1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



23 



cluster to seek for food. It may be, however, that in the very 

 mild winters of Colorado it is warm enough for them to find 

 the food above, especially if on a warm day you pound or kick 

 the hive to rouse them up thoroughly. 



2. It will at least do no harm to cover over the tops of the 

 hives with anything that will make them warm, old cloths or 

 carpets, and then something over that to keep off rain, if you 

 ever have rain in winter. A bee-hive may be only " one big 

 box," or it may not. Most bee-hives in this country have 

 movable combs, allowing each frame of comb to be lifted out 

 separately, but what are called " bo.x-hives" are nothing but 

 a plain box in which may be cross-sticks to help support the 

 combs, and the bees build the combs in any order to suit tlieir 

 fancy. 



CONDUCTED BY 

 AIRS. JUX^ISIE A.TCHLEY, BEEVILLE, XJEA!. 



A New York Bee-Keeper in Texas. 



Friend York: — I arrived here in "Sunny Southland" 

 (the home of Mrs. Jennie Atchley), from Lake George, N. Y., 

 a few days ago, to attend the midwinter bee-meeting, on Dec. 

 27 and 28. The indications are that we will have a large 

 attendance at the bee-meeting. Quite a number of bee-keep- 

 ers have arrived already. Mrs. Atchley has made every prep- 

 aration to make it pleasant for all bee-keepers who will come 

 to this grand midwinter bee-meeting. 



The weather is fine and warm here. To-day the mercury 

 stands at 85^ above zero in the shade. The bees here are 

 busy gathering honey from chaparral and wild currant, while 

 my bees up at Lake George, N. Y., have been in winter quar- 

 ters for six weeks, and the weather at the present time there 

 is at zero, and the ground is white with snow. It is hard to 

 realize the vastness of our country. 



There is a vast difference between the people of the South 

 and of the North. For instance, here in the South, on Dec. 

 25 — Christmas— they celebrate the day by firing off sky-rock- 

 ets, powder crackers, guns, etc., and taking into consideratiou 

 the warm weather, it makes a man from the North here think 

 he is celebrating the B'ourth of July instead of Christmas. 



After I have seen more of this country, I will let you 

 know what I think of it. Yours truly, 



Beeville, Tex., Dec. 25. F. A. Lockhart. 



A Texas Report for 1894. 



Mrs. Atchley: — I regret very much that I cannot be at 

 your bee-meeting. My report for 1894 is 58 colonies, spring 

 count, $204 worth of honey, and increased to 86 colonies. I 

 sold 9 colonies at $5 each, and have 77 colonies left. 



Ennis, Tex., Dec. 21. J. L. Wooldridge. 



Friend W., you have done well, and I would have been 

 pleased to know how many pounds of honey, etc. You see we 

 are not satisfied unless you tell it all — how many colonies, 

 how much honey, and how much you sold for per pound. How 

 easy it is for us to report whej we have done well. I would 

 be glad to get a report from all, let it be good, bad, or indif- 

 ferent; then we could weigh all up together, and see where 

 we stand. Jennie Atchley. 



A Mina esota Bee-Woman in Texas. 



Mr. Editor: — As you see, I have followed your advice to 

 "write Mrs. Atchley," concerning an opportunity to work 

 among the bees and learn all about bee-keeping and 

 queen-rearing for profit ; and satisfactory arrangements have 

 been made for that purpose. 



I left Rochester, Minn., Wednesday, Dec. 19, at 4:30, 

 and arrived at Beeville at 7 p.m. Saturday evening. My first 

 supper was taken in Minnesota, breakfast in Iowa, dinner in 

 Missouri, supper in Kansas, breakfast in Indian Territory, 

 and dinner in north Texas. Thus we rushed along. I was 

 met at the station by Mrs. Atchley, her brother "Charley," 

 and Mr. Lockhart — a bee-man from Lake George, N. Y. 

 About 8 o'clock I arrived at Mrs. Atchley's pleasant new 

 home, and was most cordially welcomed by each member of 

 the family, and hospitably entertained in the genial "South- 



ern style." Monday evening, W. R. Graham arrived — a bee- 

 man from Greenville, Tex. Mr. Graham's son is in Mrs. Atch- 

 ley's employ. 



To-day — Christmas — it was (Ki^ above zero in the morn- 

 ing, and at SS--" at midday ; with flies and butterflies, the hum 

 of bees, and the familiar chirrup of the cricket, it docs not 

 seem like Christmas to a Northerner. To add to the strange- 

 ness of the scene, we pluck orange blossoms and ripe fruit. 

 Cacti flourish in abundant profusion, while the live-oak, mis- 

 tletoe and trailing mosses hanging from the boughs, add to 

 the summerlike appearance of Christmas. 



Many bee-men will arrive Wednesday, and be entertained 

 by the hospitable, genial Beeville citizens. The Aransas Pass 

 Railway Company have arranged a free excursion to Corpus 

 Christi, while the generous people provide a free oyster supper 

 for the delegates at the Southern bee-convention. 



Beeville, Tex., Dec. 25. Ella Howard. 



Another Report for the Past Season. 



Mrs. Atchley : — My report is as follows for 1894 : 

 extracted 60 pounds of honey per colony, on an average, and 

 the bees swarmed until the last of September. They are still 

 gathering honey at this writing — Oct. 10. Also, I send you a 

 sketch of my bee-escape. T. V. Dickson. 



Cedar Creek, Tex. 



Friend D., you have sent in a good report, but do you 

 know that we bee-keepers are always anxious to know how 

 many colonies a report covers? We are very anxious to 

 know this, as a few colonies may give a large yield in a given 

 location, and a largo apiary may starve out. I cannot quite 

 understand your Star bee-escape, but I do not see why it 

 should not work well, as it looks all right. 



Jennie Atchley. 



South Texas and the 5-Banded Bees. 



Editor York: — Having arrived in Beeville about a week 

 ago, and finding the country so very different from that in 

 middle Texas, I am ready to testify to the truth of statements 

 made by Mrs. Atchley regarding the orange orchards in this 

 county. There are several orange orchards in Beeville, and 

 the trees are loaded with fruit. There are green beans in the 

 gardens, which the whole Midwinter Bee-Keepers' Convention 

 can see. The bees are working on chaparral blossoms. I have 

 examined the bees, and find many colonies with sealed brood, 

 which is a thing never known at this time of the year in middle 

 Texas. (I live at Chriesman, Tex.) 



This is no doubt the bee-paradise of this continent. There 

 is only one obstacle in the way, and that is the moth-worm, 

 which is a more troublesome here than in the cooler portions of 

 this State. But as the Italian blood is getting pretty well in- 

 fused, there will not ' : any very great loss from that source. 

 All the knowledge required to make the production of ex- 

 tracted honey a sui'cess in this country is to select a good, 

 practical hive, straight combs, to keep the bees pure Italians, 

 or as nearly pure as possible. The 5-banded bees are the best 

 in this climate, having tested the matter thoroughly for the 

 past four years, for both comb and extracted honey. 



I am inclined to the belief that the 5-banded bees are be- 

 ing unjustly condemned. There are many sorry queens sent 

 out, no doubt, as there is a greater demand for them than 

 there is for any other strain; the crowded breeder cannot 

 make the proper selection, and give the attention to having 

 the cells properly developed, as he would if orders were com- 

 ing in sparingly. Only a queen-breeder knows how to sympa- 

 thize with queen-breeders. C. B. Bankston. 



Beeville, Tex., Dec. 25. 



^ — I ^ 



Severe Frosts in Florida. 



Mrs. L. Harrison — the noted writer on bees in the North — 

 is in Florida for the winter, as usual. In a letter dated Dec. 

 31, 1894, she says : 



Editor York :— The last day of the year finds me in "the 

 Sunny Southland," but severe frosts on the nights of Dec. 27, 

 28 and 29, have changed the face of nature, from living 

 green to brown and sere. A self-registering thermometer reg- 

 istered 15° above zero, on the night of Dec. 28. Many pear- 

 trees were loaded with a second growth of fruit, and roses 

 were a thing of beauty, but now they hang their heads. 



Mrs. L. Harrison. 



St. Andrew's Bay, Fla., Dec. 31. 



