1014 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Df,c. 15 



"Not very well; and if you could, it 

 would not be best, for bees winter better 

 with a vacant space under the combs, and 

 for this reason they will be more apt to 

 winter well than they would if fixed as you 

 propose. However, I would advise that, in 

 the future, the bees have only the number 

 of frames, or amount of hive space they can 

 fill, given them when they are hived; for 

 then, in case of frame hives (and 3'ou should 

 use no other), it would be easy to fill out 

 the hive with frames from other hives, or 

 contract with a division-board as best suit- 

 ed to your wants." 



"I will try to heed the advice. But there 

 is another part of this matter which I fear 

 is more serious still. I do not think that 

 any of them have sufficient stores for their 

 use till spring-. How can I feed them? I 

 shall have to feed them sugar syrup, as I 

 have no honey of any kind on hand." 



"In the first place, this matter should 

 have been looked after last fall, during 

 October, or earlier if you do not have flow- 

 ers which are likely to yield honey during 

 September, for winter is a very poor time 

 to feed bees. ' ' 



"I do not doubt the truth of this; but I 

 had so much to do that I did not get to it." 



" It might have paid you better to have 

 ' had so much to do with the bees ' that you 

 did not get to other things; but as this was 

 not looked after when it should have been, 

 we must meet the conditions as we find 

 them. Therefore I would arrange the 

 hives so I could inspect them every week, 

 without disturbing them after the arrang- 

 ing, except to lift the covering over them, 

 which can be done so gently that the bees 

 will not notice it." 



"What would this covering be?" 



"Any piece of old blanket, carpet, or 

 something of the kind that will keep in the 

 heat and allow the moisture to pass through 

 will answer, and can be turned up noise- 

 lessly, and without any jar to the hive." 



" That is easy. Now how inspect? " 



" To best inspect, take a sperm or wax 

 •candle with you into the cellar, as this is 

 far better than a lamp for this purpose, as 

 you can throw the light where you wish it 

 without the heat aft'ecting the bees. Having 

 the caudle held near the top of the hive, 

 -carefully raise the covering, and, as soon 

 as raised, run the eyes over the tops of the 

 •combs; and as long as any sealed honey is 

 seen near the bees, no feeding is necessary, 

 and the bees should not be further disturb- 

 ed. If no such honey is seen, then the bees 

 must be fed." 



"But suppose I see sealed honey, but it 

 is not near the cluster of bees." 



"If there is plenty of sealed honey on 

 one side of the hive while the cluster of 

 bees is on the other, the combs should be 

 changed so the honey will be near the bees, 

 fixing something over the tops of the frames 

 under the covering, so that the bees can 

 easily move over the tops of the frames on 

 to this honey, else they may starve by fail- 

 ing to cross over or around to the honey. ' ' 



" But suppose I see no sealed honey at 

 all, and it becomes necessary to feed, how 

 is this to be done?" 



" Then you will remove one or two of the 

 empty combs from the side of the hive fur- 

 thest from the bees, so as to disturb them as 

 little as possible, and also not to have live 

 bees on the combs when they are taken to 

 be filled with syrup." 



" How about the syrup? " 



" This should be of about the consistency 

 of honey, and about blood-warm, so as to 

 go into the cells easily, yet not melt the 

 combs." 



" How do you get it into the cells? When 

 I have tried to fill combs, the syrup runs 

 right over the tops of the cells instead of en- 

 tering them." 



" To get it into the cells, pour in a fine 

 stream from a dipper, or some utensil hav- 

 ing a spout, which should be held a foot or 

 more above the comb so that the falling liq- 

 uid will force the air out of the cells, thus 

 filling them. If this is not done, the syrup 

 will simply run over the tops of the cells 

 and not fill them, just as you say." 



" Many thanks for this kink. I now see 

 why I failed. But won't the syrup spatter 

 all over when we work thus? " 



" To prevent spattering and daubing 

 things, it is best to lay the comb flat down 

 in some rather deep vessel so that the sides 

 of this vessel will catch all that flies off, 

 thus preventing all waste also, so that what 

 is caught in this vessel can be used for fill- 

 ing other combs." 



"When I have the combs filled, what 

 then? " 



" After filling as many combs as you 

 wish, spread the frames of combs in the 

 hive till you divide them where there are a 

 few bees on the combs, at one side of the 

 cluster, and place the combs of syrup in 

 the emptj' space thus made, when all should 

 be brought up to bee-space apart again." 



" How much would you set in at a time?" 



" Enough should be set in to last until 

 spring, if possible, so as not to be often dis- 

 turbing the bees." 



" But won't the bees fly out while I am 

 doing this? " 



" If you set the candle a little ways from 

 the bees, and work carefully, being espe- 

 cially careful not to breathe upon them, you 

 will have no trouble — at least I do. not have 

 any trouble — from their flying when han- 

 dling in the cellar." 



" But what about those in the box hives?" 



"About all you can do with those is to 

 guess at their condition; and if you guess 

 they are short of stores, then turn the hives 

 bottom side up, and pour some of the blood- 

 warm syrup on the combs and bees. But 

 if I had bees thus in box hives I would as 

 soon risk them as to their starving as to 

 risk their dying from the disturbance neces- 

 sary to this way of feeding. The days of 

 box hives are past, and I trust that you 

 will not tolerate more of them later than 

 next June, when you can transfer to frame 

 hives the colonies which winter through." 



