THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



75 



of the country will prove this assertion. 

 But while this is true, 1 am n victim I 

 of chronic, maliirial poisoninff ; iuul I 

 am fully persuaded that I must tind 

 another Held. I must go to some point 

 -where malaria is a stranger; hut, while 

 this is true, I must also so where bees 

 do well. To rob me of the pleasure of 

 keeping bees, on quite an extensive 

 scale, would be to deprive me ot a 

 •world of pleasure, to say nothing 

 About the pecuniarv consideration. I 

 flatter myself that I am a successful 

 bee-master ; and I am looking for a 

 pleasant locality, good for bees, and 

 entirely free from bilious difficulties. 



Dr. F. A. Grove, of Kirksville, Mo., 

 ;seems to have the right notion about 

 keephig bees for profit. He keeps 

 -bees, poultry, a little other good stock, 

 raises a little small fruit and culti- 

 vates a good vegetable garden. I am 

 quite certain this is better for the ma- 

 jority of bee-keepers than to keep bees 

 alone. My advice to all beginners is : 

 go slowly, and learn as you go. He 

 who rushes into a business up to his 

 «yes, of which he knows comparatively 

 nothing, is apt to get his profits all on 

 the debtor side. 



Keithsburg, 111., Jan. 20, 1883. 



enough for 2, stretch and tack this 

 down tightly, aud it will turn rain or 

 wind as good as boards. It is much 

 cheaper and more quickly di)ue. 

 They get all the fresh air they need 

 at the entrance. As it is the same 

 size as in the summer, with a small 

 tube or box from the entrance to the 

 outer case, the bees can fly whenever 

 a warm day comes, although mine 

 have not had a flight since about 

 Nov. l-5th ; they are taking a good 

 rest, to awake during the first warm 

 davs of spring to come forth with the 

 eaily fiowers, with their glad hum, 

 ready for another year's labor. 



S. C. Frederick. 

 Coal Vale, Kansas, Jan. 22, 1883. 





Swarms Went to the Woods. 



I have 27 colonies ; 19 on the sum- 

 mer stands and 8 in the cellar. I wish 

 to try both plans, and report in spring. 

 They gave me a very poor yield last 

 year, owing to the cold late spring. 

 During August, I was in the West, 

 and lost 6 or 8 swarms. I will try 

 and do better during the coming sea- 

 son, if I can. J. Bishop. 



Greenwood, Ind., Jan. 20, 1883. 



The 2-11). Sections Good Eiioiiarh. 



We have been very much interested 

 in the half-pound section question, 

 l)ut have decided to adhere to our 2- 

 Ib. sections, for the present at least. 

 Taking everything into considera- 

 tion, the change does not prouiise to 

 termiaate in a success financially. 

 Gkeiner Bros. 



Naples, N. Y., Jan. 11), 1883. 



Jtty Way of Wintering Bees. 



I always winter ray bees on the 

 summer stands. This is my third 

 winter, and I have not lost any yet. 

 My plan of preparation is as follows : 

 After the boxes are taken off, I put 

 on Mr. Hill's device ; then cover the 

 frames with a piece of as thin factory 

 as.I can get (large enough to come 

 outside of the hive, after the cap is 

 on). On the top of this, I place a 

 cushion, 4 inches thick, filled with 

 chaff, and give plenty of ventilation 

 above the cushion. They are on their 

 summer stands, and have a good roof 

 for shade, supported at each corner 

 by a small post, the outer case is 

 ■easy put on. For the case, I take best 

 •canvas, 40 inches wide ; this is wide 



Statistics— Planting for Honey, etc. 



I have been trying to ascertain the 

 number of bees in Lucas Co.. Iowa, 

 this winter, and this will show how 

 well I have succeeded. I have found 

 28 men that keep bees; they represent 

 661 colonies ; 72 of them have bees in 

 box hives and log gums ; the remain- 

 der in frame hives, 90 per cent, of the 

 latter in Langstroth hives ; 6 of the 

 latter take a bee paper and represent 

 448 colonies of bees, and have taken 

 the past season between 9 and 10 tons 

 of honey. I have made out my report, 

 the best I could, and sent to Dr. C. C. 

 Miller. Bees are wintering well, so 

 far ; there is one thing that bothers 

 me a little. In 3 or 4 of my hives I 

 find thin honey running out at the 

 entrance. What is the reason ? Mice 

 cannot get in. Tell me the cause and 

 remedy. It is too cold to open the 

 hives to see. I sowed 3 lbs. of catnip 

 seed, last fall, along the creek banks, 

 in ditches and waste places. Will it 

 pav V Will sweet clover come up this 

 spring, if sowed in February ? 



Wm. Ma lone. 

 Oakley, Iowa, Jan. 16, 1883. 



[The "thin honey running out at 

 the entrance " is probably condensed 

 moisture that could not escape at the 

 top. In running down over the combs 

 it came in contact with honey and be- 

 came sii-eet water. This will make the 

 bees uneasy, and during the first warm 

 weather you should place some good 

 absorbent over the frames. This is 

 about all you can do, until an exami-' 

 nation can be made in the spring. 



Of course " it will pay " to plant 

 forage for bees. Sweet clover planted 

 on the snow in early spring will do 

 well; freezing' the seed is beneficial 

 to it.— Ed.1 



Do the Drones Accompany a Swarm % 



1 have just finished reading the 

 pamphlet entitled " Dzierzon's The- 

 ory." I appreciate the theory of 

 Dzierzon (and indorse it) for its val- 

 uable instructions, but I want to ask 

 whether drones (male bees) issue with 

 the first swarm in " natural swarm- 

 ing V" Dr. H. R. DOKR. 



Worden, 111., Jan. 19, 1883. 



[This is governed by the circum- 

 stances. Usually the old queen and 

 workers, old and young, compose the 

 swarm, and therefore they have no 

 need of drones. In such cases the 

 drones remain in the hive to fertilize 

 the young queen, whose "wedding 

 flight " occurs in a few days after the 

 swarm leaves. If the old queen is 

 unable to fly (from her wings being 

 clipped, or some other cause), then 

 the bees, after returning to the hive, 

 will sometimes take the young queen 

 with them, when Ihey issue again. 

 Then drones, being necessary, wil 

 also go with the swarm.— Ed.] 



Dnty on Beeswax. 



It is within my knowledge that in 

 view of the great rise in price of wax 

 in the United States that arrange- 

 ments were being made by a large 

 firm of merchants in London, to place 

 considerable quantities of beeswax on 

 the American markets. The only ob- 

 stacle, I believe, was the duty. 



Thomas B. Blow. 



Welwyn, England, Jan. 10, 1883. 



[As wax is so much used in Europe, 

 we did not tliink that there would be a 

 chance of getting any there.— Ed.] 



My Years' Work. 



I commenced the spring of 1882 with 

 2 colonies of bees and increased to 12 

 strong colonies, and got 150 lbs. of 

 comb honey, in 1-pound sections, and 

 150 lbs. of extracted honey. I sold the 

 comb honey for 20 cts. per lb.; the ex- 

 tracted for 15 cts. at home. I use the 

 Langstroth hive, of my own make. 

 My bees are wintering on the summer 

 stands, packed in clover chaff. 



George N. Marsh. 



Huntley Grove, 111., Jan. 24, 1883. 



A Continuons Blizzard. 



We are having a blizzard here at 

 present ; averaging 10'^ below zero, 

 during the past few days ; but my 

 bees are in a sawdust bee-house and 

 doing well. We have had continuous 

 sleighing since the last of November. 

 No practical apiarist can afford to do 

 without the American Bee Jour- 

 nal. A. BURRILL. 



Cuba, N. Y., Jan. 24, 1883. 



Half-ponnd Sections. 



I am sorry to see the half-pound 

 sections favorably spoken of by any 

 one. There may be a demaiul for 

 them in some places, but I am quite 

 sure that in the Western States they 

 are too small. J. J. Tucker. 



Arrow Rock, Mo., Jan. 20, 1883. 



Trying Theories on Wintering Bees. 



Saturday night it thawed and rained 

 a little with the mercury at 38^ F., 

 but early on Sunday morning the wnid 

 changed to the west, blowing a perfect 

 gale, which has been kept up ever 

 since. The mercury dropped below 

 zero and this morning it was 12° below. 

 Since Nov. 11 the mercury has not 

 been above 42^, so that the bees have 

 had no chance to fly. All seem to be 

 wintering well so far, but if our winter 



