72 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



cate of stimulative feeding in spring; 

 of late I am of tlie opinion that more 

 harm than good is caused by it. If a 

 colony is lacking in stores it must be 

 fed of course ; this rule must be strictly 

 followed, but is a far different matter 

 from that of urging the production of 

 brood at too early a date. New Eng- 

 land weather is capricious ; a few days 

 of bright warm sunshine are liable to 

 be followed by a protracted season of 

 severely cold weather; an excess of 

 brood at such a time is a positive in- 

 jury. The bees intent upon their own 

 preservation, still desirous of protect- 

 ing their brood, hesitate about forming 

 that cluster necessary to keep them 

 alive, and the result is, that the brood 

 is not only finally chilled past recov- 

 ery, but a vast number of the workers 

 lay down their lives, and thus com- 

 pletely destroy the effectiveness of the 

 colony for the season, without haviug 

 accomplished any good whatever. 



Beekeepers ought to know almost 

 to a day, when the first yield of honey 

 will be found; and knowing this, can 

 easily, if a colony is worth preserving, 

 so build it up as a rule, without stimu- 

 lation, that it will be fully able to take 

 advantage thereof. Nothing more than 

 this seems to be needed, and nothing 

 less will produce the best results. 

 Each colony, however, must be a " rule 

 unto itself," and it is only by experi- 

 mental practice that the best course to 

 pursue can be learned. Not being an 

 advocate of stimulative feeding, I shall 

 not attempt to give any instructions as 

 to best ways and means, but will say 

 that a large amount of water is used 

 during brood rearing, consequently the 

 food used should be largely diluted 

 therewith, else many bees will be lost 

 in the attempt to obtain it from outside 

 the hive, at a time when the tempera- 

 ture is too low for them to fly out with 

 safety. 



ANSWER BY G. W. DEMAREK. 



I have practised stimulative feeding, 

 more or less, every spring for several 

 years past. Doubtless location, as 

 pertains to earliness or lateness of 

 honey resources, has much to do with 

 the question. 



1. It has paid me to stimulate weak 

 colonies, and especially such as are 

 scarce of stores. 2. It pays to stim- 

 ulate strong colonies to get early 

 swarms if they are desirable, or to get 

 early queen cells if they are wanted. 

 Otherwise it does not pay. 



I feed sweetened water in any good 

 cheap feeder. The amount fed de- 

 pends altogether on the size of the 

 colony. One pint of warm water, in 

 which two ounces of sugar has been 

 dissolved, is sufficient for a large col- 

 ony if fed to them once a day, provided 

 the colony has some stores in reserve. 



I usually commence stimulative feed- 

 ing as soon as the first natural pollen 

 begins to come in, which is generally 

 about the twentieth of March here. 



As far as my observation extends, 

 stimulative feeding increases activity 

 in bees, and for this reason I defer the 

 feeding till bees can safely be on the 

 wing almost daily, at intervals. 



A fair experience has led me to be- 

 lieve that it does not pay to stimulate 

 full colonies that have plenty of stores, 

 with the object of obtaining a greater 

 quantity of honey. 



Christiansburg , Eij. 



QUESTIONS BY L. E. BURNHAM. 



1. If you had colonies in the cellar 

 which became short of stores before 

 spring what method would you adopt 

 to feed such colonies? 



2. Would you recommend remov- 

 ing bees on a fine day to the open air 

 and returning them again to the cellar 

 after they have had a purifying fliglit? 



3. At what time in the spring would 

 you advise removing the burlap sheet 

 which covers the brood nest and .sub- 

 stituting therefor an enamelled cloth 

 or any covering to arrest the escape 

 of heat from the brood chambers? 



4. At what time (in our climate) 

 would you advise removing bees from 

 cellar to their summer stand? 



Essex, Mass. 



ANSWERS BY L. C. ROOT. 



1. If I had no sealed honey in combs 

 I would fill a comb with liquid honey 

 or sugar syrup, and place it in the 

 hive at the side of the cluster of bees, 

 and cover it well to keep it warm. Let 

 the liquid be warm when put into the 

 comb. 



2. If bees are reasonably quiet in 

 their winter quarters, leave them un- 

 disturbed. 



3. Change them when they are 

 placed on their summer stands in 

 spring. 



4. About the first of May. 



We were unable to give Mr. Rasin's 

 questions attention this month.— Ed. 



