Chapter D: K. Boutelle

Lake City, Minn., March 7, 1881.

[Probably during some of the milder days of winter the bees became scattered in their hives, the weather suddenly changed, and they perished before they could form their cluster on honey, and thus starved.—ED.]

=From Florida.=—The BEE JOURNAL is at hand; we do not know
how we could do without it. The past has been a very good
honey season here. We have 255 colonies of bees in Langstroth
hives. Some are Italians—we like them as honey-gatherers,
but they are crosser than our natives. We obtained 850 gals.
honey, and 500 lbs. wax. The latter we obtained from about
90 hives which we transferred. We think apiculture will pay
here with good management. We extracted from one colony
32 Langstroth frames well filled with honey. Our apiary
is located on a “gum” swamp, 5 or 6 miles wide and 15 or
20 miles long, which is our main honey source, and blooms
from April 15 till May 15; we also have many other honey
producing flowers. We have a vine which grows in the swamps
and yields a great deal of amber-colored honey. We inclose a
sprig—please give the name.

ALDERMAN & ROBERTS.

Wewahitchka, Fla.

[The vine you send is commonly known as snow vine, and is quite abundant in several of the Southern States.—ED.]

=Bee Feeding.=—I have thus far used the “bag feeder,” of
our friend Prof. Cook, with this addition: I have a long
tin tube, shaped like the handle to a water-dipper, long
enough to reach through the bag of chaff and empty into
the bag; then, with the aid of a funnel, I can daily place
the warm food within reach of the bees without disturbing
them or letting out the heat—so precious in early spring
to a depleted colony. Have never tried the Professor's
“Perfection”—thought I saw objections to it. If any of our
more experienced bee-keepers have devised a “better way,”
please tell me through “our” JOURNAL.

E. M. R.

Flint, Mich., March 4, 1881.

=Introduced a Queen.=—Bad luck to bees in this valley of the
Ohio. Of 32 colonies in Langstroth hives, 18 now remain, and
the 4th day of March a perfect “blizzard” all day, so I fear
I will lose more from spring dwindling. I found, one day in
February, all the bees dead but two, and the queen nearly
gone, in one hive, but plenty of honey. I had a queenless
colony, and laid these 3 bees on the frames to see if they
would come to life; they became warm and crept down among the
bees. The next warm spell I looked, and the yellow queen was
safe among the black bees. A novel way to introduce a queen
in February.

G. W. ASHBY.

Valley Station, Ky., March 5, 1881.

=Loss 88 per cent.=—The loss of bees in Wayne and Randolph
counties is heavy—about 88 per cent. Our bees had a fly Feb.
26th, the first for 111 days. We have reports from 1400
colonies (November count) and March 1st finds them all dead
but 171. The Italians have come through better than the
blacks. Those packed in chaff on summer stands have wintered
better than any other mode in this locality. There is a great
call for bees here by parties that are wanting to start
again. Our loss is 4 out of 15 colonies, all in chaff hives.