Blairstown, Iowa, March 5, 1881.
=A Little Discouraged.=—I am a little discouraged this
spring. I put 54 colonies into winter quarters last fall
and now have but 23, and some of them are weak. Those in
my bee-house suffered the worst. I had 20 colonies on the
summer stands, packed with cut straw, and lost 6 of them by
dysentery and starvation. If bees are strong in numbers and
have plenty of honey, I can see that there is no danger of
loss. Last season it was so dry here that the white clover
dried up, and the bees could get but little honey, and what
they did gather was very dark. I am glad to receive the BEE
JOURNAL weekly now; the news comes and seems so _fresh_. I
hope it will be well supported.