THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



61 



better than was supposed, being so 

 ^ry last fall. George Cole. 



Freepoit, Intl., Jan. 14, ISSii. 



Moving Bees over Rough Roads.— In 



the Bee Jouunal tor Jan. 11, page 

 29, I notice A. L. Etlieriiigton in- 

 quires in regard to moving bees over 

 rough roads. I have had some ex- 

 perience in that line, and will give my 

 views of it. Wait until warm weather, 

 remove all combs containing honey, 

 fasten the remaining combs securely 

 so that they cannot jam against each 

 other and iuash the bees, remove the 

 top of the hive and cover at least }i 

 ■of the hive with wire screen, giving 

 them all tlie fresh air they need (and 

 that is a good deal,) load then into a 

 wagon that has sinings enough to ease 

 off the hard jolts, put some straw 

 under them, place them so that the 

 frames will be cross-wise ot the wagon, 

 and wedge the hives in tightly, so that 

 they cannot bump against each other, 

 and they can be moved with perfect 

 safety. If the heavy combs of honey 

 are left in the liives they may break 

 <lown and nearly ruin the bees. The 

 combs of hone'y can be packed in 

 empty hives (close together) and there 

 ■will be but little danger of their 

 breaking down. Chas. E.McRay. 

 Canon City, Colo., Jan. 14, 1882. 



score. We think eventually, with the 

 least encouragement, the sweet clover 

 would take full possession of the 

 tteld, and the bees would rejoice with 

 you over the " survival of the 

 fittest."— Ed.] 



Bees ill Sawdust Cellar,— I have 47 

 colonies in a sawdust cellar with chaff 

 cushions over the frames. The en- 

 trance is left oi)en— should it ever be 

 stopped with wire clothV The honey 

 season was good in this part of New 

 York. A. BuRRiLL. 



Cuba, K. r., Jan. 12, 1882. 



[Do not stop the entrance with wire- 

 •cloth; but few contingencies can arise 

 when it will be an advantage— never 

 when everything is in |iroper condi- 

 tion. Often serious damage may be 

 <loneby closing it entirely.— Ed.] 



Bees in Maryland.— My bees went 

 into winter" quarters on their 

 summer stands, with cnults over 

 tlie frames, early in October, in 

 very good condition. They flew on 

 twenty days in December; their last 

 flight being on the ilSth, since which 

 the ground has lieeu frozen. It was 

 snowing last night, and also to-day. I 

 am greatly iileased with the Journal 

 and think it worth very much more 

 as a weekly than its relative cost. 



A. Drevar. 



Annapolis, Md., Jan. 6, 1882. 



Bricks as Absorbents.— In my letter 

 published in the Bee Journal for 

 Jan. 11, 1882, I wish to make this 

 correction: where it speaks of two 

 dry "blocks" it should have read, 

 Uvo dry bricks. These I put in to ab- 

 sorb the moisture in the hives, in 

 connection with the quilts. 



O. B. SCOFIELD. 



York, Maine, Jan. 16, 1882. 



How to ffet Dead Bees out of Combs. 



—Stand tliem, one in a place, where 

 mice can getat them, and where noth- 

 ing else will bother them. As fast as 

 the mice clean them, take them away 

 and put others in their place until 

 you get all your combs cleaned up. I 

 think mice are the best machine for 

 this purpose. M. H. Milster. 



Frohna, Mo., Jan. 19, 1882. 



While and Sweet Clovers.— I sowed 

 twenty pounds of sweet clover seed 

 last November, and am thinking of 

 sowing some more in the spring, on 

 ground that I will seed to oats. How 

 would it do to sow white or Dutch 

 clover with the sweet clover, for early 

 summer pasture, for the bees, or 

 would the sweet clover be likely to 

 kill the other clover? If both would 

 thrive on the same ground we could 

 have bloom from the middle of May 

 until frost. W.II. Uaftery. 



Pittslield, 111., Jan. 19, 1881. 



[But little, if anything, will be 

 gained by sowing white and sweet 

 clover together. The latter will yield 

 a more abuiulant stock pasture than 

 the former, will bloom almost or quite 

 as early, will yield triple the honey 

 bloom, and will last the season 

 through. The honey is quite equal 

 to that from white clover, and bees 

 ■will neglect the white clover to gather 

 it. Again, neither will bloom till the 

 second season to any extent, so there 

 will be no advantage gamed on that 



Doing Nieely.— I have 30 colonies of 

 bees in the cellar since Nov. 1.5 last, 

 and they appear to be wintering well. 

 I ventilate my cellar with a 6-inch 

 pipe running under groinid about 25 

 feet to the outside, and from the bot- 

 tom of my cellar I have a 4-inch pipe 

 leading into a chimney, so that I can 

 regulate the temperature reasonably 

 well; also have 15 colonies of D. 

 Daninher's in tiie same cellar. I wish 

 the I5ee Journal abundant success. 

 John Corscot. 



Madison, Wis., Jan. 20, 1882. 



Merits of Hives for Wintering.— In 



August, issi), I bought 1 colony of 

 Italians which I wintered in the cellar; 

 in 1881, I incre-ased to 5, took 20 

 pounds of honey, and got the bees in 

 good shape for winter. In September 

 I bought 4 colonies more. In October 

 I put the ([uilts on top of the frames. 

 In November I put the hives in rough 

 boxes, gave them entrance through 

 the rough boxes, jj'acked all around 

 the hives with chaff, giving them 

 ventilation by putting blocks under 

 the lids or tops. Last week I exam- 

 ined them to see if they had enough 

 ventilation. The bees were stepping 

 around on the upper edge of the 

 combs most beautifully indeed. On 

 December 28, I bought and brought 

 home 6 colonies of black bees which I 



packed the same way, but they have 

 taken no flight yet; the weather turned 

 cold the next day and has been too 

 cold for bees to fly ever since. Please 

 answer the following questions. Is 

 there any difference in wintering, 

 better or safer, on the Langstroth or 

 the American frame— that is, will 

 they cluster nicer and in better shape 

 in real cold weather, if the hives are 

 , packed, ventilated, and a quilt over 

 the frames, all just alike, the colonies 

 being about eiiualV Is there a patent 

 on the N. C. Mitchell hiveV Please 

 excuse all mistakes. A. F. Yoder. 

 Goshen, Ind., Jan. 14. 1882. 



[You will probably observe no differ- 

 ence in the wintering of the bees, 

 whether in Langstroth or American 

 hives, provided, as you say, all are 

 '■ packed, ventilated and a quilt over 

 the frames just alike, the colonies be- 

 ing about equal." Last winter, which 

 was cold and long enough to furnish 

 a test for almost any reasonable man, 

 demonstrated that there was but a 

 trifling percentage of difference in 

 the two styles as to success in winter- 

 ing. The only feature patented about 

 the so-called Mitchell hive was the 

 peculiar construction of his division- 

 board, which consisted of cloth, rub- 

 ber or paper binding on the ends. — 

 Ed]. 



Dodge's New Feeder.— I have, by a 

 long series of experiments and close 

 observation, become satislied that but 

 a small portion of the colonies lost in 

 wintering freeze to death, but starve, 

 on account of their stores becoming 

 inaccessible in cold and frosty 

 weather. As the heat naturally rises 

 above the cluster, it often happens 

 that a colony starves to death with 

 plenty of honey within a few inches, 

 but inaccessible on account of frost 

 and cold in the remoter portions of the 

 hive. I think that thousands of colo- 

 nies might be saved annually from 

 this cruel fate, and loss to their own- 

 ers, were the proper means provided 

 that would enable them to reach a 

 proper amomit of food at all times, 

 and in a temiierature corresponding 

 with that of the cluster. In present- 

 ing my feeder to the bee-keepers of 

 America, I claim to have accomplished 

 the following objects : 1. I place the 

 feed directly over the cluster, and ac- 

 cessible at all times, in a temperature 

 corresponding with that of the inte- 

 rior of the hive; 2. It feeds equally 

 well sunnner or winter ; :i. It feeds 

 with ecpial facility, syrup, candy, 

 sugar, comb honey or extracted, or 

 any suitable bee-feed; 4. It feeds with- 

 out disturbing the bees ; 5. It can be 

 covered and nicely tucked in with the 

 quilts or chaff cushions without any 

 escape of heat ; 6. It is a perfect up- 

 ward ventilator, and consequently an 

 absorbent of moisture, keeping the 

 cluster dry at all times, and when not 

 required for top feeding and ventila- 

 tion, is equally as effective for 

 entrance feeding. U. E. Dodge. 

 Fredonia, N. Y. 



