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gL£aki^gs m BEt ctrLtuMfi. 



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school, its lessons are more forcible, and more apt 

 to be heeded. 



I obtained 700 lbs. of extracted honey. No surplus 

 In the fall; and had it not been for the yield in 

 October from the white aster I believe there would 

 not have been 25 lbs. of honey in my apiary at the 

 beginning of winter. As it is, about one-third of 

 mine have to be fed a few pounds of sugar. I am 

 now feeding. The weather still continues warm; 

 but little frost yet. 



THE WAY I WINTER. 



I confine the bees to the lower story; contract 

 still further by division-boards, unless the colony is 

 large. Pack at side (in most cases one side only), 

 and top, leaving enamel cloth on as in summer. I 

 have used chaff sawdust and old rags. This fall I 

 used forest-leaves and sawdust; leaves at side; about 

 an inch of sawdust on top; then fill the remainder 

 of upper story with leaves, putting it loose in the 

 hives. The principal reason I have for using this 

 method is, that by it my fall and spring counts have 

 always been the same, although I expect to lose 

 some this winter. E. C. Fisher. 



Sissonville, W. Va., Nov. 8, 1883. 



FROM 23 TO 53, AND 3300 liBS. OF HONEY. 



The summer is past, and winter is here once more, 

 and the bees are prepared for winter also. My re- 

 port for the summer's work with bees is. 3300 lbs. of 

 honey — 2500 extracted, and 800 comb honey. I com- 

 menced in spring with 23 colonies of bees; 5 of Ital- 

 ians, the rest hybrids; 8 weak colonies, 15 strong. I 

 have increased to 53. My best colony made 225 filled 

 sections, one-pound; next best, 275 lbs. of extracted 

 honey; third best, il6 lbs. of extracted honey. Best 

 new swarm made 75 lbs. of comb honey. I used 20 

 lbs. of fdn. for brood-frames, and 5 of thin fdn. My 

 bees are prepared for winter on the summer stands. 

 Some are packed in boxes with leaves, and some 

 with straw packed around them, and covers made 

 of shingles. I wintered last winter the 23 colonies 

 without loss, the same as I have the 54 stands now. 



Honey is pretty cheap around hero this fall; some 

 farmers have aold their honey (and comb at that) for 

 8 cents per lb. I got 14 cents wholesale for my comb 

 honey, and have got 10 cents for what extracted I 

 have sold; have 500 lbs. yet. There was a heavy 

 fall yield of honey, and almost everybody got some, 

 who had bees, and there are lots of bees. 



TRUANT SWARMS. 



There were 5 swarms of blacks which came to my 

 apiary the past summer, but I did not get to save 

 any, for they all settled on a hive, and got stung to 

 death. I do not mean they all came at once, but at 

 different times. 



A HOME-MADE SAW TABLE. 



I made and sold 40 Simplicity hives last spring, be- 

 sides what I used »f my own. 1 have made all on a 

 saw of my own make that is turned with a crank. 

 It is made something like that saw pictured in the 

 February and March numbers of Gleanings, made 

 by Chas. Kingsley, only I have the fly-wheel under- 

 neath, and the gauge on the other side of the saw. 

 I would not trade one made like mine for two made 

 in that shape. J. A. Thornton. 



Lima, 111., Nov. 15. isas. 



frames and chaff cushion. The mat was tightly 

 closed with propolis. When opened In spring, the 

 combs were quite moldy. My notion is, that the mat 

 coated with propolis, or the enameled cloth is not 

 open enough to let the moisture pass off readily. 

 I would ask your advice in using screen wire in their 

 place. One other question: 1 have been reading Mr. 

 Langstroth's work, and I see he speaks very posi- 

 tively on pp. 342 and 343, that it is necessary to give 

 bees water after the middle of January, until the 

 weather will permit them to go out after it, and that 

 the loss of bees is very great for the want of it. I 

 have looked through your ABC book, and have 

 failed to find any thing in regard to giving water in 

 winter. W. H. Carpenter. 



Springboro, Warren Co., O., Nov. 19, 1883. 



Friend C, Doolittle gave ns some time 

 ago a solution tor this ditference in experi- 

 ence in regard to a close covering over the 

 bees or not. A strong colony, it seems, will 

 keep a mat dry, whether it is covered with 

 propolis or an enameled sheet, while the 

 wenk ones, being unable to generate the re- 

 quisite heat, will let their combs get damp 

 and moldy. Wire cloth would be no advan- 

 tage, unless you put a new sheet on every 

 season, for the bees will till up every mesh, 

 and make it as impervious as the enamel 

 cloth. If you want a porous cover over the 

 bees, use a new wood mat or a sheet of iDur- 

 lap. — Whether bees need water in winter or 

 not, is an undecided matter. Sometimes it 

 seems to have the effect of quieting them, 

 and of enabling them to use stores of can- 

 died honey. But at other times, even though 

 they take it with avidity, it seems to have 

 the effect of producing dysentery. Prof. 

 Cook made a pretty fair test of the matter, 

 and the bees that were watered had dysen- 

 tery, while the rest wintered all right. 



wintering— DO bees need water in winter ? 



I should like to ask a few question in regard to 

 wintering, and preparing for winter. 1 wintered In 

 ebaff blves last winter, with wood mats between the 



MY REPORT FOR 1883. 



As I did not make a spring report, perhaps it 

 would not be out of place here. The first of June 

 found me with 30 fair colonies out of the 45, put into 

 the cellar Nov. 20, 1882. The second day of March 

 was the only day between the 20th of Nov. and the 

 5'h of April that the bees could fly. 



DYSENTERY AND SUGAR SYRUP. 



At that time every colony I had was suffering bad- 

 ly from dysentery, and a number of them died. As 

 the day was warm and pleasant, I set them all out; 

 and such a mess, in a few minutesi The snow was 

 completely discolored, and you could smell them 10 

 or 15 rods from the yard. After they had had an hour's 

 flight I began feeding them sugar syrup, which 

 I had prepared and warmed by tipping up the front 

 of the hive, and pouring it in at the entrance, giving 

 f ach colony 5 lbs. of syrup, which was all taken up 

 and stored in the combs before I fet them in, in the 

 evening. I saw no more of the disease the rest of 

 the winter. I set them out for good the 5th of April, 

 and now for the results of my season's work. 



PROM 30 TO 50, AND 3250 LBS. OF HONEY. 



I took 2000 lbs. comb honey in 2 lb. sections, and 

 1250 lbs. extracted, all from Alsike clover and bass- 

 wood. Increased to 56, in good condition for winter' 

 partly fed up on sugar syrup. Honey is mostly sold In 

 my home market at from 15 to 20 cts. My queens 

 are all bred from Doolittle's best. 



Wm. Bbrryman. 



Geneva, N. T., Nov. 20, 1883. 



