PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE W T FALCONER MAIMFG CO 



VOL. II. 



MfVRGtt, 1892. 



NO. 3. 



Hints to Beginners in Bee 

 Culture. 



BY II. M. DEWITT. 



This is the month that we should 

 begin to feed and build up our bees, 

 especially our weak colonies, and to 

 get them ready for the honey har- 

 vest. Commence by giving them one 

 half pint thin sugar syrup each day; 

 do not feed them in the daytime, feed 

 them at night and they will have all 

 the feed taken down before the next 

 morning. This will start them to 

 rearing brood rapidly and by the 

 time the honey harvest arrives they 

 will be strong and overflowing with 

 bees ready for it. Make but a -lim- 

 ited number of swarms and make 

 them strong and early. Late natural 

 swarms should be returned to the par- 

 ent hive, about twenty-four hours 

 after hiving them. The colonies that 

 work freely on red clover should be 

 used as breeders in preference to 

 others as the tongues of these bees 

 are evidently longer. 



The old queen always goes with the 

 first swarm unless she is unable to fly. 

 When making artificial swarms raise 

 your.jueens ami drones from the best 

 colonies. A queen less colony will 

 raise queens at once if it has larvie 



less than three days old and these 

 queens will hatch within 10 to 12 

 days. If you give your bees a good 

 supply of empty combs before the be- 

 ginning of the honey crop and keep 

 them at work they will rarely swarm. 

 But if they once find themselves 

 crowded and get the swarming fever, 

 nothing will keep them from swarm- 

 ing. The honey harvest hists but a 

 few weeks, so you must be ready for 

 it. "Make hay while the sunshines." 

 When hiving a swarm give them a 

 hive full of worker comb, or comb 

 foundation if possible, or else give 

 them narrow stripes for guides, but 

 do not give them a hive partly filled 

 with comb, as they would be sure to 

 build a great deal of drone comb in 

 the remaining space. 



BEE DIARRHEA, FOUL BROOD, ETC 



Bee diarrhea in the latter part of 

 winter and early spring is a malady 

 that effects some apiaries. The 

 discharge their excrein r the 



hives and combs, producing a dark 

 appearance and offensive odor. The 

 cause is either fermented hon< 

 proper food, long confinement, or too 

 warm and poorly ventilated quai 

 Give them good rapped honey and a 

 cleansing flight. If too cold for this 



