THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



April 



from there here are disappointed with 

 the appearance of things. But people 

 here thrive and fail just as elsewhere 

 although I am informed that .there is 

 not a poor-house in the state. 



With the thermometer ranging from 

 65 to 85 nearly every day of the winter, 

 living is greatly cheapened, so it is sel- 

 dom tha,t families come to actual want 

 here. 



It would be superfluous for me to 

 speak of the neatness, order and dis- 

 patch witnessed in Mr. Hill's apiary 

 and his manipulation of bees. But at 

 the risk of his refusing to publish it 

 (for I find him an over modest man) I 

 am going to tell his subscribers of his 

 genius as an artis,t, especially in the 

 photographic art. By nosing about his 

 office I find that he is so considered 

 by the art journals of the country, and 

 it is worth a trip to Florida, even from 

 far-away Michigan, to look over the 

 beautiful productions of his skill with 

 the camera, especially among the tro- 

 pics of Cuba and Florida. 



Fort Pierce, Fla., March 14, 1903. 



Building Up Strong Colonies in 

 the Spring. 



(Harold Hornor.) 



THIS subject has been brought up 

 a great many times, but for some 

 beginner who has not seen any 

 of the former articles, this may give 

 hiin one or two little hints which may 

 be useful. 



A crop of honey depends mainly on 

 the strength of the colony; of course, 

 there must be pasture for them to 

 gather their stores from. 



The lat,ter part of February, when the 

 bees commence flying, I set out some 

 very fine cornmeal in a warm, sunny 

 place. The bees go to work at it with 

 a will and carry it into the hives, work- 

 ing as late in the afternoon as it is 

 warm enough for them to fly. Some 

 bee-keepers put a little honey in the 

 meal, but I have found the bees will 

 not take any notice of the honey as 

 long as they can get the meal. They 

 seem to be very anxious for pollen in 

 some shape, and if they cannot get it 

 from the flowers they are glad to have 

 this substitute. 



As soon as the weather gets warm 

 enough to open the hives, examine the 



condition of the bees and see if the 

 queen is all right. If I have any frames 

 of honey, I put them in hives having 

 the least supplies, and put feeders on 

 all hives examined. The feeder I use 

 is a home-made one — a cigar box di- 

 vided lengthwise into three sections, 

 the divisions coming within three- 

 eights of an inch of the cover and hav- 

 ing the bottom corners cut ofif to allow 

 syrup when poured in to enter each 

 section. 



Next, cut one end three-eights of an 

 inch below cover t let bees enter box; 

 coat inside with parrafine; put one 

 small nail in cover; bore a half-inch 

 hole in one corner of cover opposite 

 pptrpn. e. to put funnel in for filling 

 with syrup. I put this feeder in fron,t 

 end of hives. This brings the hole in 

 cover close in one corner. 



All hives are slooed down in front 

 one-half of an inch. The feeder in this 

 position leaves the open end in highest 

 part of hive. The feeder will hold more 

 in this way, without running over. An 

 ordinary cigar box will hold one quart. 

 Cover the feeder with several thick- 

 nesses of burlap or old bags. 



When feeding, slip cover off a li,ttle, 

 turn back burlap to uncover auger- 

 hole, insert funnel and pour in a little 

 feed (from one-half to a full pint, ac- 

 cording to strength of colony) and re- 

 place burlap. No trouble with bees 

 coming out. If there are any bees in 

 feeder it does not make any difference; 

 they walk up ,the partitions inside. 



The syrup should be slightly warmed 

 and not too thick — little more than 

 sweetened water. The feeding should 

 be done towards night, to prevent rob- 

 bing. 



In two weeks examine again, and 

 spread brood a little until brood- 

 chamber is full of brood, then put an- 

 other story of drawn combs on, rais- 

 ing a few of the solid frames of brood 

 up from the lower story to the top 

 one, putting drawn combs in their 

 places. 



By this method I have had two 

 brood-chambers, sixteen frames, boil- 

 ing over with bees and ready for the 

 honey-flow. 



Mt. Holly. N. J., Jan. 21, 1903. 



Don't handle bees during chilly 

 weatlier. 



