28 BEES. 
Bees should not be handled in the early spring any more than neces- 
sary, for to open a hive in cool weather wastes heat and may even 
kill the brood by chilling. The hive should be kept as warm as 
possible in early spring as an aid to brood rearing. It is a good 
practice to wrap hives in black tar 
paper in the spring, not only that 
it may aid in conserving the heat 
of the colony, but in holding the 
sun’s heat rays as a help to the 
warmth of the hive. This wrap- 
ping should be put on as soon as 
an early examination has shown the 
colony to be in good condition, and 
there need be no hurry in taking it 
off. A black wrapping during the 
winter is not desirable, as it might 
induce brood rearing too early and 
waste the strength of the bees. 
As a further stimulus to brood 
Fig. 19.—‘‘Pepper-box”’ feeder for use on top of rearing, stimulative feeding of su- 
tog gar sirup in early spring may be 
practiced. This produces much the same effect as a light honey flow 
does and the results are often good. Others prefer to give the bees 
such a large supply of stores in the fall that when spring comes they 
will have an abundance for brood 
rearing, and it will not be neces- 
sary to disturb them in cool 
weather. Both ideas are good, 
but judicious stimulative feeding 
usually more than pays for the la- 
bor. Colonies should be fed late 
in the day, so that the bees will 
not fly as a result of it, and so 
that robbing will not be started. 
When the weather is warmer and 
more settled the brood cluster 
may be artificially enlarged by 
spreading the frames so as to 
insert an empty comb in the mid- 
dle. The bees will attempt to 
cover all the brood that they 
already had, and the queen will at once begin laying in the newly 
inserted comb, thus making a great increase in the brood. This 
practice is desirable when carefully done, but may lead to serious 
447 
Fig. 20.—Pan in super arranged for feeding. 
