76 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



" No Loss in Wintering Bees." 



Many bee-keepers report " no loss 

 in wiuterinff bees." On the first day 

 of March following the winter of 1880- 

 81, our bees flew from every hive and 

 gathered pollen. Did we not winter 

 our bees successfully? On the first 

 of May we had one very large colony, 

 and if all the remnants scattered here 

 and there through the apiary had 

 been put together, they would not 

 have made another. We all are prone 

 to report success, and dislike to re- 

 port loss. It is so easy to write 

 "wintered successfully,'" but hard, 

 " lost all or nearly so during March 

 and April." Mus. L. Harrison. 



Peoria, 111. 



The Main Cause of Disease. 



In the article of 11. V. Train, page 

 10 of the current volume, lie says : " I 

 do not believe tliat pollen has any 

 thing to do with bee dysentery pro or 

 con;" and, again, "clover honey is 

 safe stores because it is gathered early 

 in the season and gets well ripened." 

 The latter may be true, but 1 would 

 ask him to explain the following : In 

 the summer of 187S we had a flood of 

 white clover honey, and none was 

 taken from the brood-chambers, and 

 that was the stock of the following 

 winter's supply, in which we lost 56 

 out of 68 colonies, and nearly every 

 one by dysentery. I would further 

 ask Mr. Train, "or any other bee- 

 keeper who reads this, if he has ever 

 known a case of malignant dysentery 

 in bees where there was no pollen in 

 the hive '? I have not, and I believe 

 it to be the main cause of the disease. 

 A. A. Fradenburg. 



Port Washington, O., Jan. 21, 1884. 



Sees on the Summer Stands- 



I have 19 colonies of Italian bees 

 packed on the summer stands, in 

 American and box hives of 3 differ- 

 ent kinds. I have been looking over 

 the various hives intending to transfer 

 them all to one kind of hive, and have 

 bought a lot of Dr. Tinker, which, I 

 think, the best I have seen, both as to 

 workmanship and ease of operation. 

 I am always glad when Thursday 

 comes to get my Bee Journal. 



Chas. B. Wilson. 



Edmore, Mich., Jan. 20, 1884. 



Value of Comb Foundation. 



I thought of trying to do without 

 the Journal one year, as I receive a 

 monthly bee paper, and my labor with 

 a correspondence for several weekly 

 newspapers takes up so much of my 

 time; but one week it did not come, 

 and it was so missed that my sub- 

 scription is herewith enclosed for an- 

 other year. I put 60 colonies away 

 under fodder the last week'in Decem- 

 ber, and left 36 on their summer 

 stands, in double-walled hives. On 

 the 13th inst. they had a flight, and I 

 was enabled to lift all hives with loose 

 bottOQi-boards, and clean off the dead 

 bees and litter. I was struck with the 

 fact that where the entrance was un- 

 derneath, and througli the bottom- 

 board there were fewer dead bees and 



accumulated moisture, ice, etc., than 

 where the entrance was in front. By 

 setting swarms, hived on empty 

 frames, by the side of those hived on 

 frames partly or wholly filled with 

 foundation, the results left no doubt 

 in my mind as to the value of founda- 

 tion ; but when we have as many or 

 more bees than we need, I am not sure 

 but what we can utilize them in the 

 manufacture of wax better than in 

 any other way ; at least while wax is 

 so scarce, and getting scarcer. I shall 

 try it the next season by putting brood 

 chambers, containing empty frames, 

 under each full hive before swarming 

 time. If anything will prevent swarm- 

 ing, I believe this course will ; iind 

 after the lower chamber is filled, or 

 nearly so, it will be easy to divide if 

 increase is desired; and if not, extract. 

 Wji. Camm. 

 Murrayville, 111., Jan. 19, 1884. 



Bees Buried under the Snow. 



It is lonesome work to keep bees 

 without the old Bee Journal. Please 

 put my name on the roll again. Our 

 honey season here was 3 weeks late ; 

 the cold rains of spring and early 

 summer, put it back ; it was good 

 when it did come. My bees (27 colo- 

 nies) are now buried in the snow. I 

 have been successful in wintering 

 bees this way ; gradually move 5 or 6 

 together ; cover deep with snow and 

 ventilate with a 6-inch stove pipe. 

 C. Smith, Jr. 



Vandalia, Mich., Jan. 21, 1884. 



My Report for 1883. 



My bees came from the cellar, after 

 their winter repose, in fair condition ; 

 but a snow storm with a cold spell of 

 8 or 10 days weakened them badly, 

 leaving some colonies a mere handful. 

 The soft maples, which had just 

 opened when the bees were first re- 

 moved from the cellar, were frozen, 

 leaving the bees nothing to do of any 

 account until fruit bloom, which 

 yielded but very little honey on ac- 

 count of the weather. The bees got 

 very little pollen, scarcely enough to 

 keep up brood-rearing up to nearly the 

 time fruit bloom opened. White 

 clover opened fairly, the weather 

 again being unfavorable, it proved to 

 be the source of scarcely any surplus. 

 At this time I found that, out of 62 

 colonies, only .51 were fit for surplus ; 

 the remainder being weak, were used 

 for queen-rearing and improvement of 

 stock. Basswood yielded well, re- 

 maining in bloom for the longest space 

 of time ever known by me; out when 

 this closed, the honey' season for 1883 

 was at an end — buckwheat yielding 

 nothing. I have taken 6,200 lbs. of 

 extracted honey, averaging about 12i;^2 

 lbs. per colony, spring count. I have 

 increased to 118 colonies, which, ex- 

 cept 17 or IS, are all fed on sugar 

 syrup. The honey that was extracted 

 to give place for the syrup is not in- 

 cluded in the above report. The cel- 

 lar in which my bees are wintered is 

 too cold, it being at present 36^ ; last 

 winter it went as low as 32^, and once 

 or twice, 30^ ; but they seem to winter 

 fairly. The dead bees clogging in 



the bottom of the hive when they 

 should be on the cellar bottom. 1 

 tried the honey kegs, the past season, 

 and I think they are what we have 

 long needed ; they are well made, do 

 not leak, require no waxing, and are 

 of very convenient size. Can any one 

 tell of a pure sugar that is free from 

 color of any kind V I have fed sugar 

 for several years ; have tried several 

 different brands of the best granulated 

 sugars, and have never yet found 

 any that would not, when melted with 

 water, produce a blue scum on top. 

 Last fall I skimmed most of it ; this 

 fall I have not. A friend suggests 

 confectioners' A, but this has the 

 bluing, or at least that kept here has. 

 A. A. E. Wilder. 

 Moravia, N. Y., Jan. 13, 1884. 



Extracted Honey. 



My hobby has always been comb 

 honey ; but last season I thought I 

 would see what I could do with ex- 

 tracted honey, and the first thing I 

 did was to get one of Mr. Dadant's 

 pamphlets on extracted honey. I 

 sent for pint and quart Mason's fruit 

 cans and filled them with white 

 clover and basswood honey. Then I 

 labeled them, telling people that the 

 candying was a positive proof of its 

 purity. Now, for the result. Up to 

 this date, I have sold 1,800 lbs. of ex- 

 tracted honey, and the most of it was 

 candied. In tact. I can now hardly 

 sell liquid honey. I found that the 

 pint fruit cans sold about 3 to 1 of the 

 quart size ; another proof that small 

 packages are demanded by the peo- 

 ple. I know some who bought the 

 small cans just for the cans, to can 

 fruit in them, and in that way my 

 honey found its way where it would 

 not, if it liad been put up in packages 

 that were of no use when the honey 

 was used. I am looking for a large 

 trade next season, if I have the honey. 

 jSTumber of colonies, 167; 6 years a 

 specialist. W. H. Shirley. 



Glenwood, Mich., Jan. 14, 1884. 



Some Honey Not Candied Yet. 



My last communication was about 

 the time when every prospect seemed 

 favorable for a heavy crop of honey. 

 These prospects were partly blasted 

 by continued cold and wet weather 

 during white clover and apart of blue 

 thistle bloom. The honey obtained 

 was of fine quality. I have a few 2 

 quart jars and ^4 Pi'it tumblers of ex- 

 tracted honey which a zero freeze has 

 failed to granulate. I know it is pure 

 honey. The winter here has, we 

 think, been severe, but not so regu- 

 larly cold as to prevent the bees from 

 flying now and then. On Monday 

 last, they had a good flight, but since 

 then a blizzard struck us, sending the 

 mercury 10^ below zero, which is the 

 lowest point touched this winter. I 

 trust I shall be able to send you a 

 good report for the coming season. 

 So far every colony responds to the 

 tap. They "are not all packed with 

 chaff, but" have cliaff cushions on top 

 of the brood frames, with space be- 

 tween the cushions and the top of the 

 frames. J. W. Carter. 



Pleasant Dale, W. Va., Jan. 18,1884. 



