THI-; BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



45 



There was fine weather that year, and 

 both clover and heartsease yielded 

 abundantly. I have had. and expect to 

 have, similar seasons. 1908 was nearly 

 as good. 1910 was the same kind of a 

 season. A series of years brings about 

 certain similar results; and I have no 

 reason to believe that my location will 

 ever be any poorer. In fact, I expect it 

 to improve, as several large fields of 

 sweet clover are being sowed near here. 

 I have 100 acres of sweet clover myself. 



THE IMPORTANCE OF FEEDING AT CRITICAL 

 TIMES. 



You ask if my crop of 1903 might not 

 have been equaled in other years by 

 feeding judiciously at critical times. 

 Perhaps so, in some seasons; in others 

 spring feeding would have been worse 

 than useless. About fifteen years ago 

 the bees were in poor condition when 

 clover bloomed. To make matters worse 

 clover did not furnish any honey. Be- 

 tween clover and the fall flow I fed 

 $80.00 worth of sugar, and secured 

 $800.00 worth of fall honey, besides 

 putting the bees in excellent trim for the 

 next year, which proved to be a most 

 excellent year. If 1 had fed early that 

 year, and built the bees up strong for the 

 clover flow (which didn't come) it would 

 have been a mistake, as I would simply 

 have had a great horde of workers to 

 board all summer. There is no one 

 thing about bee keeping that pays better 

 than feeding. // it is done at tlie riglit 

 time. By this 1 mean, to feed at the 

 right time to bring on an army of workers 

 just at the opening of the harvest. As 

 seasons differ so greatly, this matter calls 

 for a careful study and constant watch- 

 fulness. However, as clover usually 

 furnishes a crop at least three years out 

 of four, it is good policy, as a rule, to get 

 ready for the clover flow every year. I 

 think I have never yet fed too much in 

 getting ready for clover. 



THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSTANT WATCHFUL- 

 NESS AND FORESICHT. 



In my 36 years of experience 1 have 

 learned that much may be gained by 



keeping close watch of the present con- 

 ditions that may affect the coming 

 season. For instance, 1910 was dry in 

 the summer. Very little clover started 

 from the seed and lived until fall; but 

 the old, established plants were plentiful, 

 and September rains enabled these old 

 plants to make a fine growth. Now, if 

 the present winter is favorable for these 

 plants, I shall get ready for it. If it 

 freezes up dry and hard without much 

 snow, these old plants will fare badly, 

 and I shall go a little slow in spring 

 feeding. In 1909 there was a nice 

 growth of young plants, and a heavy 

 fall of snow protected them perfectly 

 until March; and, had the bees been 

 booming and strong June 1st, the season 

 of 1910 would have surpassed all others. 

 It is usually warm enough between fruit 

 bloom and clover to build up colonies by 

 judicious feeding, but last year, the 

 weather was too cool for this without 

 employing outer protection. There are 

 times when it pays big to look after the 

 bees. To sum up the whole matter I 

 will say that many seasons that bring 

 only meager results, migfit have been 

 made good seasons by simply a little 

 judicious feeding at the right time. 



ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE EXTENSIVE 

 BEE KEEPER. 



You say that you left one yard of bees 

 where there was a scant pasture of 

 willow herb, yet they did nearly as well 

 as where the pasture was more profuse; 

 and that you believe that the capacity of 

 many locations is under-estimated. In 

 my home-apiary, in 1910, I kept 214 

 colonies, where 1 thought 100 were a 

 great plenty, yet, to my surprise, the 

 yield per colony was as great as when I 

 had only 100 colonies in that yard — in 

 fact, the home-yard out did, per colony, 

 the yield of an apiary where I had only 

 100 colonies. 1 have studied over this 

 matter a great deal, and I have about 

 decided that if I had as many as 300 

 colonies in the home-yard, I would make 

 still more money. At Maquoketa there 

 are 500 colonies in five apiaries, all 



