24 FORTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES. 



I fed them some quite late, too late for them to seal 

 over, and they were put into the cellar with little anxiety 

 as to the result. 



DISASTROUS WINTERING. 



In the winter they became quite uneasy, and Feb- 

 ruary III took out five colonies, which flew a little, and 

 then I put them back. They continued to become more 

 uneasy and to be affected with diarrhea, and, February 

 22, I took them all out and found only twenty-three 

 alive. They flew a little, but it was not warm enoug^h 

 for a good cleansing- flight; and soon after there came 

 a cold storm with snow a foot deep, and by April i I had 

 only three colonies living, two of which I united, making 

 a total of two left from the forty-five or fifty. 



It was some comfort to know that nearly everyone 

 lost heavily that winter, but what encouragement was 

 there to continue under such adverse circumstances? I 

 was on the road traveling for Root & Cady all the time, 

 with only an occasional visit to my bees, and no cer- 

 tainty of being there upon any particular date, and evi- 

 dently with no great knowledge of the business if I had 

 been home all the time. To be sure, I may have got 

 enough honey so as to feel that there was no particular 

 money loss, but after eleven years at bee-keeping, and 

 after having bought, first and last, quite a number of col- 

 onies, here I was with only two colonies to show for 

 all my efforts! 



I do not. remember, however, that any question as 

 to continuance occurred to me at that time. Perhaps T 

 didn't know enough to be discouraged. Instead of sell- 

 ing off the two colonies and going out of the business, 

 I bought five more colonies early in April. They were 

 in box-hives, and one of them died before the season 

 warmed up, so I began the season of 1872 with six colo- 

 nies. These I increased to nineteen, and I think I took 

 no honey. With the number of empty combs I had on 



