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the frames, with the tops and covers on, 

 and a stick across the frames for a passage. 

 Tlie balance of my colonies are in S-frame 

 Langstroth hives, l,'.<-story high, witli a 

 honey-board having a slat at the end with 

 wire-screen over it, and with the caps on. 

 That is all the ventilation they have, except 

 what they get from the entrance. 



1 notice that the answers to nearly every 

 question differ, which shows to nie that we 

 all have more to learn. How can I get 

 straight, even-tilled sections without sep- 

 arators ? 



[To use narrow sections will aid very 

 much, but there is no sure method.— Ed.] 



Old Fouii«1nliou in Sections.— 



Chas. Solvesou, Nashotah, Wis., on Feb. 6, 

 1888, says : 



I have between 3,000 or 4,000 sections that 

 were tilled with foundation in April, 1887, 

 and as the last season was a failure, they 

 were not used. Would it.be advisable to 

 submit them to a high temperature in order 

 to soften the foundation, before giving them 

 to the bees ? Or, what should I do with 

 them? 



[Yes ; that might do, or to steam them 

 would be preferable. If you have any full 

 sheets of foundation left, dip them in warm 

 water before giving them to the bees. That 

 will soften the wax, and freshen it.— Ed.] 



Feeding -tvilli Uniinislied Sec- 

 tions.— Henry Hohnadel, Fair Haven, 

 Ills., on Feb. 6, 1888, writes : 



Bee-ljeeping was very unprofitable last 

 season ; we had no surplus honey. 1 com- 

 menced with 46 colonies, and increased 

 them to .56, by dividing them. I had no 

 swarms. 1 commenced feeding in June 

 with .500 unfinished sections of the previous 

 season, to keep the bees from starving, as 

 there was no honey to be had from either 

 white clover or basswood. On Sept. 1 I 

 bought about 500 pounds of sugar, and fed 

 the bees syrup, on the Heddon plan. I then 

 prepared them for winter quarters, and 

 stored them away about Nov. 15 ; they ap- 

 peared rather light when moved, and have 

 not examined them since 1 put them into 

 the bee-house, but I have always been very 

 successtul in wintering. 



Tery Cold YVeatlier. — Ira Barber, 

 De Kalb Junction, N. T., on Feb. 10, 1888, 

 says : 



Another cold wave is hovering over north- 

 ern New York. This morning the mercury 

 was down to 30° below zero ; but in ray bee- 

 cellar the temperature was 46° above zero. 

 On examining the bees, they sliowed signs 

 of being in too low a temperature for com- 

 fort and health, for every top-board that I 

 took off was wet on the under side, and the 

 cloths were in the same condition. We are 

 having an unusually cold winter here, with 

 not a heavy snow tall, but with roads badly 

 drifted, and every prospect of cold weather 

 for some time to come. 



Albino Itee.s ft>r] i;Voi-Ii, etc.— J. 

 Moser, Festina, Iowa, on Feb. 9,1888, writes: 



This has been a very poor season for 

 honey in this locality, but few bee-keepers 

 having secured any honey at all. There 

 was au extraordinary crop of basswood, and 

 colonies which were in just the right condi- 

 ton gathered honey rapidly for a tew days, 

 when the honey-flow ceased almost entirely. 

 Only the pure Albinos worked in the sec- 

 tions, where the Italians did not touch them 



at all, and only secured a little in the brood- 

 frames. The pure Albino bees were far 

 ahead of the other races the past season. 



My apiary consists of 90 colonies, 65 colo- 

 nies being pure Albinos, and the others 

 Italians and Syrians. The Albino bees are 

 the handsomest that I have ever seen. They 

 gave the best satisfaction the last four 

 years, so that I feel like dropping all other 

 varieties, and keeping them exclusively. 

 My apiary is located near a public road, a 

 row of hives are standing along side of the 

 fence, and the bees have to pass over the 

 road, but I never had any complaint that 

 they attacked man or teani. 



In the season of 188(j my crop was 4,500 

 pounds of comb honey in one-pound sec- 

 tions, and 2,200 pounds of extracted honey 

 from 45 colonies, spring count. In 1887 I 

 took about 800 pounds of comb, and 1,200 



founds of extracted honey, from 80 colonies, 

 am wintering 70 colonies in the cellar, 

 which are very quiet ; and 20 colonies in 

 chaff hives, that are buried in the snow. 



Comb Foundation Fastener. — 



Mr. Jacob Alpaugh, of Saint Thomas, re- 

 marks as follows about one that he has 

 invented : 



I notice on page 790, that Mr. Eden, in 

 speaking about putting foundation in sec- 

 tions, says : " It is to be hoped that some 

 of the many thousands of bee-keepers will 

 discover a plan that will give general satis- 

 faction." I have discovered the very 

 method he calls for. I have used it tor two 

 seasons ; and some of the largest comb 

 honey producers are now using it. With it 

 you need no melted mixture on hand, no 

 warmed sections, nor a place having a tem- 

 perature of 90° to work in, but just take the 

 sections and comb foundation out of the 

 box and go to work. It can be used in any 

 out-door building, no matter what the tem- 

 perature is. 



1 mail a sample of the machines' work to 

 the editor, and ask him to state what he 

 thinks of it. I can put on at the rate of ten 

 per minute, which amounts to 6,000 per day. 

 Is that not fast enough ? 



[The work is neatly and strongly done. 

 Mr. T. W. Cowan, editor of the British Bee 

 JoMTOOl, says he saw it in operation at the 

 Toronto Fair, and he speaks very highly of 

 it. Would it not be well to put them upon 

 the market ?— Ed.] 



Hybrid Bees and the Italians 



United.— Daniel Whitmer, South Bend, 

 Ind., on Feb. 7, 1888, says : 



On Nov. 20, 18S6, 1 placed 207 colonies of 

 bees in the cellar in good condition, and left 

 33 colonies on the summer stands in the 

 same condition. In the second week of 

 April, 1887, 1 took 206 colonies out of the 

 cellar alive, but about one-half dozen weak 

 colonies. Of those on the summer stands 

 I lost about 8 colonies, making about 14 

 colonies in all, including those lost by 

 spring dwindling. I sold some, and united 

 my hybrid colonies with pure Italians, in 

 order to get rid of them, and at the same 

 time making my colonies all very strong for 

 the early flow from white clover. Of coursj* 

 some would object to this plan, but dff 

 tributing bees and brood I find to be good. 



I commenced the season of 1887 with 175 

 colonies of Italian bees, increased them to 

 350 colonies, and secured 5,000 pounds of 

 surplus honey, 100 pounds of which was ex- 

 tracted. The past was a very poor season 

 lor honey in this locality, in consequence of 

 the drouth. 1 had about one-half of a crop, 

 and others were not so successful. On Nov. 

 23, 1887, 1 placed 200 colonies in the cellar in 

 good condition, except 2, and the rest on 

 summer stands. They are all doing well. 



Oil-Stove in tlie Mee-Ceilar.— F. 



A. Lockhart, Lake George, N. Y., on Feb. 1, 



1888, says : 



I commenced the season of 1887 with 9 

 colonies of bees, increased them to 25 colo- 

 nies, and took about 500 pounds of comb 

 honey in one-pouud sections. There was 

 about one-third of a honey crop in this sec- 

 tion of the country. Some bee-keepers near 

 me secured no surplus at all. I bought 10 

 colonies in box-hives, which I intend to 

 transfer to movable-frame hives in the 

 spring. On Nov. 30, I put my bees in the 

 cellar where the temperature ranges from 

 40° to 46°. They seem bo be wintering very 

 well. There are but a few dead bees on the 

 cellar bottom. I keep an oil-stove burning 

 in the cellar when it is very cold weather. 

 A pipe connects the oil-stove with the 

 kitchen stove above, which carries all gas 

 and foul air from the cellar. It is very cold 

 here ; 48° below zero yesterday morning. 



The American Bee Journal comes 

 every week, bright and clean in its "new 

 dress." I would not do without it for twice 

 its cost. 



A Ilonie-Itlade Stvarm-Catcber. 



—A. H. Dualap, of Aral, Kans., writes : 



Take a fiddle, new or old. and if it is 

 worth nothing to excite the "light fantastic 

 toe " it will do for the bees. Leave off the 

 lower string, change the bridge so that the 

 top will be hollow, or concave instead of 

 round. Now construct a small, light frame 

 with a wheel, and crank to turn the wheel, 

 and fasten this frame on the top of the 

 fiddle, so that the wheel will be above, and 

 a little forward of the bridge. String up the 

 fiddle, and pass a small silk cord (well 

 rubbed with rosin) over the wheel and un- 

 der the strings of the fiddle. Tune up the 

 strings so that their combined tone will re- 

 semble the bees' tone. When they com- 

 mence to cluster, take your stand close to 

 some tree, bush, or anything upon which 

 you would like to have the bees alight. 

 Begin to turn the crank, turn slowly, turn 

 on, keep turning, and never ask again, "Can 

 bees hear?" 



Xbat " Canadian l,ocomotive." 



—Rev. W. F. Clarke, of St. Thomas, Ont., 

 gives a fresh clang to that locomotive bell : 



For the information of "Bro." Solveson 

 and others who appear to be getting anx- 

 ious, permit me to say that "latest advices" 

 about the approaching engine were pub- 

 lished in the Canadian Bee Journal of 

 Jan. 35, 1888. Replying to Dr. W. S. Adams' 

 enquiries (page 896), the editor says : 



We beUeve that we wiU be able to guide you " out 

 of tbe woods," as you put it. Doctor, just as soon as 

 our engravers get their worlt done. We have not 

 been BO hurried as we might have been. In a week 

 or two. however, bee-lteepers will all be "waking 

 up "after the "hibernation" for the winter, and 

 will be looking out for their requiretnenTs for next 

 season. By that time we will have our engravings 

 ready, and with them will be given a full and ex- 

 plicit description of our invention, which we trust 

 will meet with a fair amount of approval. We want 

 ail the criticism going too, so if it don't "strike" 

 you as "just the thing," we want you to speak. 



Let me add, it is not I who am keeping 

 the fraternity " in suspense." I was but 

 the prophet who predicted the coming 

 event ; the fulfillment is in other hands. 

 But, evidently, 



"There's a good time coming, boys. 

 Wait a little longer." 



[The ringing of the locomotive bell indi- 

 cates the approach of the train immediately 

 —unless it is alfalse alarm. The long delay 

 in the above case, proves that the announce- 

 ment was far too extravagant, and unless 

 the invention materializes very soon, will 

 prove it " a false alarm."— Ed.] 



