AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



53 



much white clover as there is this year, 

 but the bees do not swarm as early as 

 they did last season, although the hives 

 are full of bees and honey. Very late 

 last Fall, I bought 5 colonies of Italians, 

 and two of the 8-frame hives had only 

 about half the length of the frames 

 filled with comb, and but very little 

 honey. I fed to these 5 colonies 

 $6 worth of granulated sugar, and 

 they came through the Winter in fine 

 condition, wintering better than my 

 heavy colonies, with no loss of bees, and 

 one of them cast a swarm yesterday. I 

 winter my bees in my cellar. 



Mark D. Judkins. 

 Osakis, Minn., June 15, 1891. 



Black, Shiny Bees. 



The black, shiny bees referred to on 

 page 805 by G. B. Replogle, seem to 

 come from colonies that have been 

 robbed, and are stray bees. They may 

 come from distant yards, but most of 

 the time from colonies in the same yard, 

 and seem to gain admittance more for 

 pity's sake than for anything else. They 

 appear to be contented with just enough 

 room to loaf in, and small rations. I 

 have never found them among the 

 brood-combs, but they are found on the 

 entrance and bottom-board. They never 

 pack pollen, and seldom honey, and are 

 continually tormented by the bees, and 

 if they show fight or flight, they are 

 balled by from 3 to 6 bees and killed. 

 They are not diseased bees, and will 

 generally disappear in July, according 

 to my observation. 



J. W. BiTTENBENDEE. 



Knoxville, Iowa. 



New Use for Bee-Stings. 



Our learned men are not the ones who 

 make all the discoveries. In conversa- 

 tion, a few days ago, with a man who 

 has 4 colonies of bees, and whom we will 

 call Mr. A, the writer had the pleasure 

 of getting some information in regard 

 to the uses of the bee-sting (I have had 

 some practical experience in that line 

 before). Mr. A said that Mr. B told 

 him that the bees, after sealing up their 

 honey nicely, went over all the cells and 

 perforated the capping, leaving a small 

 portion of poison in each cell to preserve 

 the honey. When asked where he 

 learned this, he said, "Miss Somebody" 

 (who, by the way, is a maiden lady of 

 uncertain age, and who probably never 

 saw the inside of a bee-hive in her life) 

 had told him. We are having an abun- 



dance of white clover now, but the 

 weather is too wet for the bees to work. 

 I had one swarm to issue on May 18 ; 

 have been trying to keep them from 

 swarming. I have 31 colonies, all good 

 bnt 3, and they are filling in the sections 

 when the weather permits. 



T. C. Kelly. 

 Slippery Rock, Pa., June 22, 1891. 



Bees on the Point of Starvation. 



I made a thorough examination of my 

 apiary on June 1, at which time the 

 bees did not have, on an average, 

 exceeding one pound of honey per 

 colony, many colonies not having a 

 single cell of honey. During the first 

 week in June I fed all of my bees, and 

 many colonies destroyed their brood, 

 there being nothing in bloom, and only 

 the honey-dew kept them alive, itbeing 

 most notable on the box-elder. For 

 several days we had a great deal of rain, 

 but the weather has cleared up, and 

 work has commenced on the white 

 clover. No swarms have issued yet, and 

 I have no use for crates. I have 80 col- 

 onies in my home apiary, and a few in 

 the country that are doing a little 

 better. 



O. R. GOODNO. 



Carson City, Mich., June 22, 1891. 



Bee-Culture in State Institutions. 



In compliance with a request pub- 

 lished on page 805 of the Bee Journal, 

 I will answer the questions there asked, 

 regarding instructions in bee-culture, as 

 follows : 



1. I think in Rhode Island — this is 

 mainly an experiment station, I believe 

 — New York, . at Cornell ; Colorado and 

 Michigan. Michigan alone has done 

 this heretofore. She has taught large 

 classes for 24 years. 



2. Yes, Michigan has a full course, 

 and gives any student an opportunity 

 for further study and work in the 

 apiary. 



3. Not any when for apiculture, 

 specially, nor yet in horticulture, agri- 

 culture, or veterinary. The students 

 study all, and get a diploma for full 

 course. Then, if desired, any student 

 may take a second degree on work done 

 in apiculture. We had a student do this 

 a year ago. He had come from Japan 

 purposely to study bee-keeping. — A. J. 

 Cook. 



