418 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 1 



SPRING DWINDLING. 



Tliree Pi-incipal Causes, and the Remedies; 



Tin Markers to Show the Age and 



Value of the Queens. 



BY E. W. ALEXANDER. 



During the first month after taking bees 

 from their winter quarters there are usually 

 more colonies lost than during the other 

 eleven months of the year; and it seems real- 

 ly harder to bear the loss then than at any 

 other time, for we know that, if we can keep 

 them alive and in their hives during those 

 chilly, cloudy, changeable days of early 

 i-pring, we can soon have them good colonies 

 for the coming summer. While there are 

 several conditions that help to bring about 

 these disastrous results, there are three that 

 stand out as the principal causes of spring 

 dwindling. 



The first cause is an old queen — one that 

 stopped laying early the previous fall. Col- 

 onies with such queens become weak in bees 

 during the latter part of winter, and, not be- 

 ing able to keep their hives warm enough, 

 they are soon affected with dysentery, and, 

 alter they are set out, they waste away until 

 none are left. This cause of spring dwin- 

 dling can be easily prevented by introducing 

 young queens early in the summer, so they 

 will have a fine lot of brood at the close of 

 the season. 



Another serious cause is poor honey for 

 winter stores. This is a more frequent cause, 

 and far more disastrous than the loss from 

 old queens, for the losses from poor winter 

 stores affect all colonies alike, and the poor 

 bees die by the thousands while in the cellar, 

 and still faster when first set out, until near- 

 ly every colony is dead. 



One winter I lost 417 colonies from this 

 cause out of 432; but we can now prevent all 

 loss from this source by giving our bees 

 sugar syrup to winter on in the place of un- 

 suitable honey. 



Another very serious cause of spring 

 dwindling is the desire of the bees to fly on 

 those changeable days I spoke of above. This 

 loss can also be almost wholly prevented by 

 placing the hives, when taken from the cel- 

 lar, so the entrance will face the north; then 

 in addition to this have a shade-board so it 

 can be easily placed where it will shade the 

 entrance still more, and somewhat darken it. 

 To prevent still further their desire to fly on 

 cloudy days, give the colonies about a pint 

 of warm sweetened water every night about 

 daik. This will encourage them to breed 

 fast, and at the same time prevent thousands 

 from becoming lost on chilly days in search 



of water. If you prefer to have the hives 

 face some other direction it is but a short job 

 to turn them around to any point after the 

 changeable weather of early spring has gone 

 by. Please try this method, and you will 

 find that the bees will have but little desire 

 to fly except when the temperature is warm 

 enough to fly safely in the shade; consequent- 

 ly the old bees are saved until the colony 

 has a fine lot of maturing brood. 



As experience enables us to cast aside the 

 fatal results of spring dwindling, it seems as 

 if we had taken another step forward along 

 the line of progress. The cares and anxiety 

 of another busy season will soon be here, and 

 our plans should be well matured for the 

 coming summer. Have you secured your 

 necessary help and your supplies? Do you 

 know how much increase you will make and 

 how you will make it? Have you decided 

 whether you will rear your queens or buy 

 them? If you intend to purchase, have you 

 sent in your order? If not, attend to this at 

 once. I find that some of our best queen- 

 breeders have now (Feb. 35) all the queens 

 engaged that they can rear the coming sea- 

 son. These are important matters to look 

 after, and should be attended to very soon. 



HOW TO KEEP THE RECORD OF THE QUEENS. 



I am frequently asked through the mails 

 what system we have adopted to keep a cor- 

 rect record of the age and quality of our 

 queens. I think I have answered this ques- 

 tion before in some of my former articles; 

 but it is so easy and practicable it will bear 

 repeating for the benefit of those who have 

 not seen it. We cut out a few hundred 

 pieces of tin, about IJ inches in diameter. 

 Some we made round, some half round, and 

 some square; then with a small wire nail or 

 a brad-awl we make a hole in the center of 

 each piece. Every summer we use a differ- 

 ent-shaped piece of tin to mark all the hives 

 that have queens of that summer's rearing. 

 Two years ago we used the square pieces; 

 last year we used the round pieces; this sum- 

 mer we will use the half-round. We tack 

 one on the front right-hand corner of each 

 hive, with a carpet-tack. They are easy to 

 remove; and whatever hive a queen occupies 

 during her life, that tin tag goes with her. 

 In marking our common ordinary queens 

 the tag is placed on the corner of the hive 

 about two inches above the bottom- board. 

 If the queen is better than ordinary, the tag 

 is raised up the corner according to her real 

 worth. If she is a little off in any way we 

 put the tin toward the other side of the hive, 

 according to how poor she is. In this way 

 it takes only a moment to mark the hive so 

 that, at a glance, we can tell at any time we 

 see the front of a hive the age and quality of 

 the queen it contains. 



We have practiced this method for about 

 forty years, and during this time we have 

 tried some others, but have never been able to 

 find another so easy and practicable as this. 



If you will try it I am sure you will never 

 again neglect this very important part of the 

 business. 



