(Entered at the Post-Office at Chicago as Second-Class Mail-Matter.) 

 Published Weekly at $1.00 a Year, by George W. York & Co., 334 Dearborn St. 



GEORGE W. YORK, Editor 



CHICAGO, ILL, MARCH 22, 1906 



VoL XLVI-No. 12 



^ 



(Sbttortal Hotes 

 anb Comments 



j 



Mild Winters and Locality 



Jones says: "Last winter my bees used up an un- 

 usually small amount of stores, just as might be expected, 

 for they always need the least stores in the mildest winters." 



Smith says : "Last winter my bees drew heavily on 

 stores, and I've always noticed that the warmer the winter 

 the heavier the consumption of stores." 



Jones is right ; so is Smith. Jones lives far enough 

 north so that the bees have very few winter flights, and 

 even in the mildest winters they would be better off if they 

 could fly oftener ; so the amount of stores they need is 

 measured by the amount of cold they must endure ; the 

 more cold the more fuel to keep them warm. Smith lives 

 far enough south so the bees can always fly enough for 

 their needs even in the severest winters. The winters 

 always being mild, and the cold never severe, it doesn't 

 take such a great deal of fuel to keep up the necessary heat, 

 but when the bees get to flying it takes a good deal to make 

 up the waste caused by so much motion, and so the milder 

 the winters the more flying and the more stores used. 



Just where is the line south of which Jones can not be 

 found, and north of which Smith can not be found is a thing 

 not easy to determine with accuracy ; but taking the central 

 and eastern part of the United States, it may probably be 

 found somewhere between the 35th and the 40th parallel. 



How About Your Bees' Stores? 



" About this time of year," as the almanacs used to say, 

 it becomes necessary to suggest to beginners, as well as to 

 some others, that it would be a good thing to take an inven- 

 tory of the bees' larders to see whether there is any danger 

 of their running short. Especially in northern locations 

 the thought is likely to be : " The severe cold is now letting 

 up, it is warm enough for the bees to fly every day, and con- 

 sumption of stores must be a good deal less than when it 

 was cold enough to keep them in their hives all the time ;" 

 and it takes years to get over that thought. The fact is 

 that the consumption is greatly increased, and for two rea- 

 sons : One is that the bees are now active, and activity can 

 only be at the expense of stores ; the other is that it takes a 



very large quantity of stores to feed the brood that is com- 

 ing on in increasing numbers. 



If your hives are 10-frame, or larger, and you know that 

 they were heavy with honey in the fall, it may not be worth 

 while to bother your head about them — the less they are dis- 

 turbed the better. But if you are uncertain about it, and 

 especially if you have 8-frame hives, better look into the 

 hives the first day warm enough for bees to fly, and find out 

 for certain. If far enough south, you may be surprised to 

 find that the mild winter has caused more than the usual 

 consumption. 



What and How to Feed Bees in Spring 



The best time to feed for spring needs, if feeding is 

 necessary, is the previous fall. Unfortunately beginners 

 are likely to be remiss in this matter, and when they dis- 

 cover in the spring that starvation is imminent, they begin 

 franctically to inquire as to the what and how of feeding. 

 The best thing, Mr. Beginner, is to have on hand from the 

 previous year a stock of combs filled with sealed honey, 

 ready to give to any colony that is lacking. Then give 

 liberally, so that there will be more than enough to last till 

 the fields offer a bountiful supply. But of course you 

 haven't the sealed combs, and it isn't worth while to exas- 

 perate you by mentioning them, only it may help a little to 

 make you look out for them the coming season. 



Perhaps you may hive on hand some candied honey. 

 C. P. Dadant advises its use in this way : Smear it over 

 the top-bars of the brood-frames, above the cluster of bees, 

 and back of them. If put too far forward, it may drip down 

 near the entrance, and favor robbing. Take pains to get at 

 least one or two bees started on it 'by putting a little of it 

 down within reach. 



If you have no honey of any kind, then you must resort 

 to sugar. Make it into candy, and lay it in thin cakes over 

 the frames. It may also be fed in the form of syrup, and 

 fed with Doolittle's division-board feeder or otherwise. 



Caucasian Bees — Something Favorable 



So far we believe we have published almost wholly un- 

 favorable opinions concerning Caucasian bees — the new 

 race that is being much lauded by some bee-keepers just 

 now. We wish always to be entirely fair, and so now we 

 propose to give somewhat of the other side — the favorable 

 side — of these bees. We may say that we have not the 

 slightest personal interest in them either way. They will 

 have to stand or fall strictly on their merits, so far as we 

 are concerned. We have no Caucasian bees or queens for 

 sale, and if we had, we certainly should advise caution in 



