D., that they did not hurt good colonies. He said they did and showed me swarms, with new white combs, the queen and brood all right, but the sides of the hives were white with moth cocoons. They were all black bees; I do not think they would have troubled Italians. I like the WEEKLY BEE JOURNAL very much, but do not know that it will be of much value to me now. The cause of the death of my bees was, I think, the long steady cold, with no flight; and not the extreme cold; but why did one of them live through all right? It was just like the rest in the fall. A. C. BALCH. Kalamazoo, Mich., March 12, 1881. =The Outlook Encouraging.=--The loss in wintering has been very heavy in this county during the past cold winter. In one apiary near me, in Langstroth hives, only 5 are now alive out of 100 last Oct. My home apiary of 175 colonies last Oct., mostly in closed-end Quinby-frame hives, wintered on summer stands packed with fine straw and chaff, now numbers only 115. The loss has been much the heaviest in open end frames, especially so in metal corner frames. Out of 78 in such frame hives only 2 colonies are left. Last year was the poorest season I have had in 12 years; I had but one natural swarm during the season. White clover was a failure; there is but little basswood near here. By feeding I kept my bees in good condition for the fall harvest; smart weed furnished a very little; Spanish needle (the best honey plant in this section) was a total failure; this is the 2d year in 12 that it has failed. I had one apiary near the Illinois river which contained 120 colonies last spring, in Quinby hives. The early part of the season was poor, but I had during the season 21 natural swarms and over 3000 lbs. of section honey for sale, with a surplus of 3000 lbs. in brood frames; more than enough to winter them, which I brought to my home apiary. The above harvest was wholly from smart weed, which was grown on overflow land near the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. The loss in this apiary will not exceed 10 from all causes. All are strong and booming. The soft maples are now in bloom; every fair day the bees are carrying in pollen and a very little honey; the elm will soon be in bloom furnishing an abundance of pollen for rapid queen rearing. With favorable weather I expect a spring harvest from the willow privet bush and red haw; the honey from these is very light colored and of excellent quality. Your hopeful outlook for the coming season is very cheering. The Weekly is both a pleasure and a necessity with me. A. T. WILLIAMS. St. Charles, Mo., March 24, 1881.