1910 



OLEAXIX(5S IN BEE CULTURE 



249 



When it was apiiaieatly settled warm 

 weather I hitrochiced my feeders and began 

 feeding warm syrup, about half a i)int daily. 

 In a short time I coukl see ijuite a percei)ti- 

 ble increase in the brood-rearing, and each 

 liive contained all the l^rood the bees could 

 cover, and I patted myself on the back. 

 Conditions around the hive seemed to l^e 

 about the same as during a light honey-tlow; 

 and as 1 watched their rapid up-building 

 my enthusiasm for the system waxed high. 



But my entliusiasm was destined to be 

 short-lived, for there soon came a miserable 

 cold spell of weather; and the bees, attempt- 

 ing to cover all the brood, lost down to a 

 smaller amount than they would have had 

 had there been no stimulation. When the 

 cold spell was over, the dead brood was all 

 dragged out unceremoniously by the bees, 

 and deposited in front of the hives. Some- 

 how as I examined those piles of dead brood 

 my hopes of a bountiful harvest, which had 

 been running high, suddenly dropped to 

 zero. My enthusiasm for the system of 

 si)ring feeding gradually oozed out. I was 

 not entirely discouraged, however, but went 

 on with the feeding until the beginning of 

 the honey-tiow. This honey-tlow found the 

 bees in as poor condition to gather it as any 

 season since I have been in the business. 



I have since tried it to a limited extent on 

 a few colonies, beginning late in the season: 

 and, while I have never had quite as bad 

 luck since, still I liave never been able to 

 see that the colonies so fed showed any per- 

 ceptible gain over those given combs of 

 sealed stores, if, indeed, they did as well. 

 The last two or three years I have made a 

 practice of saving a lot of combs filled with 

 honey gathered from the late fall flowers. 

 This honey is not fit to use for winter stores, 

 neither is it of any account to extract for 

 sale; but for spring feeding it is excellent. 

 Much of it is gathered so late that the bees 

 do not cap it over, and will, for this reason, 

 make use of it much more readily when set 

 in their hives in the s])ring. As soon as the 

 weather will permit, all colonies are exam- 

 ined and supplied with these frames of hon- 

 ey, each colony loeing given sufficient to last 

 it vmtil the honey-how. Since using this 

 method I have never experienced any diffi- 

 culty in getting my bees in prime condition 

 for the flow. Even colonies a])i)earing to be 

 \ery weak when o])ened up in the spring 

 will usually, if given ])lenty of stores, be 

 ready for the flow when it comes. If a few 

 colonies do not ai)pear to be building up 

 fast enough to be in condition at that time 

 I begin about two weeks before the flow, ex- 

 changing hatching brood from some of the 

 overstrong colonies for eggs and unsealed 

 larvfe from the weak colonies. This brings 

 them to the required standard, and also 

 helps to prevent the larger colonies from 

 getting too crowded before the season. 



Many writers have made the claim that a 

 frame or frames of sealed stores would act as 

 a sort of division-board in the hive, and that 

 brood-rearing would be carried up to them 

 and stopped. Xow. this has never been the 



case with me; and, in fact, it very often 

 hai)pens that the best colonies I have are 

 those which come out in the spring with a 

 hive crammed full of sealed stores. 



As I said at the beginning of this article. 

 I believe that locality plays an important 

 part in this discussion, and I can readily be- 

 lieve that, in a locality similar to that of 

 the late E. W. Alexander, for instance, or in 

 any other place where the main flow comes 

 on after a long sjiell of settled weather, stim- 

 ulative feeding can be carried on with profit 

 to the apiarist. 



But where one is liable to have cold raw 

 spells of weather, and even snowstorms, 

 sometimes right up to the beginning of the 

 honey-flow, the system is worse than use- 

 less. 



Barryton, Mich. 



[Our correspondent's experience is quite 

 in line with the experience of others who re- 

 ported on this matter something over a year 

 ago. The latest practice for most localities 

 is to feed liberally in the fall; then in the 

 spring, if certain colonies run short, to give 

 combs of sealed stores that have been held 

 in reserve, or from some colony or colonies 

 that can spare them. — Ed.] 



A PLEA FOR THE RETAILER. 



Co-operative Selling vs. Individual Selling of 

 Honey. 



BY T. EDWARD DIENER. 



The article by Wesley Foster, p. 105, ¥eh. 

 15, indicates that the writer has had some 

 un])leasant experiences with unwilling re- 

 tailers, as he winds up by condemning the 

 whole retail business as being responsible 

 for the high prices of all articles designed 

 for consumption. It will certainly take 

 more than one man to solve the economic 

 problems of the day, as they are not to be 

 laid at the door of the retailer. I am not 

 answering the above article because I feel 

 capable of solving the ])roblem, but because 

 I wish to see the retailers of the country 

 justified. I myself am a retailer, not of gro- 

 ceries, but of men's wearing apj)arel. 



In my estimation, retailers have been 

 hurt by the statement that they charge an 

 excessive jirofit; but the fact is that, while 

 the retailers are compelled to advance 

 prices continually of late, their percentage 

 of profit has been reduced. Of course, there 

 may be occasional cases of i)rofits of 38 per 

 cent, but the average is considered to be 

 about 25 i)er cent, out of which 10 per cent 

 goes toward the payment of the running ex- 

 penses of the business, such as light, rent, 

 help, etc. But this does not cover many 

 additional risks that occur in some lines, 

 such as damaged, rotted, spoiled, faded, or 

 out-of-style stock. This comes out of the 

 other 15 per cent, so that the retailer is al- 

 lowed, say, 5 per cent on his investment, 

 and perhaps a few per cent for the time he 

 gives to his business. There are man\- 



