460 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



contract and expand with the changes in outside temperature, the best 

 results are obtained. 



In the fall of 1805, 16 colonies were moved 9 miles to a buckwheat 

 pasture and compared with colonies kept at home. In the case of the 

 lb' hives which were moved there was a gain of TOG lbs. in 47 days. In 

 1806, 36 colonies of varying strength were moved, and showed a gain of 

 1,251 lbs. As a result of the experiments, it appears that moving bees 

 where practicable pays, and that the strongest colonies will yield better 

 returns, while the weaker colonies will be strengthened. 



In the feeding experiments, a sirup was made in the proportion of 2 

 lbs. granulated sugar to 1 lb. of water. In some cases sugar was dis- 

 solved in boiling and in other cases in cold water. Neither method of 

 dissolving was found to have an advantage over the other. In regard 

 to the effect of feeding, it was found that there is a great difference 

 between the weight of the stores supplied and the increase in weight 

 of the hive, there being a loss of from 31 to 56 per cent. This is 

 accounted for by evaporation and by an increased consumption of the 

 stores by the bees in consequence of excitement during storing. 



The conclusions to be drawn from the experiments are, that it will not 

 pay to extract honey and replace it by sugar sirup for winter with the 

 expectation of making a profit; but, if feeding is resorted to, strong 

 colonies can be fed with the smallest percentage of loss. 



Bees and fruits : Codling-moth eggs not laid in the bloom, E. S. 

 Lovesy (Amer. Bee Jour., 37 (1897), No. 11, pp. 211,212). — The author 

 complains that spraying for the codling moth when the trees are in 

 bloom results in the death of the bees that visit them. A case in New 

 York State is cited where 200 colonies were thus destroyed. 



Experiments in a greenhouse demonstrated that if the temperature 

 is kept at 50° F. from the time the moths emerge from the cocoons they 

 will lay their eggs, the larvae will hatch and bore into the mature 

 apples and finally eat their way out, and in about 6 weeks appear as 

 adult moths. If the temperature be kept at 70° the period will be 

 shortened by about a week, while if the temperature be dropped below 

 60° the moths will not emerge from the cocoons. From this it is con 

 eluded that, especially in Utah, spraying should not be done when the 

 trees are in bloom but later, for the trees will and do bloom at a tem- 

 perature lower than 60°, and they are usually in bloom before the moth 

 hatches. In parts of Wasatch and other counties no codling moths 

 can live even if imported, since the temperature is too low. The experi- 

 ment and the facts stated show that the moth does not necessarily lay 

 in the blossom, and that in Utah it is the fruit that should be sprayed. 



The brown tail moth, C. H. Fernald and A. H. Kirkland 

 (Massachusetts Hatch Sta. Special Bui. July, 1897, pp. 15, Jigs. l,pls. 3). — 

 The discovery of this new insect pest in Massachusetts and in the 

 United States is briefly related, its synonym discussed, and the adult. 

 larval, and pupal stages described. It was first brought to notice May 

 8, 1897, by a report that the gypsy moth was doing great damage at a 



