AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



'25 



crop, as there seemed to be but little 

 honey in the bloom, while the linden 

 gave but a small supply. Swarming was 

 very light. The Fall crop would have 

 been good, but for the cold weather 

 wliich caused the bees to remain in their 

 hives a greater part of the time. Yet, 

 notwithstanding this, they seem to be in 

 a vei'y good condition for Winter. My 

 crop for 1890 is 800 pounds. I placed 

 124 colonies in the cellar, and hope to 

 have a good season next year. 



Daniel Whitmer. 

 South Bend, Ind., Dec. IT, 1890. 



Large Increase. 



Last Spring I had BO colonies of bees, 

 most of them very light, which I fed. 

 These increased to 80. From them I 

 obtained but 200 pounds of honey. Was 

 it because they swarmed so much ? I 

 am at a loss to know how to obtain comb- 

 honey from the old colonies. I put on 

 sections at different times during the 

 Summer, and obtained only 20 filled 

 sections. E. Cook. 



Cataraqui, Out., Dec. 15, 1890. 



[The large increase was at the ex- 

 pense of the honey. You must not 

 expect both honey and increase at the 

 same time in profusion. The increase 

 was not necessarily the result of the 

 feeding. The undesired swarms should 

 have been returned to the parent colo- 

 nies — so that they might have been well 

 supplied with bees to gather the honey 

 when the harvest came. The colonies 

 were probably too weak in numbers to 

 gather the honey — having spent their 

 energies in swarming. — Ed.] 



Bee-Cellar for Winter. 



For several years I practiced in-door 

 wintering in a cellar under a dwelling 

 house. The hives were usually placed 

 in there about the last of December. It 

 is a great mistake to place them in the 

 cellar too early in the season, as there is 

 no brood in the hives to become chilled, 

 and the bees are abundantly able to take 

 care of themselves. Also, they may pos- 

 sibly get several flights during the month. 

 After they are placed in the cellar, keep 

 the entrances open full width, and the 

 temperature between 38^ and 4:4P. Too 

 warm a temperature will cause uneasi- 

 ness, and too much cold, action and 

 roaring. Dampness is less to be feared 

 than cold. My best success in wintering 

 was in a cellar that contained water all 



Winter. Pleasant odors of fruit kept in 

 the same cellar with the bees, are liable 

 to cause early brood-rearing. 



Lockwood, N. Y. J. H. Andke. 



Bay State Hive. 



The hive I use is very much like the 

 Bay State hive, and I think it is the best 

 and cheapest in existence for wintering 

 on the Summer stands. I have also used 

 " the twin hive," tliatis, I put a division- 

 board in the middle, and have a colony 

 on each side of it. One entrance faces 

 the east, and the other the west. This 

 is very good for Winter, but is rather 

 cumbrous when I want to move it. 

 Closed-end frames are much used in New 

 Y^ork State. J. H. Blanken. 



Jersey City, N. J., Dec. 20, 1890. 



Looking Forward for a Better Crop. 



During the Summer we were obliged 

 to feed our bees, and owing to the poor 

 honey season will have to feed them to 

 keep them through the Winter ; yet not- 

 withstanding this, we are not discour- 

 aged, but look forward to a more prolific 

 crop next season. C. Eggler. 



Sigel, Wis., Dec. 20, 1870. 



Small Increase and Honey-Crop. 



Last Spring I owned 48 colonies of 

 bees, and after swarming I found that 

 they had increased to but 52, and 

 although I obtained but 250 pounds of 

 honey, I find that we will have plenty 

 for our own use. Geoege A. Kerk. 



Lowell, Mich., Dec. 19, 1890. 



Good Report. 



Bees in this locality are reported as 

 doing well. My 20 colonies, which I 

 started with last Spring, have increased 

 to 38. From them I obtained 1,180 

 pounds of comb-honey, which brought 

 123^ cents per pound in the home 

 market. James W. Adams. 



Athens, Ky., Dec. 19, 1890. 



Old, but Young. 



The past season was a very poor one for 

 honey in this section of country, the 

 bees gathering but very little. My 77 

 colonies, spring count, have increased to 

 96, and when put into the cellar, 86 

 were in good condition. I obtained but 

 1,750 pounds of comb-honey, and 1,500 

 of extracted-honey. Although in my 

 81st year, I am still young enough to 

 enjoy reading the Bee Journal. 



Eldorado, Wis. W. C. Wolcott. 



