94 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 1 



diet is quite the other way, and will prob- 

 ably never be reversed. 



The remarks of the author on the prog- 

 ress of anatomy and biology since 1840 are 

 interesting in the extreme, showing that 

 nearly all that is worth knowing on these 

 vital subjects has been learned during the 

 very short period of human existence com- 

 prised within sixty j'ears. We owe the 

 writer more than a passing ' ' vote of thanks' ' 

 for this little essay, for it is one of great 

 merit. 



GUARDING AGAINST STARVATION. 



" (jood morning, Mr. Doolittle. I have 

 come almost half way across the continent 

 (by letter) to have a little talk with you re- 

 garding the best way to guard against bees 

 starving before feeding can be done in the 

 spring. I have fears that my bees have not 

 honey enough to carry them through till 

 warm weather comes." 



"Really, what you wish to know, then, 

 is the best way to guard against bees starv- 

 ing in winter." 



"Yes, that is right." 



"Then I am inclined to answer, the best 

 way is to ktiow that each colony has suffi- 

 cient stores in the fall to last till the ilow- 

 ers bloom in the spring; and if we know 

 this we need have no fears as to their safe- 

 ty along this line." 



"How much stores should each colony 

 have on the 15th day of October, so that I 

 might know that there is no danger of starv- 

 ation before the flowers bloom in the 

 spring?" 



"When I first began bee-keeping I found 

 one writer saying that 35 pounds was the 

 needed amount, while another gave 25 

 pounds as right for a colony where winter- 

 ed on the summer stand, and 20 pounds for 

 those colonies which were to be wintered in 

 the cellar during four or five months of the 

 coldest weather." 



"But suppose they do not have 25 pounds 

 in their hive October 1st to 15th; what is to 

 be done?" 



"Each colony should be fed enough to 

 make up that amount, and it will be much 

 better to do the feeding the fore part of Oc- 

 tober than later." 



"What should I feed?" 

 "In feeding for winter stores I find the 

 following formula the best of any: Pour 15 

 lbs. of water into a suitable-sized vessel, 

 and set it over the iire till it boils. Then 

 stir in 30 pounds of granulated sugar, stir- 

 ring so it will not settle to the bottom and 

 burn. As soon as the whole boils, set it off 

 the fire and stir in 5 lbs. of extracted honey. 

 This makes 50 lbs. of good feed for winter- 

 ing." 



"But suppose some colonies have more 

 stores of honey than they need, and others 

 not enough — what then?" 



"If you have movable-frame hives the 

 matter is very simple — just exchange 

 frames, taking full frames from the heavy 

 colonies and giving them lighter frames 

 from those not having sufficient, till all col- 

 onies have the desired amount, when, if any 

 are still lacking, they can be fed with the 

 sugar syrup, as spoken of before." 



"But the question I really asked was not 

 from the time the flowers ceased blossoming 

 in the fall tUl they commenced again in the 

 spring, but till feeding can be done in 

 the spring. How much would be needed in 

 that case?" 



"This is something different, and some- 

 thing not often spoken about, yet it is some- 

 thing well worth knowing; for I claim that, 

 if there is any time when it is profitable to 

 feed colonies to keep them from starving, it 

 is in the spring of the year." 

 "Why?" 



"Because if we let them die now we lose 

 all they have consumed thus far; and, be- 

 sides, feeding in the spring tends toward 

 bringing the colony in the very best possi- 

 ble shape to give a good yield of honey dur- 

 ing the honey harvest." 



"Do you think, then, it would be better 

 to reserve feeding till spring, for this pur- 

 pose?" 



"I would hardly wish to say that, for I 

 think October is the month to know that all 

 have honey enough to carry them through 

 till flowers bloom in the spring. However, 

 there are some good apiarists who advocate 

 this, believing it to their advantage to re- 

 serve the feeding necessary to be done to 

 give sufficient stores during April and May, 

 till April and May arrive, providing we 

 can know that no colon3' will starve before 

 that time." 



"Did you ever work on that plan?" 

 ' ' Yes. One fall I found my colonies aver- 

 aging quite light in stores; and as I was 

 short of money to buy sugar with I allowed 

 only 18 lbs. to each colony designed to be 

 wintered on its summer stand; and from 12 

 to 14 lbs. for those to be placed in the cel- 

 lar, and found, by equalizing the stores in 

 all, that I did not have to feed that fall. 

 These were fed in the spring with a cheap- 

 er grade of sugar than could be used for 

 fall feeding, and they built up and did 

 well; but on the whole I prefer to feed in 

 the fall all that is necessary to last till ap- 

 ple-bloom." 



" But suppose the colonies have been neg- 

 lected in the fall so that I do not know just 

 how many pounds each colony has; or this 

 has come about through sickness in the 

 family, how am I to guard against starva- 

 tion in such a case?" 



"On some mild day when it thaws a lit- 

 tle, without the sun shining (you can see 

 best on a cloudy day), go over the colonies 

 which are out by removing what you have 

 over the cloth covering to the frames, and 

 then gently roll this covering up till you 



