THE AMERICAN APICULTUEIST. 



87 



water at this time of tlie j-ear and 

 if it is not supplied to tliem in sliape 

 of tliin food tliey will perish by 

 thousands in their endeavors to ob- 

 tain it, and yet great care should 

 be taken not to stimulate the bees 

 at the wrong time, as too much ob- 

 servation and experience will teach 

 you how to regulate these matters 

 better than we can. While the at- 

 mosphere in the brood nest, at this 

 time in the season should be moist 

 yet it is fatal to the bees if it be cold 

 and clammy. It must be warm as 

 well as moist and it is to gain this 

 condition that we contract the brood 

 chamber so that the bees will fill it 

 to the outside. In sections where 

 it is warm enough, combs may be 

 added just as fast as the queen can 

 fill them with eggs and the bees 

 cover the brood, being careful not 

 to spread brood too last. Do not 

 be in too great a hurry to remove 

 palcking and cushions, but leave 

 them until the last traces of frost and 

 chills are gone. Look out as soon 

 as possible for feeble queens and 

 queenless stocks. Unite all weak 

 stocks, as one strong one is better 

 than several weak ones and less 

 attention will be needed to keep 

 them alive. It is a good plan when 

 the weather is warm enough, to re- 

 move all the combs from a hive and 

 cleanse it thoroughly by brushing 

 out all the dead bees, dirt, etc. If 

 the cushions over the brood cham- 

 bers becomedamp, remove the caps 

 when the sunisoutand let them dry ; 

 after this turn them over and repeat 

 the operation. If the water stands 

 in puddles around the hives it is 

 best to adopt some means to drain 

 it away, as it will not only dampen 

 the hives causing the combs to 

 mould but also drown large numbers 

 of bees when they fly out. 



We would again urge upon you 

 the importance of having every thing 

 prepared before the season opens. 

 This advice applies more particular- 

 ly to those who lack experience, as 



our successful apiarists attend to 

 this matter carefully. 



If you choose to feed some arti- 

 ficial pollen, take a box, place it in 

 some sheltered sunny corner of the 

 apiary, put in it some wheat flour 

 throwing in a few small stones on 

 which the bees may alight. To get 

 the bees started at work on it, place 

 a small piece of comb lioney in the 

 box and soon you will find the bees 

 haid at icork. They will discontinue 

 carrying in the flour just as soon as 

 natural pollen appears. 



While we strongly advocate stim- 

 ulative feeding yet we would cau- 

 tion the inexperienced against 

 commencing too early and feeding 

 too much thin food. All that they 

 need is just enough to keep the 

 brood supplied and supply the 

 needed water. 



In closing we would repeat the 

 advice as follows : 



Keep the biood chambers well 

 contracted and yourcolonies snugly 

 packed and warm if you want good 

 strong stocks when the honey flow 

 comes. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 

 Editor Am. Apiculturist : 



Dear Sir : 

 Allow me to acknowledge the 

 receipt of a sample copy of 

 the " Apiculturist " received a 

 short time ago. Though bearing 

 date of May,"l883, it w^as the first 

 copy I had seen, having been dur- 

 ing the past season on my way to 

 and travelling through this state. I 

 left Omaha, Nebraska, the latter 

 part of April, 1883, visiting the 

 apiaries of Mr. Van Dorn at that 

 city, Mr. Hawly at Lincoln, at- 

 tended the beekeepers' convention 

 at Independence, Mo., and visited 

 a numl^er of the apiaries in the 

 vicinity. 



