AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



23 



were at work in the sections, and one 

 colony was ready to swarm in 37 days 

 from May 9. On June 14 we had a 

 tornado, which uncapped 22 colonies, 

 and blew 5 hives off from the stands, 

 and they went end over end. I then 

 realized one more of the benefits to be 

 derived from a fixed frame, of which I 

 -am a firm advocate. Not one queen 

 was killed, but I think a good many of 

 of the bees were blown out of the hives, 

 and some were caught in the storm and 

 killed by the hail. Maple trees 18 and 

 20 inches in diameter were snapped like 

 pipe-stems, and over 300 were blown 

 down in the sugar-orchard. 



M. F. Cram. 

 West Brookfield, Vt., June 20, 1892. 



Prevention of Swarming, Etc. 



My bees are flying finely to-day. I 

 have 40 colonies, 30 of them being very 

 strong. Some are working in the sec- 

 tions nicely. I see described many ways 

 to keep bees from swarming, but no per- 

 fect way yet. I clip my queens' wings 

 so that I can catch them and put them 

 back. I take out one frame of brood 

 and replace it with an empty comb. I 

 have been successful so far. I get from 

 75 to 150 pounds of honey per colony, 

 and leave a plenty to winter on. My 

 frames are 12x12 inches. I use 8 of 

 these in the brood-chamber, which is 

 about 13 inches square. I have two 

 tiers of sections on each side of the 

 brood-nest, and a case with 33 sections. 

 I can tier up if I wish. I leave the 

 space of one set of sections as a dead- 

 air chamber. I think this is the best 

 hive for comb honey that can be made. 

 I have used it for four years. 



G. I. Wolf. 



Young America, Ind., June 13, 1892. 



Storing Honey Rapidly, Etc. 



My bees came out of winter quarters 

 in splendid condition,' having lost none 

 through the winter or spring. They 

 were so full of young brood that I fed 

 40 pounds of sugar syrup after fruit- 

 bloom until white clover became plenti- 

 ful. They are getting lots of honey, 

 having the brood-frames full of honey 

 and young bees ; they are now storing 

 in the sections. I have crates that have 

 20 pounds of honey in them. Isn't that 

 pretty good for the five-banded golden 

 Italians, after such a hard spring and 

 winter ? 



I winter my bees on the summer 



stands, and have succeeded splendidly so 

 far. I have 22 colonies of bees ; I try 

 not to get overstocked with bees — 24 or 

 25 colonies is all I try to winter. I sell 

 all the swarms I get over that number. 

 The black bees are nearly all dead ; they 

 did not gather enough to winter on, and 

 so they starved. I have not heard of 

 one colony of Italians starving this 

 spring, or the past winter. The five- 

 banded golden Italians are good enough 

 for me ; they are pretty gentle, and good 

 workers. 



I received a sample of bees from Mr. 

 G. M. Doolittle a few days ago, which 

 were very nice. I would not want nicer- 

 looking bees ; and I am sure they are 

 good workers, for I have the same kind. 



Don't put your bees in an old straight 

 hive, or place the hives against an old 

 fence where you will not be able to see 

 them once a week ; neither put them in 

 a lot where the grass and weeds will get 

 higher than the hives. Don't grumble 

 when you go out to mow around the 

 hives if you get stung, for you ought to 

 get stung if you keep bees in such a 

 place. Don't complain if you get no 

 honey in that way, for you ought to 

 keep, your bee-yard like a good wife 

 keeps her house. R. D. Davis. 



Commercial Point, O., June 20, 1892. 



Not Now Overstocked with. Bees. 



I spent the past winter rambling in 

 the South. I lost two-thirds of my bees 

 in trying to winter them on natural 

 stores of poor honey, and we had a wet, 

 cold spring. My neighbors have lost 

 nearly all of their bees, and given up the 

 field to me, so I now have just the oppo- 

 site of a year or two ago, when the field 

 was overstocked with bees. 



Jno. D. Adams. 



Nira, Iowa, June 18, 1892. 



44 Hunger makes honey of molas- 

 es," we read recently somewhere. We 

 don't object to having honey made in 

 that way, though we think that the say- 

 ing is more imaginative than practical. 

 We dislike the idea of bees making 

 honey, but if "hunger" makes it, all 

 right. We know that hunger will do 

 almost anything, when thoroughly 

 starved. Of course, the idea of hunger 

 making honey is altogether poetical and 

 harm less. — Exchange. 



