

 so strong in numbers, and most of the 

 hives were literally crowded. They 

 went into winter quarters very strong 

 and nearly all with plenty of honey, but 

 our winter has been so severe and long 

 that I feared for them. They had no 

 flight until late in Feb., when I found 

 they had dysentery. I examined them 

 to-day. One froze just before New 

 Years and one I found dead with empty 

 combs ; both were weak in the fall. I 

 found one just out of honey and gave 

 them some ; the rest are strong in num- 

 bers and have plenty of honey. So I 

 have saved 32 out of 34, which I call 

 pretty good. I wintered on summer 

 stands with chaff cushions on top, and 

 entrance closed to about 2 inches. Sev- 



enty-live per cent, of the bees in this 

 vicinity are dead ; many have lost all. 

 I think the Weekly Bee Journal is a 

 great advance. Success to it. 



A. 1). Stooking. 

 Ligonier, 1ml.. March 18, 1881. 



Dees Strong and Healthy. -The re- 

 ports from this section are : some have 

 lost all their bees, some a part, and oth- 

 ers report that their bees have wintered 

 well. I placed 68 colonies in the cellar 

 on Nov. 18, and put them out on March 

 16. The thermometer was at 45°, it be- 

 ing the lirst suitable day. They came I 

 out strong and healthy. My loss so far I 

 is one colony. O. II. France. 



Erie, Pa., March 20, 1881. 



Dovetailed Sections.— I will say to Mr. 

 Lewis, that I was not comparing his 

 dovetail work with/ita one-piece section. 



The advantage in a section that will 

 stand linn at any angle, is that lour of 

 them put together will make a matched 

 square, proving them to he square; can 

 you make four solid blocks that will do 

 it V Will one-piece sections do it. unless 

 strained? As long as bees use glue 

 (propolis) we need close joints to work 

 rapidly and with comfort. 



James Heddon. 

 Dowagiac, Mich.. March 28, 1881. 



Absorbents. — My bees are nearly all 

 dead, but I can not give it up yet. I 

 expect that some absorbent, such as 

 quick-lime or sulphuric acid, would be 

 of great advantage in wintering. The 

 Bee Journal is a pleasure to me. 



S. P. Hyde. 



St. Joseph, Mo.. March 16, 1881. 



No Surplus nor Increase. — Bees fared 

 badly in this section last year ; there 

 was no surplus nor swarms. I started 

 in the spring with 20 good colonies; 4 

 having lost their queens I united them 

 with others. I put 15 in the cellar in 

 the fall ; 2 perished, one was weak and 

 died after taking them out. I left one 

 out-of-doors in a double Langstroth 

 hive, but it perished before winter was 

 half over; the rest were in American 

 hives. I have a double cellar, and put 

 them into the outside one ; it was too 

 damp, and was kept about the freezing 

 point. I put them in Nov. 15, and thev 

 did not get a flight until March 2 ; they 

 have had several flights since. The 

 bees in this part of the country have 

 mostly perished.' I sowed buckwheat, 

 and last fall my bees obtained honey 

 from it ; I also sowed some alsike clover 

 last spring ; it took well and stood the 

 winter better than red clover. I am 

 pleased with the Weekly Bee Jour- 

 nal. S. H RUEHLEN. 



Jerome, O., March 21, 1881. 



Bees in Nebraska.— The past winter 

 has been the severest we have had for 

 20 years. Snow still covers the prairie, 

 one foot and a half deep. We cannot 

 rely for honey on the natural produc- 

 tion of our prairies ; we must sow if we 

 propose to reap. Our colonies are com- 

 posed of Italians and the black bees ; 

 the Italians, of course, being our favor- 

 ites. The black bee is a good honey 

 gatherer, but as mean as it can be for 

 stinging. Out of 54 colonies we have 

 lost 8 up to the present time ; some from 

 starvation and others from dysentery ; 

 if they had not died from dysentery they 

 probably would have starved. The in- 

 tense cold weather continually from 

 the beginning of winter until spring, 

 did not allow them to move from one 

 comb to another; consequently they 

 could not reach their stores. I am 

 speaking of those wintered out-doors, 

 and not properly prepared, as was pretty 

 generally the case here this winter. Our 

 bees have mustard plant, clover, fruit 

 blossoms, golden rod, buckwheat, and 

 what they could get from other small 

 blossoms that abound in the prairies. 

 The prophecy that the year 1881 will be 

 a good honey year makes the heart of 

 the apiarist glad, for well he deserves a 

 bountiful year. One man lost 60 out of 

 75; this is the greatest loss that we 

 know of in this county. We hail the 

 Weekly Bee Journal with delight, 

 and think that all interested in apicul- 

 ture should have it. We pronounce it 

 the best bee-paper in America. Is the 

 Langstroth hive still covered with a 

 patent ? Leopold Moller. 



Fremont, Neb., March 22, 1881. 



[There is no patent on the Langstroth 

 hive now.— Ed.] 



Bees Starving in the Cellar.— Last eve- 

 ning I examined my bees in the cellar 

 and found 8 dead, and others in a starv- 

 ing condition. I bought all the cream 

 candy in the stores and sent for more. 

 It is better for cellar feeding than syrup. 

 Their condition takes me by surprise, as 

 they were heavy last fall. J. E. Cady. 



Medford, Minn., March 24, 1881. 



Sundry Questions. — I was delighted 

 with the Monthly Bee Journal, but 

 the Weekly is far more beneficial. It 

 seemed so long to wait from one month 

 to another, and even no w I eagerly grasp 

 the Weekly as soon as it comes, in the 

 expectation of receiving something new 

 every week. Last fall I had two colo- 

 nies, but one of them is now dead. How 

 can I clear the combs of dead bees ? 

 Will the combs do to put another colony 

 into ? My colonies had plenty of honey 

 last fall. I often see it advised to put 

 the hives within a few inches of the 

 ground, but when a swarm gets away 

 (as one of mine did) they often get into 

 a hollow tree, a good height from the 

 ground— Do they not in this act out their 

 instinct ? The one I lost went towards 

 the " bush," notfaraway. This winter 

 2 men found a swarm in a tree, in that 

 " bush;" they cut it down, and obtained 

 2 pails of honey from it. I suppose them 

 to have been my bees. It is said that 

 bees never do well on the north side of a 

 sheet of water. I am situated north of 

 Lake Simcoe, and if that is true I shall 

 not succeed. Is that theory correct ? 

 E. Moore. 



Barrie. Out., March 14, 1881. 



[Your first question is answered iu 

 the Weekly Bee Journal of the 16th 

 inst. To the second we answer, yes. 

 The instinct governing a swarm of bees 

 prompts them to fly up to the opening 

 in a tree, so long as the opening will not 

 come down to them. As a rule, bees do 

 not thrive so well on the north side of 

 large sheets of water. We suppose it 

 is attributable to the fact that the heav- 

 iest honey flows are during the preva- 

 lence of the sultry southern winds of 

 summer, enabling the bees to fly to the 

 honey source direct from the hives, by 

 following up the scent. If on the north 

 side, the bees have to search for the nec- 

 tar from the time they leave the hive, 

 and face the wind when returning heavy 

 laden.— Ed.] 



Bees Short of Stores. — Many bees have 

 died here this winter, from being un- 

 protected from the cold and being short 

 of stores. Ira Davis. 



Glass River, Mich., March 22. 1881. 



tiood Results. — I commenced the 

 spring of 1879 with 6 colonies, increased 

 to 13 and had 400 lbs. of comb honey ; I 

 wintered all safely in the cellar and on 

 the summer stands, packed with chaff. 

 Last year I had 31 colonies and obtained 

 1000 lbs of comb honey, and left the col- 

 onies 30 lbs. apiece to winteron. Thanks 

 to the Bee Journal and Cook's" Man- 

 ual," I have lost no bees. I should be 

 lost without the Bee Journal. 



H. A. Swift. 



Eaton Rapids, Mich. 



Bees in good Condition.— Bees have 

 suffered much this winter. Some bee- 

 keepers have lost all ; others % to %. 

 All but me are using box hives. I 

 started in the spring of 1880 with 8 col- 

 onies, and obtained 800 lbs. of comb 

 honey and 165 lbs. of extracted, besides 

 increasing to 20. I wintered on the 

 summer stands, in a close shed, open to 

 the south ; I packed straw around the 

 hives, and fine-cut straw in the caps, 

 about 5 inches thick. I had 3 sticks un- 

 der the quilt. I examined them on Jan. 

 29, and found them strong and heavy ; 

 most of them have brood. I think they 

 will come out in good condition in the 

 spring. I like the Weekly very much; 

 it was too long to wait for the Monthly. 



Wisner, Mich. J. P. Phelps, Jr. 



Life in the Midst of Death.— All around 

 me bees have died. Many have lost all ; 

 others, one-half or two-thirds. After 

 the storm in November I put 03 colonies 

 into my cellar; most Of them in the 

 American hive. On March 15th I took 

 them out, all alive but 2, and they were 

 queenless last fall. They were all dry, 

 with no signs of dysentery. Last sum- 

 mer I had 5 or 6 swarms, which I re- 

 turned to the parent hive after cutting 

 out the queen cells. Every 5 or 6 days 

 they would swarm out without any 

 queen cell in the hive. They did that 5 

 or 6 times each ; I put them back each 

 time, and they gathered a fair surplus of 

 honey. What was the cause of such 

 action? L.W.Harmon. 



S. Yorkshire, N. Y.. March 17, 1881. 



[They were badly imbued with the 

 swarming fever, which sometimes is as 

 unaccountable as are some cases of ab- 

 normal swarming.— Ed.] 



Equal Loss In-Doors and Out.— The 

 past winter has been a very hard one on 

 bees, and our losses will come very near 

 25 per cent. However, we have enough 

 left for seed, and will show them how 

 quickly we can recover our losses. The 

 percentage of losses is about equal in- 

 doors and out. It seems useless to spec- 

 ulate as to causes — we might as well lay 

 it to the winter as anything. " Facts 

 are stubborn things," and theories- 

 well, the bee-keeper that is not chock 

 full of theory is either a very matter- 

 of-fact person, or has not read the pa- 

 pers. I was among the number who 

 felt very reluctant to part with the old 

 American Bee Journal, but I must 

 confess the new is so far superior, I am 

 glad the change is made, and wish you 

 all success. C. S. Burt. 



Brecksville, O., March 21, 1881. 



Why the Wire-Cloth Inside ?— Our bees 

 are happy — no losses worth mentioning. 

 In the issue of March 9th, page 78, 4th 

 column, in answer to W. R. Young, in 

 speaking of boring the inch auger-hole 

 in each end of the hive, why is the wire- 

 cloth necessary, if the holes can be 

 plugged when not needed? I should 

 with my experience, for I use them, not 

 put wire-cloth over the holes. I am 

 thankful for the Weekly — it is good. 

 R. C. Taylok. 



Wilmington, N. C, March 16, 1881. 



[During the hottest weather we fre- 

 quently have cool nights, caused by 

 excessive dews, when spiders and other 

 insects take advantage of these holes to 

 effect an entrance to the inside of the 

 hive because of the heat; again, the 

 moths gain easy access to the combs 

 through these holes if not protected by 

 wire-cloth, as they are never so well 

 guarded by the bees as the entrances. 

 — Ed.J 



Fresh and Frequent News.— I com- 

 menced last season with 19 colonies in 

 Langstroth hives and increased to 28 by 

 natural swarmiug. The season was 

 very poor here ; there was plenty of 

 bloom but it seemed to contain no nec- 

 tar. I obtained about 50 lbs. of comb 

 honey but no extracted. I had to feed 

 considerable in the fall. Winter com- 

 menced so early that I was unprepared. 

 I packed 18 colonies in chaff ; the rest 

 were unprotected, and I express it 

 mildly when I say that I was uneasy 

 about them. Feb. 26 was a warm day, 

 and the bees had their first really good 

 flight since last Nov. I improved the 

 opportunity to examine them and found 

 7 dead, 3 very weak, and the rest in fail- 

 condition ; 4 of those dead were packed, 

 3 unprotected. It has been a hard winter 

 on bees here, and vvinteris not over yet. 

 Comb honey is all that is in demand 

 here, but I intend to create a demand 

 for extracted, if any Italians are left to 

 gather it. I hope the Journal will 

 keep on agitating the adulteration ques- 

 tion until there is something done. It 

 is needless to say that I am pleased 

 with the Weekly, it is so nice to get it 

 fresh every week. I never lay it down 

 until I have read it through. 



N. W. Williams. 



North Uniontown, O, Feb. 28., 1881. 



