218 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



tive that lias no land for sale. Stay 

 off of tlie barren lands. I know of 

 some good localities for bees that are 

 not occupied, but as a general rule 

 the best places are a considerable dis- 

 tance from tlie railroad. It has been 

 a very wet. cold and disagreeable win- 

 ter here ; the mercury was as low as 

 15° below zero. Farmers say the 

 spring is a month later than usual. 

 I. B. Good. 

 Tulliihoma, Tenn., March 22, 1S84. 



From Wataguga Apiary. 



My bees all wintered well ; tliey are 

 in the Delhi improved hives. I lost 

 none, and they are storing honey very 

 fast, for this season of the year. I 

 saw one sheet of drone comb full of 

 eggs to day, and I think I will have a 

 swarm off" in less than three weeks. 

 This is my second year, and I am hav- 

 ing splendid success. 



H. C. Austin. 



Austin's Springs, E. Tenn., Mar. 24. 



Better than Average. 



We have had a very cold winter. 

 The mercury was at aud below zero 

 27 times. We put 124 colonies in the 

 cellar liefore they got frosty. To-day 

 we finished taking them out. All an- 

 swered to the roll, but one. They 

 seem to be in more than average good 

 condition for this date. The cellar is 

 dry, kept above the freezing point, 

 and mostly at about 4.5'^. 



S. L. Vail. 



Coal Creek. Iowa, March 27, 1884. 



Bees Wintered on Summer Stands. 



Total number (iO ; loss 6 ; queenless, 

 to-day, 3 ; total decrease i) ; first pollen 



fathered ilarch 23 ; had hatching bees 

 'eb. 1. Bees flew less in February 

 and March than any other months ; in 

 fact, they only flew 3 or 4 times in 

 this month. There was some dysen- 

 tery in January, but good flights 

 checked it. Would have lost heavily, 

 had they been confined all winter, but 

 as it is, I never had bees in better con- 

 dition at this time of year. 



R. C. Aiken. 

 Shambaugh, Iowa, March 27, 1884. 



set in. I have made one other test 

 similar to this in a cold cellar, and the 

 colonies having the thickest cushions 

 and enameled "cloth over the brood- 

 nest came out decidedly in the rear. 

 Dead bees do not accumulate on the 

 bottom boards, as I leave them on the 

 stands, and set the hives on inch 

 blocks. Wliile I am uncertain whether 

 diarrhoea is caused by the annoyance 

 of water getting into the brood-nest, 

 the sipping up of it after getting 

 there, its getting into the honey, or all 

 comljined, I am positive that water 

 is almost iuvarial)ly present in or 

 nearly if not directly above the clus- 

 ters of diarrhetic colonies, and that it 

 can and does get there by an easy and 

 well understood method. 



C. W. Dayton. 

 Bradford, Iowa, March 25, 1884. 



Tests in Cellar Wintering. 



When my bees were put in the cel- 

 lar, one dozen brood-chambers were 

 covered with enameled cloth, another 

 dozen with thick cushions, and ail 

 others with thin cushions. Every 

 colony was supplied with the purest 

 of honey and pollen for stores. All 

 were perfectly dry, and almost as still 

 as death, until tliey commenced rear- 

 ing brood. Then those with thick 

 cushions showed uneasiness and signs 

 of diarrhoea. An examination found 

 them wet ; but more ventilation pro- 

 duced quietness, and the disagreeable 

 odor disappeared. Those with thin 

 cushions have remained as quiet as 

 possible. Those with the enameled 

 cloth are in fine condition, but make 

 a great hubbub when tliey see a light 

 or small a little fresh or warm air, 

 while the otiiers keep perfectly quiet. 

 With a few thick cushioned e.xcep- 

 tions the bees appear as small as when 



in which the combs were nice, wliite 

 and smooth, and cases not too large. 

 I believe I could average 10,000 pounds 

 of comb honey a month, the year 

 round, if it was uniform in all re- 

 spects, so that one lot would be a fair 

 sample of all. It is the irregularity 

 of shape and condition of comb honey 

 that renders it so ditticult to sell, with 

 out the purchaser's seeing it before 

 hand. Let sections, combs and cases 

 be uniform, and all will be benefitted. 

 Jeuome Twiciiell. 

 Kansas City, Mo. 



Hives, Frames and Bees. 



I have handled bees for several 

 years, but I am not experienced in 

 apiculture, as I keep them chiefly for 

 pleasure. I am a farmer, and bees 

 are not very profitable in this'portion 

 of the State. I expect to make bee- 

 culture profitable, if it can be done in 

 this portion of the State. I have noth- 

 ing but the native or German bees. In 



1882 bees did well; every flower and 

 shrub of the forest seemed to secrete 

 an unusual amount of nectar, while 



1883 was the reverse ; bees having to 

 be fed almost the entire season to pre- 

 vent them from starving. This sea- 

 son bids fair for a good crop of honey. 

 Bees winter well bere on the summer 

 stands, in box hives, without protec- 

 tion. My bees have built up very fast 

 and seem to be storing honey. I had 

 drones flying March 15. 1 say box 

 liives because frame hives are just 

 coming into use here. 



1. What hive is the best for begin- 

 ners ? 



2. Should the frame be placed par- 

 allel with tlie entrance V 



3. How many distinguished races of 

 bees are now known in the United 

 States ? 



4. Did not all the yellow banded 

 bees descend from the Italian race '? 



5. What race of bees have the most 

 yellow bands V L. B. Smith. 



Cross Timbers, Tex., March 28, 1884. 



• [1. We prefer the Langstroth hive 

 for all jiurposes. 



2. The ends of the frames should 

 run towards the entrance. 



3. The natives or blacks, Italians, 

 Cyprians and Syrians — all others have 

 come from the above. 



4. res. 



5. The Italians.— Ed.] 



Honey Dealers and Separators. 



I heartily endorse H. D. HubbeFs 

 article in the liEE .Journal of March 

 26. on the advantages of the use of 

 separators, from a commercial stand- 

 point, and wish that every one would 

 use them, m- something else to insure 

 a smooth and uniform comb. I occa- 

 sionally have a complaint of tardy re- 

 turns, but it has never been on a lot 



Bee-Keeping in Indian Territory. 



My 14 colonies in frame hives are in 

 splendid condition. Here honey is 

 worth 20 and 25 cents per pound. 

 There is no cultivated forage nearer 

 than seven miles. My main source is 

 rattan vine and ague-root, though 

 there are flowers for bees to work on 

 from the time cottonwood blooms till 

 frost. I should like to hear from other 

 bee-keepers in this territory, if there 

 are any. 



G. Priest Grinstead. 



Oakland, Indian Ter., Mar. 25. 1884. 



Local Convention Directory 



1884. Time and place of Meeting. 



April 5.— Marshall Co. Iowa, at Marshalltown. 



J. W. Sanders, Sec. 



April 5.— Kansas Central, at Manhattan. 



Thomas Bassler, Sec. 



April S.^Ass'n of Central Ills., at Bloomington. 

 W. B. Lawrence, Sec. 



Aprils.— Northern Kr., at Covington, Ky. 



L. A. Armstrong and Others. 



April 9.— Lorain Co., at Elvria, O. 



O. J. Terrell Sec, North Ridgevllle, O. 



April 10.— MahoninK Valley, at Newton Falls, O. 

 E. W. Turner, Sec. 



April 12— Texas Central, at Waco. 



I. W. Qrayton, Sec. 



April IH.— Iowa Central, at Winterset, Iowa. 



J. E. Pryor. Sec. 



April "22. — Des Moines Co., at Middleton, Iowa. 



John Nau, Sec. 



April 24.— Union Ky., at Eminence. Ky. 



G. W. Demaree, Sec. 



April 24.— Eastern Ind., at Richmond, Ind. 



M. G. Reynolds, Sec. 



AprU 24.— Northern Ohio, at Norwalb, O. 



S. F, Newman, Sec. 



April 24. -Western Michigan, at Berlin. 



F. S. Covey, Sec. 



April 24, 25.— Western, at Independence. Mo. 



C. M. Crandall, Sec. 



April 24, 25.— Texas State, at McKinney. 



W. R. Howard, See. 



May 3. - Progressive, at Bedford, O. 



J. R. Reed, Sec. 



May 6.-Cattaragu8 Co. N. Y.. at Randolph, N. Y. 

 W. A. Shewman. 



May 6.— Southern Wisconsin, at Janesvilie. 



J. T. Pomeroy. Sec. 



May 15.— Tuscarawas Co. O., at Port Wushington.O. 

 A. A. Fradenhurg. 



May 20. —N. W. Ills., andS. VV. Wis., at Rockton, III. 

 Jonathan Stewart, Sec. 



May 2t>.— Will County, at Monee, 111. 



P. P. Nelson, Sec. 



Oct. 11, 12.— Northern Mich., at Alma, Mich. 



F. A. Palmer, Sec, McBride, Mich. 



Oct. 15, 16.— Northwestern, at Chicago, III. 



W. Z. Hutchinson. Sec. 



Dec. 10, 11.— Michigan State, at Lansing. 



H. D. Cutting, Sec, Clinton, Mich. 



tW~ In order to have this table complete, Secre- 

 taries are requested to forward full particulars ©f 

 time and place of future meetings.- ED. 



