240 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Aw. 11, \ 



forest fires around us. Nothing green could 

 be seen neither in field nor meadow. Our 

 bees, accustomed to early morning flight in 

 search o£ nectar, returned empty and 

 mournful to their homes, clustering around 

 the entrances, informing their keeper that 

 something was wrong— and so it was. 



The first days of September proved to be 

 memorable days to many as long as life 

 lasts. Many towns, both in Wisconsin and 

 Minnesota, were utterly consumed, with a 

 passenger train, and the human lives lost 

 and property has been told by the secular 

 press, and among this property were also 

 many bees, that had been taken with emi- 

 grants to such sections where pasture for 

 bees was plenty. I have no knowledge of 

 any large apiaries, but facts are such that 

 bees were kept by families in said sections 

 in smaller number of colonies, and all was 

 consumed by devouring flames, 50 to CO feet 

 high in places, driven by a strong wind, 

 causing swift destruction ; and very 

 strange, not the least mention was made by 

 any bee-keeper in the Bee Journal. And 

 this destruction-bringing element would 

 have consumed and laid waste a much 

 larger territory in its onward march, had 

 not Providence sent a heavy rain to extin- 

 guish the flames. 



After this sad calamity, and refreshing 

 showers, nature began to revive again. 

 Fall flowers that had been on the point of 

 developing, began to come out in full 

 bloom, especially golden-rod and wild 

 asters. And Dame Nature proved so good 

 and kind in yielding her sweets in such 

 fulness, that the busy bees filled their 

 empty hives almost in less than no time, 

 for winter stores in abundance — yea, even 

 surplus. I do not overdraw nor misrepre- 

 sent in saying that my fall crop of surplus 

 proved equal to that of the forepart of the 

 season. Yea, even more, over 4,000 pounds 

 from 120 colonies proved the result of labor 

 and toil of both bees and bee-keeper. 



Stephen Roese. 



Maiden Rock. Wis. 



Had a Very Cold Winter, Etc. 



We are having (March 1) a very cold 

 winter, with more snow than we have had 

 in any winter for several years, but I 

 haven't lost any colonies yet. I have 50 

 packed in chaff on the summer stands. I 

 notice that they have thrown out nearly 

 three pints of dead bees from some of the 

 hives. Some bee-keepers have lost all. 



I would like to have E. S., of Eddy, N. 

 M.. (see page 135) report through the 

 American Bee Journal what kind of a win- 

 ter they had, whether they have many 

 sudden changes in the spring. Do they 

 have any hot waves in summer ? What is 

 land worth near Eddy or Roswell ? 

 L Dayton, Ky. J. W. S. 



Wintering Bees in the Cellar. 



We have had a very severe winter in this 

 section— two months steady cold, and quite 

 a portion of that time severe cold, with 

 strong, biting winds, sort of blizzard-like ; 

 plenty of snow, and drifted badly. Only 

 one short thaw one day during the two 

 months. Yesterday and to-day have been 

 more comfortable. It is too early to report 

 on bees yet, as I do not know anything 

 about them, only my own, which I have ex- 

 amined to some extent in the cellar, as I 

 winter them there, and have tor several 

 winters past with very good results. I 

 placed in the cellar last fall 109 colonies, all 

 in good condition. A part of them I put in 

 Dec. 1. and the remainder Dec. 24, and Just 

 before the severe storm from the northeast 

 here. I left them out later than usual, as I 

 had to move them some distance, and the 

 weather was favorable to leave them out. 

 In fact, I prefer to leave them out as late as 

 will answer, in order to have them use all 

 the unsealed honey in the combs, otherwise 

 bees will not winter well with me, in the 

 cellar or anywhere else, and I do not see 

 how people can winter their bees when they 

 feed so much liquid sweet in the fall. 



My cellar has been very frosty some of 



the time, but not cold enough to freeze any- 

 thing. In fact, we have jilaced an oil-stove 

 in the cellar when the coldest, which would 

 melt the frost, but would leave it very 

 damp, consequently my hives have become 

 quite damp, which creates mold to some ex- 

 tent, and my hives are not ventilated at the 

 top at all. I used to raise the top pieces a 

 little all around, when the hives were placed 

 in the cellar, but late years I do not venti- 

 late at the top at all, and the bees came 

 through the winter in prime condition. 



I take the hives from the summer stand, 

 place them in the cellar four hives high, 

 therefore 100 or more hives will not need 

 very much room. I place the bees in the 

 cellar myself, and always do so, and prefer 

 to for various reasons, which I may explain 

 sometime. H. F. Newton. 



Whitney's Crossing, N. Y., Feb. 28. 



Putting Bees Out of the Cellar. 



I noticed on page 179, that M. M. Bald- 

 ridge, of St. Charles, Kane county, 111., 

 says his bees are in the cellar (Feb. 21), and 

 he will place them on the stands the first 

 warm spell, and let them remain on the 

 stands. He says that is the practice of the 

 Fox river bee-men. I am living 15 miles 

 north of St. Charles, have (JO colonies in the 

 cellar, and I do not intend to put them on 

 the summer stands until April 15 or 20. 



J. E. Farrell. 



Dundee, Kane Co., Ill, 



Removing Propolis from the Hands. 



Here is another recipe for removing 

 propolis from the bands: 



Take some soapine and a little water, 

 rub the hands together until lather is pro- 

 duced, then wash the hands in water, and 

 the propolis is removed. 



You may think that soapine is rather 

 strong, and that it may hurt the skin. No, 

 it will not. I have often used a little soap- 

 ine and water, rubbed until a white lather 

 was formed, and then washed my face with 

 it. Use water freely to rinse it off with, 

 and you are all right. Try it. 



Quincy, HI. B. W. Hatck. 



The Hive He Prefers. 



Having read what Dadant. Root, and 

 others have written about the size of hives 

 and frames, I will give my ideas on the 

 subject. My hive is 14'4Xl5'.^xlO'V, inside 

 measure. The extreme length of the top- 

 bar is 161.C inches. The hive is about square, 

 counting from the inside of the end-bars, 

 and the bees can cluster in the center at an 

 equal distance from the ends and sides. For 

 this country, where the honey-flow is not 

 large, and where the blizzards are at times 

 severe, I think it will be just the hive. I 

 intend to use a surplus box 5x4*4x2 inches. 

 I have used the Langstroth frame, and for 

 this region I think it too long, and not 

 quite deep enough to keep stores for the 

 bees in the center of the hive, where the 

 winters are long. I think many colonies 

 are lost by not being able to get to the 

 stores in the end of the hive in very cold 

 weather. Wm. H. Eaoerty. 



Cuba, Kans. 



Something from an Old Bee-Man. 



I have had five attacks of la grippe and 

 lung fever the past five years, and these 

 repeated attacks have very much lessened 

 my vitality. I have pulled through, but 

 they have left me very much reduced. I 

 was not in my apiary from June 1 till Sept. 

 1, 1894, and I then found that the bees 

 would have to be fed to winter. We have 

 had three poor years for honey, but the 

 past year was one of the few total failures 

 in this locality. 



I have taken a great deal of pleasure in 

 working with and studying the habits of 

 the honey-bee from boyhood. I have been 

 working with the bees since 12 years of 

 age, and I am now well along in my Slst 

 year — almost, or quite, TO years a bee- 

 keeper. Now if there is any older bee- 



STILL IN THE LEAD. 



HIL.TO;V'!^ Chaff Hives, T-Su- 

 pers. While Polisiicd Sections, 

 Foiindalioii, Smokers, and ever- 

 ything needed in the Apiary. 



—Send for 1895 Catalog— 



GEO. E.HILTOS, FREMONT, MICH. 



11A13 Mtnilom, the American BttJaannali. 



In-Door & Out-Door Brooders. 

 112 FIRST PREMIUMS. 

 Send for 114-pag'e Illustrated 

 Prairie State Incubator Co. 

 Ho.MER City, Pa. 



TAKE NOTICE! 



Before: placing your orders for SUP- 

 PLIBS, write tor prices on 1-Piece Bass 

 wood Sections. Bee-Hives, Shipping- Crates 

 Frames, Foundation, Smokers, etc. 



PAGE & LYON MFG. CO. 



NEW LONDON, WIS. 



DAVIS-JOHNSON CO. 



WESTERN AGENTS H.P.M'F'6. CO. 



45 E.Jackson St. 



FOOLISH MAN?more^"t"an 

 you If you neglect your interests In careing 

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 Write for Catalogue of Cider, Fruit Machin' 

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] 5 D 1 3 Mention the Amtrican Bee JoiimaL 



am 'aaiiASNVAa eve 



'aaAaiiiMaTivAi '3 t 



^q paqsjiqnj 

 •saaqOBax ojsnjij oi uoijonpaH piBdjsod 

 s^uaa 0^ 90U,j Suns j3A8J3qiU tiq v sajjUK 



-OMOS ZXIVAV V— 



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COMB FOUNDATION ^*:\T /o^f rt^d 



and 12c. per lb. for E.ttra Thin, when Wax is 

 sent to me: and I will guarantee that there is 

 no better made. Price-List and Samples free to 

 all. AaguKt Weiss, Hortonville, Wis. 

 Mention thcAtnerican Bee journal. 



THE BCCIDENT8 OF LIFE 



Write to T. S. QurxcEY. 

 Drawer 156, Chicago, Secre- 

 tary of the Star Accident 

 Company, for information 

 regarding Accident Insur- 

 ance. Mention this paper. 

 ^ By so doing you can save 



membership fee. Has paid over JOOO.000.00 for 

 accidental injuries. 



Be your own Agent. 



NO MEDICAL EXAMINATION REQUIRED. 

 13 A(i iui.<*(ii_.u the A merican Bee JourtiaL 



109 Colonies 



OF BEES 

 FOR SALE 



lu lots to suit. Correspondence solicited. 

 13A4 C. H. DIBBEKN, Iflllau, Ills. 



