MAY 15, 191.J 



AUTOMATIC STIMULATIVE FEEDING 



BY K. F. ATWATKIi 



J have never been satisfied that tlie prac- 

 tice of regiUar frequent feeding for stimu- 

 lating brood-rearing before the honey-flow 

 is always or often profitable. However, 

 there have been short periods when it has 

 been highly profitable. 



For most spring seasons, probably most 

 localities furnish sulfieient pollen and 

 enough bright warm days to secure as mucli 

 brood as the bees can cover and protect. 



The bees of Italian blood require rather 

 more encouragement than those of some 

 other races in order to produce a big field 

 force in time for an early flow. In this 

 locality we usually secure the best results 

 by wintering the bees in two-story hives. 

 The upper story contains the old brood- 

 nest, while the lower story is an extracting- 

 super containing two to four combs partly 

 full of honey, the remainder being empty 

 combs. 



The bees clustering in the upper story are 

 well away from any direct drafts of cold 

 air that may be driven into the entrance by 

 cold winter or spring winds. During the 

 fall, after the flow, the bees busy themselves 

 on warm days. caiTying up any unsealed 

 honey into the combs above, where it is 

 aiTanged to their liking, this activity favor- 

 ing brood-rearing perhaps a little later than 

 usual. 



Then if several warm days come at any 

 time dui'ing the winter or early spring, the 

 bees uncap and carry up more honey, re- 

 sulting in early brood-rearing. The chief 

 benefit is in the spring, when brood-rearing 

 is well under way and the honey in the 

 lower body is constantly being carried 

 above, where it may be better protected and 

 used. If possible, it is very good practice 

 to take heavy combs of honey from the 

 brood-nest at this time, and put them be- 

 low, giving the queen an abundance of 

 room in empty combs in the upper story, 

 and furnishing more honey, far from the 

 cluster, when the bees will busy themselves 



again to carry it above, all of which activity 

 jiromotes brood-rearing to the utmost. 



So successful has been this practice that 

 we have felt no need of any regular feeding 

 save in rare cases, for this plan as given 

 above promotes activity within the hive, and 

 with but one or two manipulations of each 

 colony it produces as large and productive 

 colonies as we have ever seen produced by 

 regular feeding, and with far less labor. 

 Even in localities where, for various rea- 

 sons, the beekeeper may prefer to winter in 

 single bodies, the above practice may be 

 made highly profitable in the spring by 

 taking the combs of honey from the brood- 

 nest and putting them into a body which 

 is to be put below the regular brood-nest. 

 In all cases it may be advisable, especially 

 for the beginner, to contract the entrance, 

 so that the bees may easily repel robbers. 



The well-known disposition of the bees to 

 rear their brood near the entrance while 

 storing their honey in the more remote 

 pai'ts of the hive may perhaps explain the 

 splendid results secured by this method of 

 automatic stimulating, as the bees wish to 

 move the honey to the more secure position. 

 Perhaps those using a deep bottom-board 

 like that of Dr. C. C. Miller may secure 

 good results by taking a comb of honey 

 from the brood-nest and laying it on a few 

 sticks, in the deep space of the bottom- 

 board ; but the use of a liive-body is better, 

 as several combs of honey may be taken 

 from the brood-nest at one time and put 

 below. The removal of most of the honey 

 from the brood-nest gives the bees room for 

 more brood in a single body, where it is 

 more compact and easily cared for during 

 cool nights, while it is not so soon necessary 

 for the beas to begin rearing brood in an- 

 otlier body, with the ever-present difficulty 

 in crossing over into another body, over 

 about IY2 inches of top-bar, bottom-bar, 

 and bee-space. 



Meridian, Idaho. 



A BUSINESS POLICY IN THE APIARY 



r.Y .JOHN W. LOVE 



Not long ago, in response to a request for 

 settlement of an acccount, a beekeeper 

 promised to pay part of his bill as soon as 

 he disposed of some trees for the sale of 

 which lie was acting as agent. 



Why should he have to wait until he had 

 sold his trees before he paid his bills? Was 



his bee business so unprofitable that he had 

 to sink into it the income from other lines 

 of work? Or was he not allowing other 

 lines of business to depend upon his bees 

 not only for capital but for running ex- 

 penses as well? 



This is too commonly the situation with 



