i66 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



[August. 



ronized this pan well, sometimes tak- 

 ing three gallons of water a day, and 

 carrying water on days when they 

 could not possibly have gone to natur- 

 al sources for water. (I even saw 

 them carrying water one day while 

 snow was falling and the temperature 

 was only 35.) The hill-colonies all 

 through the cold spring were obliged 

 to get their water as best they could. 

 One of those hill colonies 

 this spring surpassed even my 

 choicest home colonies Four out 

 of the eight showed strength by 



which enters the winter with forty 

 pounds of stores, 15,000 to 30,000 bees, 

 and a vigorous queen of that season 

 will surpass the next spring any col- 

 ony which is made to depend upon 

 spring-feeding. 



Therefore, if you wish your col- 

 onies to push ahead in spring to take 

 advantage of an early flow, see that 

 they have vigorous queens, plenty of 

 bees, and plenty of honey the fall be- 

 fore. 



I should state that my colonies are 

 in hives constructed for the welfare 



APIARY OF DR. E. N. FRANCIS, UVALDE, TEX. 



May first that would delight most of 

 us June first. Two years ago this 

 same strongest colony, merely by 

 chance, for the queens were unrelated, 

 was so strong that it built five square 

 feet of new comb before the first of 

 M'ay." Gathered so much honey from 

 maples and moved so much old honey 

 to make room for their queen that 

 they occupied five of the mammoth 

 storage frames, frames 16 by 11, this 

 in April at this latitude. 



These hill-colonies are not abnor-. 

 mal. They are natural. Any colony 



of the bees rather than the convenience 

 of the bee-keeper, since in their con- 

 struction I sacrificed some of the 

 ease of manipulation in order to in- 

 sure to the bees every advantage. 

 They pay me good interest for my 

 sacrifice, and as I manipulate them 

 but little I can afiford to put up with 

 some inconvenience. . I make these 

 last statements that tt may ,be clear 

 that good spring protection must supr 

 plement the three requisites mentiohr 

 ed above for rousing 3prin^ colonies. 



Norwich,- Conn^ ; ^ 



