POLLEN. 



841 



POLLEN. 



iu a large room under glass. As it was late 

 in the fall, after brood-rearing had ceased, 

 we did not know whether we should succeed 

 in starting them again. After feeding them 

 for about a week, eggs were found in the 

 cells, but none of them hatched into larvae. 

 A heap of rye meal was placed in the center 

 of the room near the feed, and anxiously w^e 

 waited to see them take notice of it. After 

 several days a bee was seen hovering curi- 

 ously about it. In breathless suspense we 

 watched it until it finally began to dip 

 its tongue into the heap, and then to pad it 

 on its legs. It carried home a small load, 

 we had the hive open, and the frame out, as 

 soon as it was among its comrades, and 

 watched the behavior of the rest while it 

 shook itself among them, until it depos- 

 ited its treasure in a cell, and hurried away 

 for another load. Very shortly some of the 

 rest followed it, and buzzed about the 

 room until they found where it was loading 

 up, and soon they were at work on the meal, 

 as merrily as in spring. Of course, the 

 eggs were very soon, now, transformed into 

 unsealed larvse, then into capped brood, and, 

 in due time, we had young bees hatched out 

 in the month of December. 



By warming the room with a stove for sev- 

 eral days in succession, we found we could 

 start brood-rearing and pollen-gathering 

 even in the month of January. It may be well 

 to state here, that although we succeeded in 

 rearing bees in midwinter, as strong and 

 healthy, apparently, as those raised in sum- 

 mer time, the experiment was hardly a suc- 

 cess after all ; for about as many bees died 

 from wiiat we suppose was the effect of con- 

 linement as were hatched out. It was a de- 

 cided success, in determining many un- 

 known points in regard to bees, aside from 

 the othce of pollen; and we presume, if it ever 

 should be necessary, we could overcome the 

 difticulties of flying bees under glass. Un- 

 der the head of Fiiuit-bijOssoms will be 

 found further facts on this matter. See 

 page 229. 



ARTIFICIAL SUBSTITUTES FOR POLLEN. 



It has been known for many years, that in 

 the spring time bees will make use of the 

 flour or meal of many kinds of grain, and 

 many bee-keepers feed bushels of it every 

 season. The favorite seems to be rye; and 

 as the bees are apt to fall into it and some- 

 times get so covered as to perish, we have 

 been in the habit of having the rye ground 

 up with an equal quantity of oats. A great 

 many plans have been devised for feeding it 



without waste ; but, after all our experi- 

 ments, a heap of meal on the ground is about 

 as satisfactory as any way. Of cours-e, 

 it should be protected from rain; and as 

 there is usually much high wind in the 

 spring, which is, to say the least, very an- 

 noying to the bees, it is well to have it in a 

 spot sheltered as much as possible, always 

 aiming to give them as much sunshine as 

 may be. Byway of experiment, we have con- 

 centrated the rays of the sun on the meal 

 heap by mirrors, that the bees might work 

 on days otherwise too cold; we have also 

 made glass-covered structures for the pur- 

 pose, and have even kept their meals 

 hot by means of a lamp ; all these plans 

 have succeeded, but we are inclined to doubt 

 whether stocks pushed along in brood-rear- 

 ing, by such means, were really in advance 

 of some that were left to take their chances. 

 It is amusing to see the little fellows start 

 from their hives on days so cold that they 

 would not otherwise stir out, hie to the 

 warm meal and load up, and then go home 

 so quickly that they do not have time to get 

 chilled. 



Is there any danger of feeding them too 

 much mealy There is. Keports and our own 

 experience have shown that bees will some- 

 times get their combs packed with this in- 

 ferior substitute for the real article; and we 

 would advise giving it only during those 

 seasons when there seems to be a lack of 

 natural pollen. As a general thing, nature 

 supplies bees with all the nitrogenous food 

 they require, and quite early enough. If rye 

 meal be given on a warm day when the bees 

 can fly in mid- winter they will store some of 

 this meal and start brood-rearing; then 

 when cold weather comes on again, the 

 brood is deserted and dies. Nature, on the 

 other hand, will not supply this food before 

 the proper time for brood-rearing to come on. 

 But the question may arise, " How is the 

 owner of the bees to know when nature is 

 not supplying them a farinaceous diet'? " If 

 the bees seem to be hovering around chicken- 

 houses, barns, and stables, then it is apparent 

 that they are not getting suflUcient pollen to 

 feed, and they should be supplied artificially 

 as already explained. 



Not a few of our readers have been per- 

 plexed and astonished, doubtless, by seeing 

 the bees, in early spring, greedily appropri- 

 ating sawdust, just as they do rye meal. We 

 have seen them at the sawmills, so thick on 

 a large heap of fresh sawdust as to attract a 

 large crowd of people; and wiien we caught 

 them, and tasted of the pollen from their legs, 



