GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



frames of the hive, with a round hole cut 

 therein that will just admit the neck of the 

 jar so that its shoulder will prevent its 

 going further into the hole, is a convenient 

 device to use in feeding with fruit-jars. 

 Several of these holes may be made in the 

 board, and as many jars of syrup be fed at 

 the same time. The board should be raised 

 above the top of the brood-frames by means 

 of cleats on the under side so the cheese- 

 cloth covering of the jars will be separat- 

 ed from the tops of the frames by a space 

 of % inch. 



It is usually estimated that from 25 to 35 

 lbs. of stores, depending on the strength of 

 the colony, is an abundance to carry it 

 through from the time bees settle down for 

 winter until they can gather honey in the 

 spring, which is usually not before the 

 middle of May. In ^vinter feeding, some de- 

 duction may be made from the total amount 

 of food required for the full wintering 

 season, allowing three or four pounds per 

 month for the time since the consumption 

 of winter stores began. It should be borne 

 in mind that, during the cold weather when 

 breeding is not in progress, bees consume 

 the least stores. 



If the above hints are instrumental in 

 saving a few colonies of bees, the writer 

 will be greatly pleased. 



Kenmore, N. Y., Dec. 3. 



[To this timely article we would add just 

 one word of caution. As a rule, feed in the 

 late afternoon so that the excitement may 

 not cause the bees to fly out when it is too 

 cold.— Ed.] 



BEEKEEPING IN JAMAICA 



How Bees Fared During Nine Days of Rain 



BY F. A. HOOPER. 



It may be a little interesting to readers 

 of Gleanings to know how bees fared 

 through nine days of torrential rain with a 

 southeasterly wind blowing at the rate of 

 25 or 30 miles per hour during the whole 

 time it rained. 



October went by with very little rain. 

 The rivers were low, and our ponds and 

 tanks were not nearly full enough. I fear- 

 ed another drouth like that which crip- 

 pled the last honey crop. On Sunday, 

 November 10, there was a grand electrical 

 storm which was seen throughout the island, 

 and the rain came down in torrents. A 

 strong southeasterly wind then set in, bend- 

 ing down the trees in the apiary ; and the 

 swaying of the branches knocked several 

 covers off the hives. T then found it nec- 

 essary to plare heavy stones on eacli hive 



to keep the covers from blowing off. On 

 Monday the rain was somewhat heavier, so 

 I thought it best to feed all the colonies in 

 the yard. I then fed over 250 colonies 

 with about 6 lbs. of muscovado sugar to 

 each. I wrapped the sugar in thin paper 

 parcels, then braved the driving rain and 

 wind, and succeeded in getting in a parcel 

 of the sugar. The most difficult task was 

 in taking out two frames from each super 

 to get in the sugar. It took myself and a 

 lad several hours to get through the feed- 

 ing, all except about a dozen colonies which 

 we were unable to feed, as we were getting 

 cramped from being wet so long. On re- 

 turning to the honey-house a neighbor ad- 

 vised me to take a " Johnnie Walker " as a 

 precaution against a cold; but as I do not 

 indulge in whisky, a hot cup of our native 

 cocoa answered the purpose. 



On Tuesday, the 12th, there was no abat- 

 ing in the rain and wind, and I feared the 

 other three apiaries were being hard hit, so 

 I ventured out and managed to feed two of 

 them, with the exception of about half a 

 dozen colonies in each yard. I will allude 

 to these unfed colonies later. 



The fourth ajoiary, which I look after 

 for my son-in-law, I could not visit until 

 Saturday, the 16th. This apiary is situated 

 near the seacoast, where there are vast 

 tracts of mangrove. This one was not fed, 

 so 1 lost a good number of colonies. For- 

 tunately the stands in this apiary are two 

 feet six inches high or the bees would have 

 been drowned, for the water was two feet 

 deep in the ajiiary. I had much trouble in 

 overhauling the bees, standing in water all 

 the time. I found ail the colonies dead 

 wiiich were short of honey — about 24 in 

 number. It appears that, when the bees 

 consumed all the honey in the hive, they ate 

 freely of the pollen, which gave them diar- 

 rhea, for the bottom-boards were smeared 

 with the pollen, and had an offensive smell. 

 Every bee was dead in those 24 hives, and 

 piled up on the bottom-boards. But in 

 three of the colonies that died I found one 

 solitary bee in each, and that one was the 

 queen. 



The weather now getting to be too bois- 

 terous to be far away from the home api- 

 ary, I made tracks for Clarendon, where the 

 home apiary is situated, taking the 5 :15 

 p. M. train from Old Harbour station. I 

 arrived at 6 P. M. It had not ceased rain- 

 ing in my absence, and the wind was get- 

 ting stronger. Sunday, the 17th, the wind 

 and rain were just as bad. I glanced at 

 the entrances of all the colonies at the home 

 apiary, and found five had died Avhile I was 

 absent. These were the ones I did not feed. 



Continued on page 815. 



