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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



on shares, in view of the reports that have 

 come. No one can clean out foul brood un- 

 less he takes care of his old combs and 

 hives. 



Some three years ago Mr. Kirkpatrick 

 had a beautiful home which he bought and 

 paid for from the proceeds of his bees. We 

 saw the place, and greatly admired it. At 

 that time he had the reputation of being a 

 good beekeeper ; but in later years it would 

 appear that foul brood, and sickness and 

 death in his family, had materially handi- 

 capped him, with the result that he seems 

 to have lost heart and grown careless. 

 While we feel sorry for him, that does not 

 excuse him for letting other people's prop- 

 erty placed in bis hands go to ruin. 



If any one is going to put bees out on 

 shares he ought to make sure that there is 

 no foul brood anywhere in the locality 

 where the bees are to be worked. Another 

 thing that should be taken into considera- 

 tion is that one who may be able to handle 

 a small number of his own colonies with 

 success may make a complete failure when 

 he attempts to run the business on a larger 

 scale, especially if he attempts to operate 

 another's bees. 



How to Feed Bees on the Verge of 

 Starvation, without a Feeder, and do 

 it with a Minimum of Labor 



As explained, some of our outyards where 

 we moved colonies that were short of stores 

 were on the verge of starvation. If it would 

 only warm up so the bees could get at the 

 acres and acres of alsike clover, which was 

 in the height of its bloom, no feed would 

 be necessary; but it remained cold, and it 

 is cold yet, June 23, although the Weather 

 Bureau says we shall now have warmer 

 weather. But it no sooner warms up a little 

 than we have several days of cold. The re- 

 sult has been that one day we are expecting 

 swarming as the result of a rush of nectar, 

 and the next daj' we are expecting starved 

 bees and starved brood. This morning, June 

 23, the mercury was down to 50. Examin- 

 ation of some of the hives at the outyards 

 the previous night showed that some of the 

 biggest colonies in the Texas shipment did 

 not have half a dozen cells of honey. Some- 

 thing had to be done the next morning, and 

 that right speedily. To see what we could 

 do, we took along a can of very thick hon- 

 ey that we knew to be free from the germs 

 of foul brood. We hunted up an old two- 

 quart tin pail, bent one side of the rim so 

 that it had a mouth or delivery like that of 

 a coffee-pot. We filled this with thick hon- 

 ey, and proceeded to feed. A cold north 



wind was blowing. An attendant opened a 

 hive, blew some smoke over the top of the 

 frames until he drove the bees down from the 

 tops of the frames, or nearly so. We then 

 took our little pail of honey, and poured a 

 stream about a quarter of an inch in diam- 

 eter. This stream we trailed lengthwise up 

 and down the top-bars of all the frames. 

 In other words, we made railroad tracks 

 back and forth. These tracks were from a 

 half to three-fourths of an inch wide. 

 Sometimes they spread wide enough to run 

 down between the combs and among the 

 bees. If the colony was strong no harm was 

 done. The work was done quickly; and as 

 tlie honey was very thick, but little of it ran 

 down between Ihe combs. After feeding one 

 colony we cut off the drip and went to the 

 next hive. In like manner we went through 

 the whole fifty colonies in about thirty 

 minutes. When we got through with our 

 feeding we found we had used a trifle over 

 50 lbs. of honey. That is to saj^, we gave 

 each colony one pound of thick waxy honey 

 without the use of a feeder or appliance of 

 any sort save an old tin pail. A tin can of 

 any sort will do just as well provided the 

 rim on one side is made like that of a com- 

 mon coffee-pot beak so as to pour a small 

 stream. When a colony is on the verge of 

 starvation a pound of thick waxy honey is 

 quite sufficient to tide it over until nectar 

 from the fields comes in. 



Of course this method of feeding is appli- 

 cable only where a small amount is needed 

 to tide the bees over until a flow from the 

 flelds comes in. In feeding larger quanti- 

 ties, regular feeders, of course, should be 

 used. 



When giving food in this way, care 

 should be taken not to pour over the colony 

 enough so that it will run down between the 

 frames on the bottom-board. It might run 

 out at the entrance, and start an uproar of 

 robbing. 



Precaution should also be taken to drive 

 the bees down from the tops of the frames. 

 While it would do no great harm to daub 

 the bees with honey or syrup, it is best to 

 avoid it if possible. A bee that has been 

 smeared we do not believe is quite as good 

 a boe after, even if it is thoroughly cleaned 

 by its mates. If one will work carefully he 

 need daub hardly a bee. 



If the atmosphere is at all cool, lift the 

 covers from all the hives. If there is a cool 

 wind blowing, and the colony is not strong, 

 the bees will quickly go down between the 

 frames. Xow is the time to pour the syrup 

 over the tops of the frames, as explained, 

 and then put on the cover immediately after 

 each pouring. 



