POULTRY AND BEES. 499 



done in the middle of the day, and the top of the hive at once 

 removed, allowing the sun to shine directly on the bees. Clean 

 hives, dry and warm, should be at hand, and the combs with 

 all the adherino; bees put into one of them. With the Lang- 

 stroth hive this is so easily done that there is no excuse for 

 neglect. The hive in which the bees were wintered can now 

 be washed, scalded, and made ready for another colony, or for 

 a swarm by-and-by. In making this change from one hive to 

 another, the condition of the bees can be ascertained. If they 

 have lost their queen, there will be no young brood hatching ; 

 and they must either be united with another colony, or brood, 

 or queen cells furnished them from some other colony Avho have 

 them to spare. If they have brood, they should be supplied 

 with water and rye flour. They cannot raise brood without 

 water, and by feeding rye flour you may gain from ten days to 

 three weeks in the hatching of the brood. A sponge saturated 

 in sweetened water, and put over one of the holes in the honey 

 board, is the best plan for supplying water. The following 

 most interesting communication from Messrs. Ijangstroth and 

 Son explains the feeding process, 



"As soon as the weather permits the be&s to fly and discharge 

 their accumulated f^ces they are ready to commence breeding 

 with vigor ; and experience demonstrates the advantage of now 

 beginning stimulative feeding, to encourage the spread of brood. 

 It is not the abundance of old stores of honey or pollen that , 

 tempts to early breeding, (though their scarcity will prevent it, 

 unless the deficiency is supplied,) but it is the sense of something 

 coming in that encourages the bees to hasten matters. There- 

 fore we supply them with this encouragement ; and where the 

 hives have plenty of honey, it is an open question with ud 

 whether in pleasant weather the Jiour alone is not all the 

 btimulus required. Let us tell you, readers, how we feed it 



