364 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. r 



most continuous flow of honpy from willows 

 and maples, from flower-gardens, fruit-trees, 

 and dandelions, from early April until June, 

 and brood-rcarins progresses with great rapid- 

 ity. The brood cliamber being small, the brood 

 can be kept warm with fewer bees, and more 

 workers are sent to the fields; and, the faster 

 the honey comes in, the faster the brood is 

 spread, and strong colonies early in the season 

 is the result. 



How is it in the ynid six miles away? The 

 conditions are quite difl'erent. Very little early 

 honey is to be had; and, while the small brood- 

 chamber always contains ample honey for pres- 

 ent needs (for we feed if they do not), the bees 

 will not spread their brood as fast as where 

 there are from 15 to 20 lbs. or more of old honey 

 at the sides of their hives. 



Again, I have found hives with a large brood- 

 chamber and "lots" of honey, rearing brood 

 later in the season than hives with less room 

 and less honey, and so go through the winter 

 stronger. 



Again, it is necessary to feed colonies in a 

 small brood-chamber much more in autumn to 

 winter them than is necessary to feed to those 

 in a large brood -chamber; and it now seems 

 vgry doubtful whether sugar syrup is as good 

 to stimulate brood-rearing as is pure honey. 



So It comes to pass that, where but little 

 honey is gathered in early spring, the large 

 brood-chamber has the advantage of a small 

 one. But suppose we feed the colony in the 

 small hive very heavily in autumn, will not 

 that help the matter? My experience has been 

 that, where a small brood-chamber is crowded 

 with bees and honey, the bees will rear a large 

 amount of brood in winter, and the vitality of 

 the bees and their stores both be exhausted. 



I formerly reasoned in this way: What is the 

 use of letting a colony of bees occupy eleven 

 frames when eight are all they really need for 

 brood and a moderate supply of honey? Why 

 not have the eighteen pounds of honey that it 

 would take to fill those extra combs, stored in 

 boxes which would sell for ?=3.00 above the cost 

 of sections, etc., and then in the fall feed 15 lbs. 

 of sugar, which, would cost less than a dollar, 

 and thus make a dollar clear to each hive, 

 which, on 500 hives, would be no small sum? 

 The logic seems to be all right; but in practice 

 I have only one yard where it is an entire suc- 

 cess, and that is where the bees get an abun- 

 dance of early honey, and here a small brood- 

 chamber is much more profitable than a large 

 one. In our other yard it would seem to be 

 about an even thing, and in all my other yards 

 the large broedchamber has decidedly the ad- 

 vantage, unless in exceptional seasons when 

 there happens to be an unusual yield of early 

 honey. 



Middlebury, Vt., Jan. 19. 



— Bee-keepem^ Review for February. 



Br G.M.DOOLITTLE.BOROOINO.N.Y. 



'■''■"'"'■"'■■■'■""■"I ■^•- ■' "!' !'■ ""■ 



INCREASING COLONIES. 



Question.— Owing to the past cold winter, 

 bees are coming out very poorly this spring, 

 some having lost from one-third to two-thirds 

 of their colonies, and others nearly all they had 

 last fall. Now, what we wish to know is. how 

 to build up the colonies we have left, so that 

 the combs can be occupied, and our apiaries be 

 prosperous again. We elect you as our general; 

 so, go ahead that we may follow. 



Answer. — I am very sorry to hear of the 

 many losses, from reports which are coming in, 

 but am glad to see the cheerful spirit manifest- 

 ed in going about building up again, and will 

 gladly do all I can to help. In this building-up 

 process, all want one or more boxes similar to a 

 honey-case, only having wire-cloth sides, and a 

 hole in the top which will admit a funnel, such 

 as is used in putting up bees by the pound, 

 this hole having something like a door to easi- 

 ly close it with; and one of the wire-cloth 

 sides should be tacked to small wooden strips, 

 and thus made easily removable. All how to 

 make these ''nuclei boxes " has been given by 

 myself in back volumes of Gleanings. As 

 early in the spring as you can do so withoutloss 

 by cold spells, begin to stimulate the very 

 strongest colonies you have, by spreading the 

 brood and feeding (being sure that you do not 

 go too fast), so that these colonies may swarm 

 early, thus giving you queen-cells, or build 

 queen-cells for you by the plan given in my 

 book, so that you can have plenty of queen- 

 cells to use as you wish them, if you prefer to 

 raise your queens to purchasing them. Having 

 the queen-cells nearly mature, or having queens 

 on hand by purchase or otherwise, go to the 

 colonies which can spare bees without damag- 

 ing their building-up as fast as you desire, and 

 take out two frames having to the amount of 

 about one-half pound of bees on them, being 

 sure the old queen is not on these combs. Set 

 them down on the outside of the hive, and tap 

 gently on them so as to cause the bees to fill 

 themselves with honey; and as soon as they 

 are filled shake them down through the funnel 

 into the box, removing the funnel and closing 

 the hole. While the bees are filling themselves 

 with honey, you can go to other colonies and 

 take out frames of bees from them, and thus 

 keep things moving right along, instead of 

 waiting as you will have to if there is only one 

 colony in the apiary. 



Having the bees in the box. return the combs 

 of brood to their old place in the hive, marking 

 the one having the most hatching brood, so 

 you can get it in a moment when wanted. 

 Now set the boxes of bees in a cool dark place. 



