THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



99 



■winters in succession. TJiis, I think, 

 proves my system correct ; especially 

 ■when we take into consideration that 

 -we are 2,200 feet above the sea level, 

 and that our winters are cold and pro- 

 longed. H. H. Flick. 

 Lavansville, Pa., Jan. 31, 1883. 



Thirty Degrees below Zero. 



The weather is a little more com- 

 fortable now— still there is no thaw or 

 rain— we have had nothing but dry, 

 cold, snowy weather. On Tuesday, 

 Jan. 24, at 6 a. m., the mercury was 

 down to 303 below zero. How is that 

 kind of weather for bees on the sum- 

 mer stands in box hives V If they live, 

 cold will not kill them, will it V 



J. A. Morton, M. D. 



Bethel, Maine, Feb. 2, 1883. 



taken from each kind of plant, shrub 

 or tree, be a better medicine for some 

 one disease than for all diseases. The 

 buckwheat honey may be a better 

 medicine for one kind of sickness, 

 while that taken from linden will be 

 better for some other kind, and so on, 

 with all the different kinds of honey. 

 I think if we will be careful to keep 

 tlie different kinds of honey separate, 

 and place it in the hands of medical 

 and scientific men for investigation, 

 it may result in good to producer and 

 consumer. Nelson Pekkins. 



Princeton, Ala., Feb. 3, 1883. 



King's Cnre-aU as a Honey-Plant. 



I send you some pods of seed of a 

 good honey plant. What is its botan- 

 ical name V VVe call it " King's cure- 

 all." It blooms a little on a single 

 stalk, the first year ; the next year it 

 throws out branches, growing 6 or 8 

 feet high, and blooms about the mid- 

 dle of July, and continues blooming 

 till frost. The flower is a small cup 

 with a lid over it, keeping out the sun 

 and rain. The bees work on it early 

 and late. S. P. Sowers. 



Dunlap, Kansas. 



[The plant seems to be Scrophularia 

 nodosa ("Figwort," Simpson's Honey 

 Plant). The fruit capsules are more 

 densely produced than is common 

 with the above species, but it cannot 

 be far dilTerent, and there is no near 

 relative known to me to which it may 

 be referred. It is, probably, the 

 variety known as Marilandica. — T. J. 



BURRILL.] 



Catnip as a Honey Plant. 



Since honey plants are of the utmost 

 importance to successful bee-keeping, 

 I would say that I agree with Mr. Elli- 

 cott (see page 69), as far as he goes, 

 about catnip. We have, in our city 

 and vicinity, quite a good deal of cat- 

 nip growing. Three years ago I 

 gathered some 6 lbs. of seeds and 

 sowed it on waste places, and I no- 

 ticed bees working on catnip all-day 

 long, and if they found no honey in 

 it, they would not visit it. Should I 

 ever need to plant much for honey, I 

 would plant considerable catnip. 



H. S. Hackman. 



Peru, 111., Feb. 6, 1883. 



Bees have the Dysentery. 



Please answer through the Bee 

 Journal, " what must I do to save " 

 my bees ? They have the dysentery, 

 and are wasting away very fast. I 

 fear they will all die. I should like 

 to know from bee-men if there is a 

 remedy ? It is a general complaint 

 about here. I have been watching 

 the Bee Journal for a remedy, but 

 have not noticed anything yet. I 

 have 40 colonies, 9 in box hives. They 

 all appear to be alike afflicted. 



B. HELrHRET. 



Utica, O., Feb. 3, 1883. 



[Give the bees some good capped 

 honey, over the frames, and a cleans- 

 ing flight as soon as the weather will 

 permit.— Ed.] 



first thing every swarm does is to 

 plaster every crack except the en- 

 trance, which is always below the 

 comb. But whoever heard of bees 

 removing the propolis to cause a 

 draught through the hive for winter. 

 I am satisfied upward ventilation is 

 wrong ; I have studied it for 3 years, 

 and I fail to reason out such treat- 

 ment. People even in Montreal 

 (which is about the same as Dakota 

 or Manitoba), winter bees safely, 

 leaving the top well sealed and rais- 

 ing the hives }4 inch from the bottom 

 board. Charles Mitchell. 



Molesworth, Ont., Feb. 2, 1883. 



Bees Confined 80 Days, but Doing Well. 



My bees are doing well ; they have 

 been in winter quarters 80 days, and 

 each colony has eaten from 1 to 3 lbs. 

 of honey. I weigh them every 

 month ; the comb in some of the hives 

 is getting moldy; is it injurious to 

 them y F. A. Gibson. 



Racine, Wis., Feb. 8, 1883. 



[Mold is not injurious to bees ; 

 leave it to the bees, and when the 

 weather will permit, they will sur- 

 prise you by their dexterity in clean- 

 ing it up.— Ed.] 



Medicinal Qualities of Honey. 



I was much interested in an article 

 in the Bee Journal of Dec. 27, page 

 818, from Mr. Luther Corey, of York- 

 shire, N. 1' ., in regard to the medical 

 qualities of honey. The thought sug- 

 gested to me was, that honey taken 

 from different kinds of flowers does 

 not contain the same medicinal quali- 

 ties. As physicians use the roots, 

 bark, leaves and flowers of different 

 kinds of honey-producing plants, 

 shrubs and trees, and each kind for a 

 different disease, so may the honey 



The California Apiculturist. 



Has the California Apiculturist 

 ceased to exist 'i I have received no 

 number of it since November, 18821 

 K. Ercanbrack. 



Watsonville, Cal., Feb. 1, 1883. 



[As we have not received it since 

 November last, we expect it has been 

 numbered with the dead bee papers— 

 and " their name is legion."— Ed.] 



What to Plant. 



My bees, are to all appearances, 

 wintering finely. I put into the cellar 

 on Nov. 2 and 3, 176 colonies of my 

 own, and 1 belonging to a friend, all 

 Italians. I have made arrangements 

 to start another yard in the spring, 

 about 6 miles from here. I have 

 bought 80 acres to sow for honey and 

 I would be thankful for your opinion 

 as to what is best to sow, all things 

 considered. It is low land, that over- 

 flows about 2 out of every 3 years. 

 There is lots of basswood. and all kinds 

 of timber, close by ; such as soft and 

 hard maple, willow, elm, box elder, 

 etc., witti high bluffs within one mile 

 on the north or south, covered with 

 goldenrod and various other flowers. 

 I intend to make bee-keeping my fu- 

 ture occupation and I want to start 

 right. From what I have seen of 

 sweet clover and motherwort I think 

 they are well worth cultivating for 

 honey. I believe that to get tlie right 

 kind of bees is no longer a question ; 

 all that is required is to carefully breed 

 from those containing the most desir- 

 able qualities. I do not allow drones 

 to fly from any hive that does not 

 come up to the highest standard. I 

 kill all queens that produce one or two- 

 banded workers, or very cross ones, 

 and replace them with good ones, 

 Wm. Lossing. 



Hokah, Minn., Jan. 30, 1883. 



[Sweet clover is the best honey plant 

 we know of, for such a location. — Ed.] 



The Winter in Canada. 



We have a very severe winter, with 

 many storms, but, to my mind, it is 

 the best winter I ever saw for a good 

 honey season to follow. There being 

 no frost in the ground, the grass and 

 wheat are growing under the snow. 

 Last year, there being no snow, the 

 ground was frozen everywhere ; what 

 was left of white clover was very 

 weak or came from seed the previous 

 summer. Upward ventilation is en- 

 tirely contrary to my reasoning, and 

 the instinct and practice of bees. The 



Iowa State Convention. 



I second Mr. Sorrick's motion for a 

 " Bee-Keepers' Convention" to organ- 

 izeaState Association,during the Fair 

 week. Allow me to suggest that Mr. 

 Sorrick issue a call for said meeting. 

 If those interested in bee-culture will 

 indicate, to tlie board of directors, the 

 classification andamountof premiums 

 for this department, I have no doubt 

 it will receive a favorable considera- 

 tion, as they are ever ready to lend "a 

 helping hand " to develop any inter- 

 est that is a benefit to the citizens of 

 our State. E. R. Shankland. 



Dubuque, Iowa, Feb. 5, 1883. 



Syrian Bees. 



The new Monthly Bee Journal is 

 here, and a neater, more beautiful, 

 well-printed monthly we never have 

 seen. It glows with ricli contributions 

 from the best writers on scientific bee- 

 culture. I notice in the Weekly Bee 

 Journal, page 59, a desire to know 



