218 THE BEEKEEPERS' REVIEW 



The winter in Iowa has seemingly been a good one for the bees. 

 Having examined hives both in the cellar and those wintered out 

 of doors we find them quite strong in bees and the death loss has 

 been small in southeastern Iowa as far as I have been able to hear 

 from the beekeepers. Much care will need to be exercised from now 

 on that the bees have plenty of good stores near the cluster of bees. 



The great amount of snow we have had this winter should be a 

 great encouragement to the beekeepers for it means a good prospect 

 of a crop of white clover honey where the white clover is in evidence. 

 The Alsace variety is being sown in certain parts of Van Buren Co. 

 and I suppose in other parts of the state as well and good reports of 

 this clover as a honey producer have been received by the writer. 



I wish to call attention to the advertisement of Mr. J. I. Daniel- 

 son of his Golden Italian queens vv^hich he will have this season for 

 sale and say that I am personally acquainted with Mr. Danielson 

 and find him a Christian gentleman and a man you can depend on. 

 He is a young man and very unassuming, and for bees that have the 

 color true to guarantee also prolific and good honey gatherers and 

 good foul-brood registers, his bees are the best I have ever seen. Two 

 years ago this August I made an examination of the bees in this 

 apiary and first met Mr. Danielson and I was with him among his 

 bees in the cellar and saw them again this spring, also heard his ac- 

 count and secured some honey each year he was doing it. 



The weather in Iowa through tiie month of March was very 

 cold and there were not many days suitable for the bees to fly. 

 This has held brood rearing somewhat in check. Since Easter 

 Sunday the bees seem to be trying to make up for lost time and are 

 gathering pollen from the elm and soft maple and carrying water as 

 fast as I ever saw them work. 



I took six strong Italian swarms three and one-half miles 

 northeast of town as the nuclei of an out-apiary to a creek bottom, 

 taking them from the cellar. These had been put out of the cellar 

 for a cleansing flight in February and were in fine shape, and the 

 v/ay they did lly was like in the "good old summer." I am think- 

 ing of starting two more out-apiaries — one about three miles north 

 and the other three and one-half miles northwest of town near a 

 large creek bottom. There are several linden trees on these bot- 

 toms and the locations are the best I have found in Iowa. 



I find my Italian colonies far surpass my three Carniolian and 

 one Caucasion swarn this spring, having wintered better in ev- 

 ery way, and are stronger in bees. I have found the Goldens better 

 than the other strains of Italians. 



