Chapter L: H. PAMMEL, JR., Sec

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☞ The next meeting of the N. W. Illinois and S. W. Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' Association, will be held at H. W. Lee's, 2 miles n.w. of Pecatonica, Winnebago county, Ills., on the 17th of May, 1881.

J. STEWART, _Sec._

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☞ On account of unfavorable weather the convention at Monroe Centre, Ill., met on Feb. 8, and there being but few present, adjourned to the same place on March 29, 1881.

A. RICE, _Pres._

OLDEST BEE PAPER ESTABLISHED
IN AMERICA IN 1861

THE AMERICAN
BEE JOURNAL
]

THOMAS G. NEWMAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR,

CHICAGO, ILL., MAR. 16, 1881.

Watchman! Tell us of the Night.

Can you not recommend some reliable prophet, who will
prophesy good weather soon? The storm is terrible; not a road
in the county is passable for half a mile; the drifts are as
high as the fences, and the snow full three feet on the level.

Bees are getting uneasy, and must have a flight soon. Many
report heavy losses, even now; others complain that all are
sick with dysentery. In my home cellar, out of about 275, 4
are slightly affected, the balance are apparently in good
condition. My outside apiaries fare worse. Two weeks ago
quite a number had the dysentery slightly; I should judge
about 8 or 10 per cent. How they now are I cannot tell;
certainly, no better. I believe that they can stand it a
month longer, and my home apiary 6 weeks, but that is the
limit.

We are all afraid that Vennor's prophecy of 11 feet of
snow will yet be realized, unless some one can be found to
contradict it. Eleven feet of snow now would last us until
all our bees had died a natural death from old age. Help us
out of our trouble, if you can.

GEO. GRIMM.

Jefferson, Wis., March 3, 1881.

It was with much pleasure we noticed, in last Thursday's Associated Press dispatches, evidences of Prof. Vennor's reformation. He undoubtedly has become convinced that the realization of the eleven feet of snow attributed to his prophecies, would not only cause much suffering and privation with the majority of humanity, but work serious and permanent injury to the country itself. He has relented, or probably been bribed by Mr. McColm's liberal offer in the BEE JOURNAL of March 2, page 69, and now promises us better weather in the future. His latest prediction is a reasonably early, warm, dry spring, cool, pleasant summer, and late, dry fall, followed by a mild and pleasant winter. Of course, he promises abundant crops, and a satisfactory and remunerative harvest.

But without any further reference to Prof. Vennor, and without laying any claim to the “spirit of prophecy,” we believe the coming season will be a very satisfactory one to those bee-keepers who may be prepared to profit by it, and who have the industry and intelligence to make the most of it. The winter of 1879-80 was very mild and open, the scarcity of snow left the earth's surface exposed alike to the freezing temperature of night, and the pleasant sunshine of the balmy days; spring-like showers were of frequent occurrence, and heavy rains accompanied with thunder were so numerous that they ceased to create surprise; while the weird spring-music of the frogs was a familiar sound every month, and nearly every week, throughout the winter. The alternating cold and heat “threw out” the roots of the perennial plants, breaking off the long, deep-reaching taps and killing the rootlets; hence the frequent expression, “but little white clover in bloom, and no honey in the blossoms.” The honey-producing annuals have done but little better, owing, we presume, to the germination of the seeds in mid-winter, and the frequent frosting of the tender sprouts before spring set in. Thus, the summer and fall bloom was limited, and no provision having been made to supply the short-comings of nature, bees entered upon an unprecedented winter with a poor supply of good—or a good supply of poor—honey. The many empty hives in the country this spring is the result.

The past winter, whatever else may be said of it, has been propitious for the honey plants. Cool weather in this latitude set in during October; vegetation was checked in the perennials and biennials; the ground was frozen in November, and it was overspread with a mantle of snow quite early in the season, which has constantly held the roots of the perennials in position, and prevented the seeds of the annuals from unseasonable germination. The stand of white clover last fall was good, and mostly of quite recent growth, which should bloom profusely this season, and will only need heat and favorable sunshine to develop the nectar. The causes enumerated will also tend to confine the vitality of the linden trees to the roots, to be drawn out in profuse foliage and bloom by the genial rays of the summer sun. The numerous variety of flowers we believe will gratify the eye of every lover of the beautiful in nature, and well reward the labors of the painstaking bee-keeper. That the price of honey will be remunerative next fall no one can doubt, in view of the lessened competition, owing to the heavy losses the past winter and the many who will utilize the bees they have left to refilling their empty hives.

It would take more space than we can give a single article, to explain why we have much confidence in Prof. Vennor's latest prediction, referred to above—though perhaps “the wish is father to the thought.” We feel confident many of our readers will cordially unite with us in welcoming the better time coming.

Migratory Bee-Keeping.

Why do not the enterprising bee-keepers of these parts go
South with their bees, and wait till the March “blizzards”
are over? Seems to me the bees and honey saved would about
pay the expenses of the trip. How much does a colony need
in those parts to winter on? Would there be any prospect
of obtaining any surplus down there before the season
opens here? These and a dozen other questions I am vainly
speculating upon. Are Messrs. Bingham and Perrine the only
ones that have tried the migratory plan? I believe neither
of them was successful; at any rate, they have abandoned it.
Probably they could not give it the necessary attention.
The loss of larvæ in shipping seems but trifling compared
to the gain in young bees. Considerable damage may be done
by combs breaking down, but wired frames would obviate that
difficulty. Is not wired foundation (wired in frames) the
only kind that can be depended on under all circumstances?
You report in the October number, 1880, page 468, that the
Northwestern Convention disapproved of wired foundation.
There were but few present that had given wired foundation a
fair trial, and if I am not mistaken, they were strongly in
favor of it.

H. W. FUNK.

Bloomington, Ill., March 5, 1881.

The first question is difficult to answer, as enterprising bee-keepers, like the balance of humanity, are generally governed by motives of convenience or profit. There are very few but have other business connected with bee-keeping, and this would suffer if close attention was given the migratory system. The amount of honey required to winter in the South is much less than in the North, but the quantity is governed by contingencies, as would be the question, How much honey will a colony obtain in the South in a season? Usually bees obtain considerable surplus in April and May, in some localities. Mr. Bingham, we believe, abandoned the migratory system on account of excessive freights, while Mr. Perrine met with a series of disasters from the first which would have discouraged any one. Mr. W. O. Abbott was engaged last season with a floating apiary on the Mississippi river, from which large returns were anticipated; but as nothing definite has been made public since the close of the season, we suppose it was not a success. Others have tried Southern wintering, but we have no data upon which to base conclusions, except the fact of its abandonment. The trouble has not been so much from destruction of combs, as the expense attending the removal.

A private letter from a gentleman with several hundred colonies of bees, located a short distance below Memphis, Tenn., dated March 5, says: “My colonies are mostly very strong; they are bringing in 5 kinds of pollen; many are clustering in front of their hives; most of them had large quantities of honey left over, and I could extract an average of 15 lbs. per colony with profit to the bees. Bees here are given no attention in the fall, but are left on the summer stands, sometimes with the second story over them, and often with only a honey-board. Frequently there are entrances at front and rear, and wide cracks in the sides from which bees pour out, but disaster never overtakes them except from starvation.”

If a necessity exists for wires in foundation, then perhaps the wired frames are best. That but few of those in attendance at the Northwestern Convention “had given wired foundation a fair trial,” was undoubtedly owing to the fact that the great majority of those present had never experienced the necessity for using wires; and it might be difficult to convince a considerable minority of the bee-keepers in the country that wired foundation is even desirable for general use. Of course, for special purposes, such as migratory bee-keeping, shipping in summer, etc., where not to be transferred from the frames, wired-frames might be very desirable.

Interesting Letter from Ceylon.

Through the courtesy of Mr. D. A. Jones, we are permitted to publish the following letter. Anything relating to the peregrinations of Mr. Benton in the far East, and any discoveries of new races of bees he may effect, will possess a great attraction for our readers. His next letter, from Singapore, will be awaited with interest.

I found on examination that every queen was alive upon my
arrival in Pointe de Galle, though some of the nuclei were
greatly depopulated, owing to the death of many bees, and
would not have lived to reach Java had I not gotten off in
Ceylon. By the next steamer I go to Singapore. I have made
every effort to secure bees here, but none are kept in hives
in those ports I have visited, and I do not think in any port
of the Island.

Of those found in trees few can be secured, because the trees
are valuable cocoanut palms, and the entrance holes are in
the trunk of course, and are very small. I have obtained
three hives only of the small bees, having also spent some
time fixing up the bees I brought with me, and trying to find
the large bees, to say nothing of searching for some place
where bees could be purchased in hives or pots. The natives
are far worse than Cypriotes to get along with and accomplish
anything. They seem to tell lies simply for the sake of
giving an answer, where no pecuniary gain could come to them.
Again, they seem to wish to avoid saying “I do not know,”
when the Lord knows it would be the most appropriate thing
for them to say in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred. The
result is that it is hard work to sift the statements made by
the natives, and Europeans—nearly all English—know absolutely
nothing of value to us.

The new bees, which I think are also found in India and many
of the East India Islands (in which case East India bees
would seem to me an appropriate name), are real beauties.
The workers are 3/8 of an inch long, and build worker comb
5/8 of an inch thick, 36 cells to the square inch. The drone
comb is exactly the size, and like worker comb made by the
bees already in Europe and America. The workers are brown
with a very ringed abdomen, the bands to the tip of the body
being broadly marked with yellow, and thorax very fuzzy,
with a large shield between the wings; the drones are black,
inclining to a blue-black, and are ½ of an inch long; the
queens are leather-colored, and large compared with the
workers. These bees are very active, wonderful breeders,
regular little beauties, and can be handled without the least
smoke, scarcely ever offering to sting. It is a pity I cannot
get more of them during my stay.

I am determined to find out whether _Apis dorsata_ is to be
found here, if time will permit, and if two more races I have
heard of here really do exist. I am now where a few shillings
of railway fare will bring me to the interior of the Island.
More by next mail, with samples of bees and comb.

I have had a horrible time getting stung with large hornets
while in the jungles. It laid me up for one whole day. These
are fearful fellows, worse than those in Cyprus.

F. BENTON.

Colombo, Ceylon, Jan. 24, 1881.

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☞ There are five Wednesdays in March—hence, the next number sent to Semi-Monthly subscribers will be No. 14.

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☞ We can supply but a few more of the back numbers to new subscribers. If any want them, they must be sent for soon.

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☞ One letter sometimes makes quite a difference in the meaning of a sentence. Mr. L. James calls attention to an error in his article on page 34, in the 4th line from the bottom—the word hiving is there given as “hiding.” As the sense indicated the word required, perhaps it was not generally noticed.

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☞ The past week has been noted for snow storms, not only in America but also in Europe, where a winter of unusual severity is reported, with deep snows and steady frosts for months together. This winter will have a place in history, as being among the most severe as well as of the longest duration. Not alone have the bees suffered by it, but cattle, sheep, hogs, etc., have perished by the thousand from the prevalence of blizzards and deep snows.

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☞ Several bee-keepers in this vicinity are considering the feasibility of holding a convention in Detroit this spring. The law in regard to foul brood, which is about to be passed, makes an organization necessary. It is desirable to know how many would favor the enterprise. Will such please send me their address.

A. B. WEED.

No. 75 Bagg street, Detroit, Mich.

_SELECTIONS FROM
OUR LETTER BOX_
]

=Wintered Well.=—I have wintered 40 colonies of Italians on
the summer stands; they have wintered well.

JAMES H. DAVIS.

New Holland, Pa., March 8, 1881.

=Mortality Reports.=—It seems to me that the only way of
profiting by the experience of bee-keepers throughout the
country, this exceptionally severe winter, is to reduce their
reports to a tabular statement. If they could be induced
to send in these reports, in the form of brief answers, to
questions like the following, we could read the history
of the past winter on a single page of the BEE JOURNAL,
and learn from it lessons of scientific value. I mean such
questions as these:

1. How many colonies did you winter?

2. Where? (out doors or in cellar.)

3. What hive did you use?

4. How did you prepare it?

5. What entrance was left open, bottom, top, or both?

6. How late did the bees breed?

7. How many lbs. of honey were they allowed to keep?

8. When did they have their first flight?

9. How many colonies did you lose?