THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



169 



or pollen is impure, or in a decayin>j 

 state, tlicy will have a deleterious ef- 

 fect on bees in winter. Tliis, to nie, 

 is the whole theory of the dreaded 

 dvsenterv in bees. Bees are, there- 

 fore, biil'h strong in numbers and in 

 line condition, so far as have been as- 

 certained. 



As the ground was covered with 

 snow in tlie coldest weatlier. our 

 clovers have been but little injured. 

 "White clover looks thriftv and strong. 

 As we had but little fruit last year, 

 we will have an abundant bloom in 

 the spring, although peaches and the 

 more tender varieties of cherries are 

 killed. 



Altogether the outlook for the Ken- 

 tucky bee-keepers is quite encourag- 

 ing, "and those who will give ttieir 

 bees timely attention, will again re- 

 alize the happv results of isss. Last 

 fall, at the suggestion of Mr. J. T. 

 Connelly, of Walnut Lick, Ky., I 

 used corn silks for packing over the 

 bees, and after a fair trial, I pronounce 

 them superior to any thing I have yet 

 tried. They are clean, sweet, and 

 remain perfectly dry at all times. As 

 non-conductors they are far ahead of 

 chaff, and hereafter I shall use noth- 

 ing else. 



Walton, Ky. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Feeding Bees in Winter.' 



E. n. SMITH. 



Now and again I see in the Bee 

 Jouux.vL inquiries about feeding 

 bees in winter. Of course it should 

 not have to be done, as a rule, but 

 sometimes circumstances compel us 

 to do that, or lose our bees. I saw a 

 paragraph in a papfer lately where the 

 writer said he would rather let his 

 bees die in peace than disturb them by 

 feeding in the winter. That I cannot 

 agree with. 



Last winter I purchased 3 colonies 

 in bo.x hives ; one was strong, one 

 weak, and one very weak. The first 

 week in March I brought them home, 

 a distance of Hi miles, over a rough 

 road. On examining them I found 

 No. 1 had plenty of stores. No. 2 was 

 weak in bees aiid had little honey, No. 

 3 had all but died of starvation. The 

 strong one I set into the cellar, out of 

 which it came in fine condition about 

 the end of April. I removed the 

 bottom-board from No. 2, turned the 

 hive upside down and laid a cake of 

 candy on the cross sticks of the hive 

 (the combs were only built half way 

 down), laid the quiltand cushion over 

 them and set them away, with little 

 hope of their living until spring. 

 "When I set them out, the last week in 

 April, I again examined them, and 

 found brood in all stages. They were 

 more advanced than some of the 

 strong colonies. No. 3 seemed a hope- 

 less case, but I made a little hive ca- 

 pable of holding three section boxes, 

 transferred the few bees and queen 

 into that, fed them honey and candy, 

 and found them also alive at the eiid 

 of April. I set them out in the hot 

 sun ; they swarmed out and that was 

 the end of them. 



This fall I rescued 3 colonies from 

 the brimstone jiit too late to feed 

 them sutVu'ieut svrup to winter on, so 

 on the first of January I commenced 

 feeding tliem randy." I laid them 

 away prepared for tiiis feeding, and 

 had "no trouble in doing so. I put the 

 candy on two sticks laid across the 

 frames, without disturbing them, and 

 trnsted to their linding it. 



A few days ago I made another 

 supplv. and on opening the first hive 

 I found the cake eaten out and only a 

 shell left ; inside this shell the bees 

 were feeding quietly, and took no 

 notice of the light held over them. I 

 gave them a second cake and again 

 tucked them up comfortably. There 

 are no signs of dysentery, and they are 

 perfectly quiet. 



I make the candy as follows : To 4 

 pounds of granulated sugar add one 

 of water, boil till thorouglv melted; 

 while cooling, stir in enough sugar to 

 make a mush, pour into moulds and 

 let it harden, when it is ready for use. 

 For a mould I take a section box. set 

 it in a pan, lay a paper in the bottom 

 and pour in the partlv cooled candy ; 

 when it sets, I take ofl: the section box 

 and set awav the cake till it is wanted. 

 I warm it a little l)efore feeding. Be 

 sure not to burn the sugar. 



Falkenburg, Out. 



For tbe American Bee Journal. 



The New Races of Bees. 



L. K. JACKSON. 



It has been a mystery to me why 

 some who I thought competent to 

 judge of the good and bad qualities of 

 bees, differed in their opinion of the 

 Syrian bees from what my experience 

 has caused me to think of them. 



Mr. Benton's article, on page HS of 

 the Bee Journal, gives new light on 

 this subject, and is just what we 

 needed. As Mr. Newman remarks, 

 they are all Syrian bees, yet that does 

 not hinder there being a difference in 

 the bees south of the mountains, from 

 those on the north. If there is a dif- 

 ference, we should know it, and who 

 is as well qualified to draw the line as 

 Mr. Benton V If we know the bees 

 south of the mountain as Holy Land, 

 and those north as Syrians, then we 

 know what we are buying. If we call 

 them all Syrians, we know not what 

 we buy until we test them. 



I have a few colonies of Syrian bees, 

 and I think they have more good qual- 

 ities and less bad ones than any bees I 

 have handled. They can be handled 

 more easily than the Italians, and one 

 is not as liable to be stung with them 

 as with the Italians. They are more 

 easily brushed from the comb and fly 

 about less than any bees I have 

 worked with. They gather a surplus 

 of honey and keep strong longer at the 

 close of the honey harvest than any 

 bees I have, and if any of the bees 

 have not lioney enough to winter on, 

 the Syrians are the first I call on for 

 help. 



I have crossed a few Syrian queens 

 with Italian drones, and a few with 

 the brown German drones, and will 

 test them this year, and still cross the 



blood of the three races further. I do 

 not believe that " the coming bee " 

 will be a luire one of any race. The 

 best bees I have, except "the Syrians, 

 are a cross between the Italians and 

 brown Germans. 



I winter my bees on the summer 

 stands, and tlie Syrians are the quiet- 

 est during the winter, and are winter- 

 ing well, though the thermometer has 

 marked 2s -■ below zero. 



Urmeyville, Ind. 



Convention Notices. 



1^ AVe will organize a bee-keepers' 

 association at the Court House in 

 Franklin, Ind., at 10 a. m., April 5, 

 1884. All bee-keepers are invited to 

 attend and take part in the organiza- 

 tion. L. B. Jackson. 



Urmeyville, Ind., Feb. 26, 1884. 



1^ The AVestern Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation will meet at Independence, 

 Mo., Thursday, April 24, 1884. 



C. M. Crandall, Sec. 



1^ The sixth annual convention of 

 Texas bee-keepers will be held at the 

 " Bee Garden " of Judge Vf. H. An- 

 drews at ISIcKinney, Collin Co., Tex., 

 on April 24 and 2."), 1884. A larger 

 number of leading bee masters than 

 ever assembled on a similar occasion 

 in the South, is anticipated. 



AVji. R. Howard, Sec. 



Kingston, Tex., Jan. 16, 1884. 



^^ The Lorain County Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association, will meet at Elyria, 

 O., Wednesday, April 9, 1884. 



O. J. Terrell, Sec. 



North Ridgeville, O. 



1^ "We intend to organize a bee- 

 keepers' association for Southern In- 

 diana on March 20, 1884, to meet at 

 the Merchants and Manufacturers' 

 Club Rooms, Madison, Ind., at 9:30 a. 

 m. Kentuckv bee-keepers are invited 

 to participate. H. C. AVhite. 



^" The fourth semi-annual meet- 

 ing of the W^estern bee-keepers will 

 be held at Independence, Mo., April 

 24 and 2-5, 1884. This will be the most 

 interesting convention of bee-keepers 

 ever held in the West. The associa- 

 tion numbers among its members 

 some of the most successful bee-keep- 

 ers in the country, and many outside 

 the association, from abroad, will be 

 here to take part in the discussions. 

 Let each one come prepared to take 

 part in the discussions, and bring 

 something to exhibit. The program- 

 me, when completed, will comprise 

 all the interesting subjects of the day. 

 The committee appointed at our last 

 meeting on " marketing honey," will 

 report the first day, and it will be of 

 great interest, for the committee 

 is composed of thorough men who 

 have given the subject a large amount 

 of attention since our last meeting. 

 Jerome Twichell, of Kansas City, has 

 kindly consented to address the con- 

 vention on the subject of " Preparing 

 honey for market." 



C. M. Crandall, Sec. 

 Independence. Mo. 

 11. Scovell, Pres. Columbus, Kans. 



