358 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Fall, when you would probably have 60 

 colonies instead of 40 to re-queen ; and, 

 besides, you are thus one year ahead. 

 Sheffield, Ills. A. L. Kildow. 



Loss tliis Winter, 40 Per Cent. 



The present Winter has been a bad 

 one for bees in this locality, and many of 

 them have died. With the exception of 

 the colonies owned by one of my neigh- 

 bors and myself, I think that at least 40 

 per cent, of the bees have died, and the 

 worst month for the careless and 

 thoughtless bee-keeper is just beginning. 

 I have lost 3 colonies out of 33, and the 

 remainder are in good condition, and 

 rearing brood. A few days ago I saw 

 two young drones carried out from one 

 of my colonies. This is rather early for 

 drones in a well-regulated colony ! I am 

 satisfied they have a good queen. The 

 last season was the poorest I have ever 

 seen in this part of the country, but we 

 hope for a good honey crop this year. 

 T. C. Kelly. 



Slippery Rock, Pa., Feb. 27, 1891. 



Bees in Fine Condition. 



I have been engaged in bee-keeping 

 for only three years, having commenced 

 with 3 colonies, and increased to 31 by 

 natural swarming. Last year I secured 

 500 pounds of white clover honey from 

 17 colonies, all in one-pound sections. I 

 winter on the summer stands, and my 

 bees are in fine condition at this date. 

 Bees are doing well in this vicinity. 



Wm. Housel. 



Wertsville, N. J., Feb. 26, 1891. 



Bees at the State Fair. 



On page 294, Aaron Coppin says, in 

 reference to the Illinois State Fair : 

 " Aaron Coppin was the owner of every 

 colony of bees on exhibition." Now, the 

 average reader, or one not acquainted 

 with the facts, would think he owned all 

 of the bees at the Fair; here is a list of 

 the bees exhibited, as near as I can re- 

 member: Hammond and Kimball, each, 

 7 one-frame nuclei; John Short, of 

 Peoria, 6 one-frame nuclei; S. F. & I. 

 Trego, Swedona, Ills., 4 one-frame nu- 

 clei; Aaron Coppin, 2 full colonies — or 

 were full colonies when they came, but 

 they were badly used up before the Fair 

 was over, thus showing the folly of try- 

 ing to show full colonies. He also says 

 he failed to discover that Messrs. Ham- 

 mond and Kimball did not show all of 

 their honey. Now, I helped them re- 



move their boxes from the Agricultural 

 Hall, and do not think over one-half of 

 the boxes were empty. Mr. Coppin also 

 says : " The bee and honey show would 

 have been a very slim affair, except for 

 the display of the exhibitors above 

 named" (Hammond, Kimball and Cop- 

 pin). I must say that he is correct; in 

 fact " too much so." It would have been 

 a slim show except for Hammond 'and 

 Kimball, even had Mr. Coppin exhibited. 

 I hope friend Coppin will not " sit down 

 on me " too hard for writing this, for I 

 consider it in self-defense, as Mr. C. has 

 managed to hit me while striking at 

 Mrs. Harrison. Our Winter loss, so far, 

 is 2 colonies and 3 queens, but the worst 

 month (March) is before us yet. 



S. F. Trego. 

 Swedona, Ills., Feb. 28, 1891. 



Dampening Sections. 



On page 265 of the Bee Journal, is 

 an article from E. C. Eaglesfield, under 

 the head of "Dampening Sections," in 

 which he says if any one has a better 

 way than his own, he would be glad to 

 know it. I dampen them by placing the 

 sections the same as he does; then, to 

 avoid wetting the sections where it will 

 damage or color them, I use a stick 6 

 inches long, with a rag or sponge 

 wrapped around the upper end: the 

 lower end being cut to the shape of a 

 pen, will just fit down into the bottom of 

 the grooves, depositing the water just 

 where it should be. By keeping the 

 sponge or rag wet, while drawing the 

 stick across the sections, you can regu- 

 late the wetting by squeezing the rag, 

 which is in your hand, as the water will 

 run down the stick. John A. Ward. 



Conroy, Iowa, Feb. 28, 1891. 



Gathering" Pollen Now. 



Four years ago I purchased 4 colonies 

 of black bees, thinking that about the 

 right number to start with, but I re- 

 ceived no surplus honey, nor did any of 

 the colonies cast a swarm. The follow- 

 ing Spring I transferred them to mov- 

 able-frame hives, but with little better 

 success, and I became discouraged. In 

 the Spring of 1889, I purchased 2 

 Syrian queens for a trial, and was very 

 well pleased with the results. Last 

 Summer, I re-queened the remainder of 

 my colonies, and in about three weeks 

 the new brood began to come forth. I 

 did not expect very much surplus, and 

 was surprised to find that within four 

 weeks from the time the yellow bees made 



