VOL. XIX. 



CHICAGO, ILL., MARCH 14, 1883. 



No. 11. 



Published every Wednoaday. by 



THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



EDITOR AND Proprietor, 



To Our Correspondents. 



" Every day and hour," at lightning 

 speed, over every railroad centering 

 in this great city, come letters to the 

 Bee Journal from all parts of the 

 •world — east, west, north and south 

 of this American continent, as well 

 as from Europe, Asia, Africa and 

 Australia. (A few days ago, one mail 

 brought us foreign letters from Eng- 

 land, France, Sweden, Mexico and 

 Australia.) Letters of business or 

 inquiries which call for answer by re- 

 turn mail. Letters of praise or blame, 

 of approval or disapproval, of com- 

 mendation or condemnation of some- 

 thing in the Bee Jouknai, ! Letters 

 to the Editor, either kind and compli- 

 mentary or full of malicious abuse, 

 which are intended to excite to enthu- 

 siasm or goad to desperation ! ! 



Of course, we know the Editor must 

 be cool and colkded at all times, but to 

 talk of his " easy chair" is a mockery. 



During the winter months, many 

 bee-keepers have little else to do but 

 read, criticise and write to the Bee 

 Journal — and the number of com- 

 munications on hand now, is simply 

 overwhelming. In order to accom- 

 modate as many as possible this week, 

 we have determined to omit the usual 

 editorials, etc., and, " without further 

 ceremony," present our readers with 

 as many letters and communications 

 as we can crowd into the paper. We 

 will give all, as fast as possible. Some 

 have concluded that their articles have 

 been consigned to the waste basket, 

 and ask for our reasons for doing so ; 

 others demand their return, etc. Ex- 

 ercise patience, eat a little more honey 

 to keep good-natured — omit " stings," 

 and all will go well in a few weeks. 



The Coldest Yet in New York. 



The thermometer stood at 160 below 

 zero here this morning, which is the 

 lowest, so far, this winter. Bees had 

 a partial flight 3 days ago, but, as the 

 wind was strong, many were lost on 

 the snovv'. They had been confined so 

 long, that " lly they would," except a 

 few colonies whicli were banked up 

 with snow. One colony is no more, 

 and 3 or 4 others are in bad condition, 

 having tlie dysentery. Those in the 

 cellar are quiet and nice, so far. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



Borodino, March 5, 1883. 



Bees All Right. 



My 44 colonies all answered to roll- 

 call to-d ly. It has been a very cold 

 winter here. Bees crawled up among 

 their combs on Dec. 13, and remained 

 there until to-day, March 4, when 

 they had a good fly. C. E. Millek. 



Justus, Pa., March 4, 1883. 



Chaff for Wintering. 



I have looked over my 135 colonies ; 

 they are all riglit ; they are clean and 

 nice except 3 or 4 that have com- 

 menced breeding; which have some 

 dead bees, and look demoralized 

 somewhat. I would say to Mr. Chris- 

 tiancy that my chaff has " come it," 

 so far. Some correspondents think 

 brood a good sign. I think it a sure 

 sign of " spring dwindling." 



E. B. SOUTHWICK. 



Mendon, Mich., March 6, 1883. 



My Report for 1882. 



I increased from 15 to .53 colonies, 

 mostly by natural swarming, divided 

 afewearlv in the season. Took off 

 1,000 lbs. of comb and 1,150 lbs. ex- 

 tracted honey. I am using the " Com- 

 mon Sense " hive. My bees are 

 wintering well on their summer stands 

 without protection. H. W. Hitt. 



Merritt, 111., March 7, 1883. 



Letter from Florida. 



The weather here is warm and de- 

 lightful ; the orange trees are in full 

 bloom, with the huckleberry, yellow 

 jessamine, willow and other flowers, 

 affoi'd the bees excellent pasturage, 

 and they are making good use of the 

 opportunity to store lioney. Brood- 



rearing is going on fast, and the pros- 

 pects are good for swarming by the 

 first of March. We have been visited 

 by " Northern Lights," in the shape 

 of O. O. Fodpleton and wife, of Will- 

 iamstown, Iowa ; they left here last 

 week for Lampa and the Gulf Coast, 

 previous to returning home, leaving 

 behind them a number of friends and 

 well wishes, besides much valuable 

 information pertaining to practical 

 bee-culture. H. Mitchell. 



New Smyrna, Fla., Feb. 18, 1883. 



Right and Clear. 



I desire to publicly thank Dr. South- 

 wick for his manly utterances, on 

 page 127, of tlie Bee Journal for 

 March 7. The contrast between the 

 Doctor's clear vision and that of the 

 near-sighted who cannot tell precisely 

 about the property rights of others, is 

 positively grand. J. M. Shuck. 



Des Moines, Iowa, March 8, 1883. 



Bees Wintering Well in Massachusetts. 



My bees are all on the summer 

 stands, and wintering well. They had 

 a tine flight on Feb. 17, the first since 

 November. The glass ran up to .59° 

 in the shade, and 79° in the sunshine. 

 I am testing a new feeder ; it is placed 

 under the cushion. Tlie bees can 

 take the food from it without leaving 

 the cluster, and the feeder can be re- 

 filled without disturbing it or the bees. 

 I tind it an actual necessity, as many 

 of my colonies are short of stores. 

 Henry Alley. 



Wenham, Mass., Feb. 24, 1883. 



Bees All Right In Iowa. 



The winter is beginning to disap- 

 pear ; the snow is gradually going off, 

 still now and then we have a cold 

 morning. It was 4^ below zero on 

 March 7; but it is warmer to-day. 

 Several days, lately, the bees that 

 were on the summer stands, flew out ; 

 many that were unprotected are dead. 

 Those in good cellars are all right yet. 



J. W. SANDErtS. 



Le Grand, Iowa, March 8, 1883. 



Large Yields of Honey and Increase. 



When I see reports of large yields 

 of honey and great increase of bees, I 

 always know what I think of it. In 

 his book of " The Hive and Honey 

 Bee," Mr. Langstroth says that a 

 large increase of bees and a large 

 yield of honey cannot be had at the 

 same time — and I am satisfied that he 

 is right. Wm. Roberts. 



Vaughansville, O. 



