An accident occurred in the apiary of Mr. Cyrus Jones, in this township, that would probably come under the head of “Anger of Bees.” While his hired man with the team, was hauling some old lumber from the yard, the horses became frightened and ran directly among the bees, knocking over seven stands and becoming fastened for a short time in a cherry tree. The bees swarmed out not only from those stands that were run over; but from most of the others (there being some twenty stands in all) stinging the horses terribly. The horses became frantic, rearing and plunging, broke loose from the tree, and ran into the next lot, breaking the wagon badly. One of them died in about three hours, and the other in the course of the day. While they were fastened in the tree, one of the men in throwing water on the horses, to cool I suppose the anger of the bees, lost his hat. The bees lighting on him stung his head and face so badly that his life was in danger. The horses were stung in their ears, nostrils, and bodies so badly that by taking a corn knife and scraping their sides, you could draw out thousands of stings. Mr. Jones estimates his loss at about five hundred (500) dollars. This accident occurred last spring. What would have been the best to do, in such a case?—S. C. Ware.
Wenham, Mass., August 11.—The weather has been very dry and hot all summer; but during the last few days we have had plenty of rain, though the air is not cooler.—H. Alley.
Lexington, Ky., August 12.—The July number of the Journal failed to come. I began to fear you had ceased to publish the Journal, as I did not receive one for so long. That I hope will never happen, as long as it is doing the good to the bee-keeping public, that it now is. Long life to you and it.—Dr. J. Dillard.
Lisle, N. Y., August 12.—As your correspondents commenced boasting early, I should like to hear from them again, to learn whether the drouth affected them as much as it has us, in this part of the country. I think bees never did better than they did during raspberry time. It then became so dry that they have not got much since, till now that they are working on buckwheat freely. From one double Langstroth hive we have taken seventeen full six pound boxes, and the bees are working in six more. They filled both hives themselves, except six frames that were transferred. I think this is doing very well, as it will make eighty pounds in frames more than they need to winter on. We are sure of thirty-six pounds more. We have a good many young swarms that have already over one hundred pounds of box honey taken off. I will give you, this fall, the total result. I think it will convince people that bee-keeping pays.—H. S. Wells.
Campbell’s Cross, Ontario, August 12.—I have the first four volumes of American Bee Journal bound in two, and would not take five times their cost if I could not get them again. I would freely pay double to get them twice a month. It would pay to get them, if a person has only one hive, or no bees at all.
Bees have done well, in this section, this season. They swarmed two weeks earlier than usual. We have plenty of swarms and surplus honey. Second and even some third swarms will gather honey enough to winter on. My bees are all in frame hives. The Thomas hive is all the go in Ontario. My bees are nearly all Italians, bred from the stocks of J. H. Thomas, Brooklin, Ontario, and Henry Alley, Wenham, Mass.,—both of whom I could recommend, their stock of Italians being very pure and well marked.—H. Lipsett.
Gnadenhutten, Ohio, August 15.—We have had a prosperous season, this summer, both for honey and swarms. The weather was good from the time the fruit trees blossomed until the close of the white clover blossoms. It is refreshing to the drooping spirit to have a season of plenty after such poor seasons as the previous two were. Our success would be better if we had some reliable plants to supply honey, after the white clover is past. That is now our main dependance, and when it is a partial failure our late swarms cannot gather sufficient store to last them over winter; and buckwheat is at best an uncertain source for honey.
As there is considerable rivalry among inventors about patent hives, and divers contrivances are recommended to bee-keepers as the ne plus ultra of perfection, I will state that some years ago I invented a side-opening leaf hive, with a sliding bottom board. Either front or rear side is a door, through which the bottom board slides. At the opposite end of the hive from the door, in the side of the hive, is a frame or yoke, fastened to the sides of the bottom-board and reaching half way up the side of the hive. On top of said yoke are clasps fastened loosely to the yoke with wire rivets. These clasps hold the frames by means of wire hooks driven into the frames and hooking over a shoulder on top of the clasps. The clasps move sideways, and allow the frames to be moved sideways, like the leaves of a book, and also to be taken off. The part of the hive with a hook in, has a piece of wire driven in at the bottom, to serve as a pivot, and works in a gimlet hole in the bottom board. In operating with the bees in, the door is opened and the fastenings made by the bees are to be cut loose; then the bottom board with the frames is drawn out of the hive. It is perhaps as good a side-opening hive as any, with the additional good quality that there is no patent on it. Any one is at liberty to use the invention. For myself, I prefer top opening hives, as more convenient.—S. Luethi.
[For the American Bee Journal.]