26 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



(Packed in Sawdust. 



I commenced the season with 7 col- 

 onies, blacks and Italians (4 blacks 

 and 3 Italians); increased to 27 colo- 

 nies, and have tliera all Italianized ; 

 took 250 lbs. of extracted and 100 lbs. 

 of comb lioney in 2-poiind sections. I 

 use the Langstroth hive and pack them 

 in sawdust.on their summer stands, 

 similar to the plan of James Ileddon. 

 J. VV. Sears. 



Harrodsburg, Ind., Dec. 27, 1882. 



'Thickness of Wood of Small Sections. 



In No. 51, page 802, of the Bee Jour- 

 nal, Mr. T. F. Bingham gives the 

 proper size to make half-pound sec- 

 tions ; in doing so he did not give the 

 thickness of the section," or inside 

 measurement. Please give this in the 

 Bee Journal ; I am only a beginner, 

 but wish to keep pace with the most 

 modern ways of bee-keeping. As this 

 is the time for hive-making I also wisli 

 to get the best plan ot making the top 

 bar of the frames for fastening the 

 foundation. I am making mine 1x1 M 

 inches, with JJg above tlie sides and 

 running a cut in the bottom J^ deep, 

 and bevel from the top % to the bot- 

 tom groove and then cut off one-half, 

 thus leaving an open space in which 

 to lay the foundation and tack on the 

 piece that came out. I used them last 

 season and found them to work very 

 well. Geo. Rogers. 



Ilollin, Ont., Jan. 2, 1883. 



[The thickness of the wood for the 

 small sections is one-eighth of an inch. 

 Many bee-keepers make the top-bars 

 of broad frames as you suggest, and 

 like them. It makes but little differ- 

 ence, so long as the top bar is stiff, 

 and the foundation strongly fastened. 

 Any way that will accomplish this, 

 "will do. — Ed.] 



Satisfied. 



I had, in the spring, 9 colonies of 

 hybrids and Italians ; increased to 27, 

 -or 200 per cent., and obtained, of nice 

 comb honey, 396 lbs., or 44 lbs. per 

 colony, spring count, and did not buy 

 a queen nor use any empty comb or 

 foundation, and lost but little time 

 out of my shop, attending to them. I 

 sell all my honey at 20 cents per pound. 

 I think there are about 200 colonies of 

 bees in Wabash, and about one-half 

 are blacks, kept in the style of our 

 grandfathers ; the other half are Ital- 

 ians and hybrids, kept in different 

 sorts of movable frame hives, by dif- 

 ferents sorts of men, and I am the 

 only one, as far as I know, that takes 

 any bee paper. J. Copeland. 



Allendale, 111., Dec. 27, 1882. 



A Question— Why Is It 5 



We are wintering 240 colonies of 

 bees — 80 colonies out doors in cliafE 

 Lives, and the rest in an underground 

 ■cellar. Those in the cellar are win- 

 tering well. The colonies out of doors 

 are located in four different places ; 

 18 at our home apiary, 10 three-fourths 

 ■ of a mile northwest, 14 two miles south, 

 .and 38 four mile south of home apiary. 



These colonies were all prepared for 

 winter in the same manner, were 

 strong in numbers and well supplied 

 with honey. The flora of the four lo- 

 calites is tiie same. The colonies in 

 three of the localities mentioned are 

 in a tine condition. The .38 colonies 

 four miles from the home apiary are 

 suffering badly with dysentery, and 

 we shall probably lose "nearly all of 

 them. I would like to have you make 

 the above statementin the columns of 

 the Journal, and ask the bee masters 

 to give a reason why the 38 colonies 

 are affected and not the rest. 



S. F. Newman. 

 Newark, O., Dec. 29, 1882. 



A Satisfactory Showing. 



My bees in good order for winter. I 

 have now 80 colonies, packed in chaff. 

 I started in the spring with .50 colo- 

 nies; they gave me 48 pounds of comb 

 honey per colony. Those run for ex- 

 tracted honey, gave me 100 pounds per 

 colony ; which 1 sold at from 12J^ to 

 16 cents per pound and the comb 

 honey at 16 to 20 cents per pound at 

 home. The weather is mild; just 

 right for bees. 



J. H. Kennedy. 



Little York, N. Y. Dec. 28, 1882. 



In 6ood Condition. 



I began, in the spring, with 17 colo- 

 nies ot' black bees ; obtained 1,0.50 lbs. 

 of extracted honey and 200 lbs. in the 

 comb, in one-pound sections, and in- 

 creased to 38 colonies, all in good con- 

 ditiork for the winter. 



Wm. Coleman. 



Devizes, Ont., Dec. 21, 1882. 



Over 100 Pounds to the Colony. 



I commenced in the spring with 54 

 colonies ; increased to 80 and obtained 

 5,500 lbs. of honey, of which 4,500 was 

 comb and 1,000 extracted. Our bees 

 were in splendid condition for winter. 

 L. D. Ormsby. 



Pierpont, Ohio, Dec. 26, 1882. 



Bees Enjoying Their Warm Quarters. 



It has been a very poor year in this 

 section for apiarists, bees having gath- 

 ered no white honey and but a light 

 yield of dark honey. But, neverthe- 

 less, I must have the Bee Journal 

 for 1883, all the same. I have 26 colo- 

 nies in the cellar, evidently enjoying 

 their warm quarters. 



J. H. Sheldon. 



Dorset, Vt., Dec. 22, 1882. 



Mexican Clover for Bees. 



My report for 1882 is as follows : 

 Spring count 39. increase 28, total 67 ; 

 sold 17. The average per colony for 

 honey was about 30 lbs., in all 2,000 

 lbs. Owing to the cold weather, dur- 

 ing the spring and summer, they did 

 not do well. Cupalo gum yielded 

 splendidly, but red rod was a failure ; 

 these are' the only flowers that amount 

 to anything. I have moved them 

 across the river to where there is an 

 abundance of white clover and poplar. 

 I will try some sweet clover on the soil 

 we have here, which is black loam. I 

 have also some Mexican clover seed. 



which is said to bloom luxuriantly, the 

 season through. Has anyone ever 

 tried the same, and is it a good plant V 

 We will test it this season and report. 

 Head & Brown. 

 Thebes, 111., Dec. 20,1882. 



Likes to Work with Bees. 



I like to work with bees, but, as for 

 getting any prolit out of them, we in 

 central Ohio are far behind. I started 

 last spring with 18 colonies, increased 

 to 35; took about 175 lbs. of honey, 

 mostly extracted ; this makes a man 

 feel as though he was a small potato, 

 after reading some of the bouncing 

 reports. Some of them certainly look 

 a little ^,s/h/. John M. Parson. 



Tippecanoe City, Ohio, Dec. 22, 1882. 



Packed in a Bee Cellar. 



I started in the spring with nine 

 colonies, and have increased to 19, by 

 natural swarming, and have obtained 

 500 lbs. of comb honey, and 500 lbs. of 

 extracted. I realized 15 to 20 cents 

 per pound in my home market, i 

 have them all packed for the winter 

 in a bee cellar. F. A. Gibson. 



Racine, Wis., Dec. 23, 1882. 



Packed with Buckwlieat Chaff. 



I put into winter quarters, last year, 

 13 colonies, on the summer stands; 

 one starved, leaving 12 to start with, 

 last spring; they increased to 32. I 

 took 800 lbs. of extracted and 200 lbs. 

 of comb honey. I winter 3i of them in 

 the cellar and the others on the sum- 

 mer stands, packed with buckwheat 

 chaff. They appear to be all doing 

 well. S. J. Church. 



Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Dec. 27, 1882. 



Good Prospect. 



I have been quite successful the 

 past year, liaving averaged 100 lbs. of 

 comb honey, per colony, spring count, 

 and increased from 70 to 121 colonies. 

 My honey was all gathered in the 

 prize section, the largest number from 

 any one colony that I remember was 

 106, which is about 200 lbs. I .sold it 

 at from 14 to 18 cts. per lb., mostly at 

 Indianapolis. Our prospects for next 

 year are good at the present time. 

 B. Z. Smith. 



Tuscola, 111., Dec. 27, 1882. 



Centralizing the Honey Market. 



Bee-men ought to be combined and 

 have but one wholesale house or 

 dealer. The honey should be' in a 

 salable condition and all should be 

 shipped to him. One dealer can handle 

 allot our produce to advantage. Then 

 the merchants will know where to 

 send to get the lowest price, and we 

 shall know where to ship our produce 

 and get what it is worth. Then the 

 market quotations will be alike in all 

 the papers. I have 112 colonies in 

 good condition. Bees have not gath- 

 ered much surplus here for two years, 

 but mine have been on the gain. 

 There are some 400 colonies of beesia 

 this county, yet we cannot supply the 

 market. There has been some ex- 

 tracted honey sent here and sold for 

 20 cts. per lb. Chas. Follett. 



Osage, Iowa, Jan. 2, 1883. 



