Lincolnville, Ind., March 10, 1881.
[It is not advisable to let bees have access to combs in
other hives; if they need honey, put the combs in the hives
where wanted, and not too many. If the strong are robbing the
weaker colonies, exchange stands with them. The presence of
drones thus early indicates an old or defective queen. Unless
there is a large quantity of sealed worker brood (indicating
the queen is perfect), we would supersede her as soon as
possible, unless the bees save the trouble. —ED.]
=Gathering Pollen.=—My bees gathered pollen lively to-day, and are
strong for this time of year. My loss in wintering is 4 colonies,
leaving 8 to commence the season with. Nearly all the bees in this
county are dead.