336 VEGETABLE FORCING 



to the hives if they are placed outside the greenhouses. 



Unless the colonies are well supplied with honey, it 

 will be necessary to furnish additional feed, except when 

 the colonies are outside and there is satisfactory bee 

 pasturage in the neighborhood. The feed may consist of 

 honey or sugar syrup. The bee needs a certain amount 

 of water. Some growers think it is an advantage to keep 

 water in a few crocks, with thin boards floating on the 

 surface. By most growers it is believed that the bees get 

 all the water they need without any special provision. 

 Care should be exercised not to spray the plants when 

 the bees are working for they are easily knocked to the 

 ground and drowned. Early morning watering will usu- 

 ally avoid any trouble of this kind. 



The bee moth is especially destructive to greenhouse 

 colonies. The hives should be examined at frequent 

 intervals and the larvae of the moth removed before they 

 have done much injury. Mice are also destructive to 

 bees and the openings to the hives should be so small 

 that mice cannot enter. 



With fair treatment, a colony of bees kept inside will 

 last at least 8 weeks, or long enough to pollenize a spring 

 crop. If the colonies should become weak and inefficient 

 at any time, new ones should be promptly substituted. 



An additional argument for placing the hives outside 

 the houses is that fumigation with tobacco or cyanide 

 will not impair the health of the bees, as it certainly will 

 unless the hives are removed at such times. 



Intercropping. The cucumber, on account of its large 

 leaves and vigorous habit of growth, is not well adapted 

 to companion cropping. However, lettuce and other 

 vegetables are sometimes grown for a time with cu- 

 cumber plants. For details, see Chapter XXI on systems 

 of cropping. 



Frame culture. The cucumber is well adapted to 

 frame culture and the crop is largely grown in frames of 





