4. One-story with rack is more easily manipulated.—ED.]
=An Enthusiast.=—My apiary is located on a hill-side sloping to the west, and hives fronting south. The Macoupin creek is ½ mile south of it, and several sloughs within a mile, with plenty of soft and hard maple, willows and cotton-wood. I packed rags around and on top of my 13 hives, on their summer stands, on the 25th of October. The bees were in good condition. Only one colony gave any surplus; from that I took 40 lbs., and left them 35. I examine my bees every week and clean out the dead ones. They had a good flight on the 13th of December, and again on Feb. 22d, when every colony had brood in all stages, and No. 2 was crowded full of young bees, and had a queen cell just ready to put the egg in, which I took off. Feb. 26th was a warm day, and No. 2 sent out a swarm; it was queenless, however, so I sprinkled them with peppermint water and united them with No. 12, which was weak. I do not keep bees for profit in dollars and cents, but for pleasure, as I do love them. I am a merchant, and own 275 acres of land, but being an invalid, look to my bees for recreation. In a radius of 4 miles from my apiary, on Nov. 1st, there were 13 bee-owners, with a total of 73 colonies. On the 1st inst. there were 19 colonies left, and they were in bad condition. I am the only one taking the BEE JOURNAL here—success to it.
=Bees All Dead.=—I now send you my report for the winter of 1880–81, which will long be remembered by the bee-keepers in this locality. I commenced the winter with 9 colonies of bees, all carefully packed in chaff on the summer stands with plenty of nice sealed honey. They were packed on the 13th day of last Nov., and from that until the present time (121 days) there has not been a single day that the bees could safely fly, and the consequence is my bees are all dead, from the effects of their long confinement. They left plenty of honey, but the combs are badly soiled. I am not discouraged, however, and shall try again. A gentleman living not far from here had only 8 colonies left out of 39, 2 weeks ago, and when spring condescends to smile on us again we think it will not need a returning board to count the bees in this county. I am well pleased with the new Weekly; it is always a welcome visitor.
