GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



for two or three days» Now, what will be 

 the result? The queen will immediately 

 enlarge the brood to the ability of the bees 

 to cover, as at first, and the bees will mature 

 the brood so long as there is no need of feel- 

 ing economical. 



Why not a liltle warm syrup every eve- 

 ning, after the good old orthodox way? 

 "Well, that's all right with a few hives or 

 one yard, if you would prefer doing it a 

 little at a time and just at dark, so the bees 

 will not fly. But if you have more than 

 you can feed at dusk, why make every colo- 

 ny go through the excitement, wearingi 

 themselves out trying to find something 

 every time you feed? Save time and bees 

 by " doping 'em up " all they will need at 

 one feed. What if you give them too much? 

 Well, in my locality, with my bees, that 

 would be just right. 



You'll be surprised at the way it will be 

 turned into brood in the spring. Of course, 

 now, you know that if a good flow from 



fruit-bloom, willow, or if clover is likely to 

 yield soon, you wouldn't " dope 'em up " so 

 heavily as to have syrup left to go into the 

 supers — no danger, probably, of this before 

 fruit-bloom; for with plenty of room the 

 right kind of bees will use up any surplus 

 of stores after fruit-bloom and before clover. 



To recapitulate: In the sj^ring bees will 

 mature all tlie brood they can keep warm, if 

 they have plenty of stores. If they run 

 short enough to cause a slacking off of 

 brood-rearing, give them feed, and give 

 them plenty of it, for best results. If you 

 v,?ish to call this "stimulative feeding," good, 

 although the idea should not be entertained 

 that the brood-nest can be enlarged indef- 

 initely in early spring simply by a little 

 feed given regularly. Dr. Miller is un- 

 doubtedly right in holding that this idea in 

 the head of an inexperienced person might 

 do more harm than good. 



Dunlap, Iowa. 



INDIANA NOTES 



BY S. H. BURTON 



Prospects for a honey crop are anything 

 but encouraging in this or " Hooppole Tp., 

 Posey Co., Injany." The cold backward 

 season has retarded brood-rearing, and 

 bees are very light in stores. It looks now, 

 June 1, as if I would have to resort to feed- 

 ing — a condition never heard of before in 

 this locality. 



White clover is just beginning to come 

 back. Patches of it can be seen along the 

 roadside, and a few blooms scattered over 

 the meadows. As predicted in a former 

 article, it will be some time before this sec- 

 tion of the country produces any white- 

 clover honej'. 



Bees have worked freely on yellow poplar 

 between showers ; but the rainy weather has 

 spoiled the prospect from that source. 



T am in love with the gray Caucasians. 

 They are unquestionably the gentlest bee I 

 ever handled; and as to breeding I will say 

 you just ought to see a colony that was 

 started five weeks ago. A queen was put 

 on tAvo frames of Italian brood with about 

 a pint of bees, and to-day that colony is 

 nearly as strong as any in the yard. I have 

 opened it many times without gloves, veil, 

 or smoke, and have yet to receive the first 

 sting from them. After handling a cross 

 race of Italians tliat will fly at my hand by 

 the hundreds when passing it over the brood- 

 frames, it is a pleasure to work with the 

 gray Caucasians. 



What is it worth to transfer a colony 

 from a tree into a hive if the owner of the 

 tree falls it for you and helps cut the log 

 open? 



There are a good many drawbacks to the 

 Alexander plan of making increase. It is 

 conducive to swarming, and fails to attain 

 the desired end at times. I have had bees 

 refuse to start queen-cells in the upper 

 story with the queen confined below. 



The plan I like best is to divide the colo- 

 ny, placing the nuclei on the original stand 

 with or without the queen, and placing the 

 original colony beside it. After both are 

 started again nicely, remove the old colony 

 to a new location. 



I don't like brood-frames made from Cal- 

 ifornia redwood. The wood is too brittle to 

 do a neat job of wedging in foundation, and 

 the wood is inclined to sliver and split 

 easily. 



Washing-ton, Ind. 



Intensive Fanning 



They used to have a farming rule 

 Of forty acres and a mule. 



Results were won liy later men 

 With forty square feet and a hen. 



Anil nowadays success we see 

 With forty inches and a bee. — Ex 



