DEVOTi:i> TO 33EE« ATNX> HOIVEIT, AJVD H03MDB nVTEHEST©. 



Vol. VI. 



MARCH 1, 1878. 



No. 3. 



A. I. ROOT, 



Publisher and Proprietor, 

 niediiaa^ O. 



Published. MosatSaly. 



(-terms: «i.OO Per Annum in AA- 



i. vance; 3 Copies for $2.50; 5/or t3.T6; 



lEstalallsliecl In 1873. ClO or more, 60c. each. Single Number lOc. 



HIV experience:, no. 3. 



SMOTHERED BEES. 



BURING the warm days of March, bees flew 

 some. During- one of their "flying spells," I 

 noticed that they did not fly from one hive, 

 and a few days later I saw thej' did not fly from an- 

 other one. Later in the spring- the sti-aw was taken 

 away from the hires, the two dead colonies taken 

 into the honse and the honey removed; I then dis- 

 covered what I thought was the cause of their death. 

 The man of whom I had purchased them had placed 

 a pebble under each corner of some of the hives, 

 which caused the bees to build the comb down to the 

 very bottom. I had placed the hives upon a board 

 with nothing: under the corners; this, of course, 

 brought the combs in contact with the bottom board. 

 As the dead bees accumulated at the bottom, the 

 passag-es underneath the combs became completely 

 closed, putting- an end to ventilation, and shutting- 

 the bees in the hive. There was considerable honey 

 left by the dead swarms, and, by some piecing-, I ob- 

 tained seven frames of dry corrib. I raised the other 

 hives, brushed away the dead bees, and found that 

 the combs, in some of the hives, touched the bottom 

 board slightly in some places. I raised the hives and 

 put thin strips of wood under the edges. The lower 

 edges of nearly all the combs, in the two colonies 

 lost, were "smashed" against the bottom board. 



FEEDING. 



As soon as the weather was warm enough for the 

 bees to fly nearly every day, I commenced feeding 

 in the following manner: 



I made boxes 5 inches long, 4 wide, and SVi deep. I 

 made the joints tight with beeswax, set the boxes 

 over the holes in the tops of the hives, covered them 

 with boards upon which had been tacked three or 

 four thicknesses of woolen cloth, laid bricks on top 

 to keep the covers down, and plastered up the cracks 

 between the boxes and the hives with mud. I com- 

 menced by putting- a piece of comb, an inch square, 

 filled with honey, in each box, each night; the "dose" 

 being gradually increased. This feeding was contin- 

 ued until the bees not only stopped carrying it down, 

 but commenced storing honey in some pieces of 

 empty comb which were in the boxes. When swarm- 

 ing time came, my bees were stronger than my 

 neighbor's. It might have been the feeding, and it 

 might have been something else. 



KEEPING A DIARY, SLATES, &C. 



As soon as I obtained some bees, I commenced 

 keeping a diary, in which most of my bee-keeping 

 "proceedings" were recorded; I have continued it 

 ever since, and a good share of "My Experience" is 

 taken from it. Let me give a few short items, selec- 

 ted from it at random. 



"4p?-i?, 12th, To day is the first that I have noticed 

 the bees bringing in pollen. Willow is the source 

 from which it is gathered." 



"J((?,V, 13f7i, Extracted UO lbs." 



'"July, 32nd, Removed 25 lbs. honey in small 

 frames. Basswood continued in blossom about 10 

 days." 



_ 'Sept. 6th, Extracted 33 lbs. Extracted from one 

 frame in each hive, and placed it in the centre of the 

 br(»od nest. Did it to give the queen room to lay." 



This kind of record was kept until I reached the 



busy season, when I found it becoming so lengthy, 

 that, although my hives were numbered, it was 

 sometimes a little difficult to find any particular item 

 at a moment's notice. I then made a slight change 

 by taking a page in my note book for each hive, hav- 

 ing the number of each hive placed at the top of the 

 page. The record of each was thus kept separate. 

 Anything of general interest, that appertained to 

 the apiary as a whole, was placed in the diary. I 

 have seen small slates advertised, to be hung on the 

 side of the hive, for keeping a record. I have never 

 used them, but think I should like my way better. 

 You have the record of your apiary all together, aad 

 in a convenient shape for reference, and preserva- 

 tion. Carry your note book in your pocket, and you 

 can write in that just as well as you can upon a slate, 

 fastened to the side of the hive. 



W. Z. Hutchinson. 

 Rogersville, Mich., 



I do not think your bees smothered from 

 want of air, but got into a fever and wor- 

 ried themselves to death, because they 

 could not get out. As soon as a day comes, 

 warm enough for them to fly, yovi should 

 see that the bees are out from every hive. 

 If they are not, go at once, and see where 

 the trouble is. If their entrance is clogged, 

 open it at once, if yoti have to tear the 

 hive all to pieces. Your plan of feeding 

 was effectual, doubtless, but it would be a 

 great deal of trouble with a large number 

 of hives. Your diary is an excellent idea, 

 but with 100 or more hives, it would soon 

 get to be voluminous. We have used the 

 same plan, of giving a page to each hive, 

 but the book was soon neglected in the 

 hurrj^ of the honey season. The time occu- 

 pied in writing, is considerable, and with 

 the queen cards, we have it already written, 

 or what is still better, printed. All yoti 

 have to do, is to turn the pins. For queen 

 rearing, there are contingencies coming up, 

 that make it very desirable, many times, to 

 have a slate, but I am afraid I would al- 

 ways be losing my slate pencil. We have 

 taken some pains to see how low slates can 

 be furnished, but at present writing, can 

 find nothing but what I should call both 

 unsightly, and expensive. If something for 

 about $1.00 per hundred, light and with 

 smoothly finished edges, could be procured, 

 I think I would like them. D. D. Palmer, 

 of Eliza, 111., first suggested and put in 

 practice the idea, if I am correct. He 

 described them in our journals 4 or .5 years 

 ago. If pasteboard, wood, or sheet iron 

 could be so coated with liquid slate, such as 

 is used for making blackboards, as to be 

 weatlier proof, it would probably be just the 



