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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



}4 of an inch thick, which remained in 

 shady places until noon on Sunday. I 

 judge that bees are in fair condition in 

 the country, as one man told me that his 

 hives were filling up with honey lately 

 gathered. O. R. Goodno. 



Carson City, Mich., May 4, 1891. 



Not Discouraged. 



I lost both of my old, and one of my 

 young colonies, but I am satisfied that 

 they starved to death, as I looked at 

 them a week or more after transferring 

 them, and they seemed to be doing as 

 well as could be expected. But I am 

 not discouraged, for I like bee-culture, 

 and have bought •some more bees, which 

 seem to be doing well. I have very 

 large maple trees in my yard, and when 

 a swarm issues they always cluster on 

 the highest limbs, and it causes me a 

 great deal of trouble to get them down. 

 J. H. Calder. 



St. George's, Delaware. 



Care of Empty Combs. 



How am I to keep the moths out of 

 my empty combs ? I suffered a heavy 

 loss last Winter by my bees starving. I 

 was not at home at the time I should 

 have fed them in the Fall, and tried to 

 winter through by feeding in the comb, 

 which was so much trouble that I neg- 

 lected them too long in March, and lost 

 14 colonies out of 21. Now that I have 

 all those empty combs to take pare of, I 

 am afraid that, owing to the weak con- 

 dition a good of them were in, that the 

 millers got their work in. In fact, by 

 examining the combs, I find some now. 

 Will you tell me, through the Bee Jour- 

 nal, the best way to preserve them ; is 

 there any way to kill the moths without 

 in.iurijig the combs ? If the outlook was 

 not so much like another poor season, I 

 would buy some bees, as I could build 

 up very soon — perhaps in time for them 

 to make enough to keep them over Win- 

 ter. W^e are having a cold, dry, back- 

 ward Spring, with rather poor prospects 

 for much white clover. 



' D. Stewart, M. D. 



North Liberty, Iowa. 



[Some hang empty combs in hives, 

 others store them in cellars, and still 

 others put them into paper sacks. The 

 best way is to box them. If there is any 

 danger of their having moth eggs, of 

 course they should be fumigated. — Ed.] 



Association Meeting. 



The Susquehanna County (Pa.) Bee- 

 Keepers' A&sociation met at Montrose, 

 May 7, with only a small number in 

 attendance. The discussions were both 

 interesting and instructive to those 

 present. The election of officers for the 

 ensuing year, resulted as follows : Presi- 

 dent, S. A. Shook, Springville ; Vice- 

 President, C. J. Haight, Rush; Secre- 

 tary and Treasurer, H. M. Seeley, Har- 

 ford. The totals of the reports of those 

 present, are as follows : Honey crop, 



1890, 6,400 pounds. Number of colo- 

 nies. Fall of 1890, 659; Spring of 



1891, 546. All reported their bees as 

 in fair condition. H. M. Seeley, Sec. 



Harford, Pa. 



Bee-Keeping in Washington. 



Our bees have done nothing to speak 

 of this season, on account of the super- 

 abundance of rain, although they work 

 when there is a chance for them. I am 

 transferring all my bees to the Lang- 

 stroth style of frames, from the box- 

 hives, and they are doing nicely, so far. 

 J. B. Ramage. 



Blaine, Wash., May 7, 1891. 



Old Shiny Bees. 



Can you tell me what is the matter 

 with my bees ? I bought 5 colonies this 

 Spring, and they all act the same. They 

 seem to be carrying out black, shiny 

 bees. I thought at first they were rob- 

 bers, but they are still carrying them 

 out, and I think it must be a disease of 

 some kind. Wm. Craig. 



Luce, Mich. 



[They are old bees. See answer to J. 

 T. Wilson, elsewhere. — Ed.] 



Unfavorable Weather for Bees. 



I took my bees out of the cellar on 

 April 11, and since then they have had 

 only four or five days on which they 

 could work, the remainder of the time 

 we have had very high winds, day and 

 night. From the 2nd to the 5th inst., 

 there were hard frosts at night, and 

 cold days. From the 7th to the 9th was 

 warm, but yesterday and to-day it is 

 cold again, with the wind from the 

 north. I have taken the Bee Journal 

 for only one year, but l' have learned a 

 great deal from it, and shall continue to 

 subscribe for it as long as I keep bees. 

 D. Weissenberg. 



Stephensville, Wis., May 11, 1891. 



