THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



83 



Now, place the end of founda- 

 tion in the fastener as usual, being 

 careful to put it in square and 

 fasten, doing all in the sunshine, 

 so as to keep up the heat. 



If now the top of the section be 

 tipped away from the fastener, and 

 the section turned clear over in 

 that waj', the limp foundation will 

 hang straight and drop square into 

 the bottom of the section until it 

 ' strikes the bottom-bar. Now raise 

 lever again and place this end in 

 as before. Observe carefully how 

 high to raise the lever to have it 

 stretch the foundation just as much 

 as it will bear, while it is yet as 

 warm as directed above. This 

 is indeed a nice job, but it can soon 

 be learned, and the work can be 

 speedily done by an expert, as the 

 time required to invert with one 

 hand and fasten with the other 

 does not exceed one-fourth loss 

 from the usual v^a.y. The work 

 must be done at a single stroke, as 

 an}' after work on it is sure to draw 

 the foundation all out of shape. 



In the absence of sunshine I 

 succeed just as well by a fire, keep- 

 ing the above principles strictly in 

 view. Sections must be square 

 and solid. 



Custer ParJc, III. 



SPRING MANAGEMENT OF 

 BEESy 



A. C. Miller. 



In beekeeping as in all other 

 branches of agriculture we must in 

 winter prepare for summer and in 

 summer for winter. It is time now 

 that we should be planning for our 

 spring work. 



Second in importance to the suc- 

 cessful wintering of bees, is the care 



^ An essay read before the R, I. Beekeepers' 

 Society, Dee. 22, 1886. 



they receive in the spring, as on it, 

 to a great extent, depends the suc- 

 cess or failure of the season. On 

 the first mild and pleasant day in 

 April, the colonies should be over- 

 hauled, all empty combs should be 

 removed, honey supplied where 

 needed and the brood-chamber con- 

 tracted until the bees fill it com- 

 pletely. Do not remove the chaff, 

 for the bees need it almost as much 

 now as in mid-winter. Thus ar- 

 ranged, the bees can keep the brood 

 apartment at that high temperature 

 so necessary for rapid and successful 

 brood- rearing. 



Raising the temperature of the 

 hive in the sprmg tends to stimulate 

 the queen to increased egg-laying ; 

 but to induce her to continue, other 

 methods must supplement it. Stim- 

 ulative feeding at this time is not safe, 

 as it induces the bees to fly out in 

 days when they would become so 

 chilled that they would be unable to 

 return and there are no bees to spare 

 at this season. 



The following plan works very 

 well with slight if any danger to 

 either brood or bees. After the 

 brood-chamber has been contracted 

 as directed, if there are any combs 

 having brood on but one side, turn 

 one of them so that the empty side 

 is toward the centre of the cluster. 

 This will give laying room for the 

 queen where she is quick to use it. 

 In about a week, repeat the operation 

 with another frame and so on until 

 the combs are full of brood ; then and 

 not until then is it safe to add more 

 empty combs. See that they have 

 plenty of honey at this time, for brood 

 rearing consumes a large amount of 

 it, and to have them run short of 

 stores will stop the queens laying and 

 sometimes cause the bees to destroy 

 all unhatched eggs and young larvae. 



As the season advances stimulative 

 feeding may be safely commenced ; 

 it will stir up any dilatory queens and 

 incite the others to increased activity. 

 About four ounces of diluted honey 



