THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



699 



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Winter Depository.— I began keep- 

 ing bees witli 9 colonies and now liave 

 24, in Langsti'oth hives. I have taken 

 32 gallons of extracted honey and 400 

 lbs. of comb, and my bees are in 

 splendid condition for vvfinter. Some- 

 time ago I took off the upper stories 

 and removed to the lower story some 

 of the combs containing brood, I 

 noticed a great many dead bees. 

 What was the cause of this? The 

 operation was performed during the 

 warmest portion of the day. I feel 

 certain of great success another sea- 

 son, if I can winter without loss. I 

 am about to build a winter repository 

 for my bees, and will give you my 

 plan. Our soil is clay loam ; I shall 

 make an excavation 4 feet in depth, 

 wall it with stone to the top, and above 

 the surface build a liollow wall 4 f eet 

 high, making 8 feet in all, and filling 

 in, with spent tan bark. The wall 

 will be 8 inches thick, tightly clap- 

 boarded on the outside. I shall then 

 have another wall latlied and plastered 

 inside of this, leaving 2 inches space 

 between ; this wall will connect with 

 the ceiling, but will leave a small 

 aperture at the base and will liave 

 ventilation by pipes. Do you think 

 this will cause a current of air, and 

 keep the room free from moisture V 

 S. J. YOUNGMAN. 



Cato. Mich., Oct. 5. 1882. 



[The dead bees were probably those 

 that had been worn out during the 

 honey harvest and had died of old age. 

 The winter depository you describe 

 should winter bees well, everything 

 else being equal.— Ed.] 



A Good Beport from Canada. — That 

 cloud with the silver lining hovered 

 over my bee yard for about ten days 

 in the beginning of August. \V^e 

 were ready. Our dish was '• right side 

 up," and we obtained 152 lbs. per 

 colony, in ten days, of basswood 

 honey, and increased over 100 per 

 cent." With all of the good reports in 

 the Bee Journal, I have seen none 

 as good for ten days. All our colonies 

 are in good condition and ready for 

 winter, when it comes. 



R. L. Meade. 



Nassagaweya, Canada. 



Iowa Honey Crop for 1S82.— Our 

 lioiiey season, and time tor queen 

 rearing has come to an end for the 

 year 1882 ! It has been one which in 

 Iowa was rich in the yield of honey- 

 producing plants and all the blossouis 

 rich in the production of honey after 

 they once commenced. The spring 

 was a month later than usual, but the 

 honey season after it commenced con- 

 tinued until October. Swarms con- 

 tinued to issue till the 10th of Septem- 

 ber, and have generally collected 

 enough honey to winter on ; though 

 coming off so late. I had o-lb. honey 



boxes filled and capped over, that 

 were put on during the last week in 

 August. Tons upon tons of honey is 

 the result. E. L. Bkiggs. 



Wilton Junction, Iowa, Oct. 21, 1882. 



Wintering Bees in damps.— On page 

 254, of Coofc'.s Manual, is a brief and 

 favorable mention of wintering bees 

 in clamps, and I have met the recom- 

 mendation in other sources of inform- 

 ation. Having no cellar fit for winter 

 storage of bees, but a sand bank, easy 

 to excavate, and with perfect natural 

 drainage, near my apiary, I intend to 

 bury two or three colonies, as an ex- 

 periment. Please give us some infor- 

 mation on the suoject in the Bee 

 Journal ? W. B. 



Louisville, X. Y., Oct. 23, 1882. 



[Mr. M. Oiiiiiby favored wintering 

 bees by burying, which is practiced 

 by many at the present day. The 

 mode is to dig a trench in a hillside or 

 ground with suihcient slope to insure 

 drainage. This is partly tilled in with 

 straw, on which the hives are placed ; 

 boards are slanted up in front ; wooden 

 tubes placed in position to ventilate 

 the pit, straw tlirown on the hives, 

 over which boards are laid lengthwise, 

 and dirt piled over all to turn off the 

 water.— Ed.] 



Well Satisfied.— I began the season 

 with 19 colonies ; increased to .56, and 

 have taken 2,000 lbs. of extracted and 

 200 lbs. of comb honey. Thirty of the 

 colonies are in two-story Langstroth 

 hives, full of sealed heuey and some 

 brood in the lower story. By weighing 

 the combs and averaging the surplus 

 stores to be removedj I find that my 

 bees have gathered about 5,068 lbs. of 

 honey in 60 days, and have suiiicient 

 amount remaining to winter on. 

 When I gave tlie report before, I had 

 only taken a portion of the honey and 

 averaged the rest. W>i. Malone. 



Oakley, Iowa, Oct. 15, 1882. 



His First Report.— As this is my 

 third year in bee culture, and I have 

 never made a report, I think it would 

 be in order to do so now. My wife 

 bought the lirst colony of bees three 

 years ago. Last year we increased to 

 19 colonies, lost 1. soldi, and with tlie 

 remaining 17 I began this season. Our 

 colonies now number 41. W^e have 

 taken 1.435 lbs. of comb honey from 

 them in one and two-pound sections, 

 and 78 pounds of extracted, giving us 

 an average of 8!ilbs. per colony, spring 

 count, and my bees are in splendid 

 condition for winter. G. E. Hilton. 



Fremont Center, Mich., Oct. 24, 1882. 



Late Breeding of ({neens. — I had 



two queens hatch on Oct. 7 ; three 

 weeks later than I ever had any be- 

 fore. To-day (Oct. 17). both were fer- 

 tilized, a thing I could hardly believe 

 would be done. In my 23 years' expe- 

 rience I never had it occur before. 

 The weather has been very warm here 

 for several days, but not much sun- 

 shine till to-day. We have had no 



frost here as yet to kill even the tend- 

 erest vines. Our fields and hills are 

 as green as in June. H. Alley. 

 Wenham, Mass., Oct. 17, 1882. 



Botanical.— I send by mail a plant 

 called the spider weed here. It secretes 

 nectar plentifully early in the morn- 

 ing and late in the evening. It dies 

 down in midsummer and a second 

 crop comes from the seed and blooms 

 until frost. Please give correct name 

 in Bee Journal. Geo. E. Boggs. 



Milledgeville, Ga., Oct. 16, 1882. 



[The plant is Gynandropsis pentu- 

 phylla, for which I know no common 

 name. It is a native of the W^est In- 

 dies, but has become naturalized over 

 a wide area of the southeastern States, 

 and seems well adapted to its new 

 home. The small family to which it 

 belongs (Capparidaceae.), is made up of 

 plants having fine flowers and an 

 abundance of nectar, of excellent 

 quality.— T. J. Burrill.] 



How to Keep Honey.— How can we 



keep unripe or partly ripened honey, 

 from June to cold weather ? I extract 

 when the bees begin to cap the cells, 

 and sometimes have a portion of it 

 sour. H. M. MoYER. 



Hill Church, Pa., Oct. 23, 1882. 



[Keep it in an open vessel, exposed 

 to the sun and air, where it may 

 ripen before barreling it up. The Cal- 

 if ornians use a sun evaporator for this 

 purpose, with success.— Ed.] 



Two-Story Hives for Winter. —I 



have two colonies of bees, in two- 

 story hives. Will they winter as well 

 without taking off the upper story? 

 Wm. Roberts, 

 Vaughansville, O., Oct. 17, 1882. 



[You can leave the upper story on 

 and use it as an air-chamber over the 

 chaff packing, if you winter on the 

 summer stands. If you put the bees in 

 the cellar, take off the upper story and 

 cover, put a quilt over the frames, 

 and leave the entrances open.— Ed.] 



(lood Honey Crop in New York.— I 



have just marketed 16,800 lbs. of comb 

 honey from 250 colonies, spring count, 

 and increased nearly 90 per cent. 



Geo. W. House. 

 Fayetteville, X. Y., Oct. 18, 1882. 



Best Crop ever had in Illinois.— This 



has been one of the best seasons for 

 bees and honev we ever had in this 

 region. T. G. McGaw. 



Monmouth, 111., Oct. 23.1882. 



Almost a Failure. — Honey was al- 

 most a failure with us this year. I 

 increased from 6 to 18 colonies, and 

 have taken 96 lbs. of extracted, and 

 •56 lbs. of comb honey. My bees are 

 in good condition for winter. 



CnAS. H. HiSGEN. 



Hopkinsville. Ky.. Oct. 23, 1882. 



