AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



465 



20th of May, after filling 75 half-stories 

 which would average about 20 pounds 

 each, making about 1,500 pounds of 

 honey. As I did not want any increase 

 I raised up the half-stories and put a 

 full story on every colony. 



About the first of June I unpad? every 

 colony, and leave the winter-cases on to 

 protect the colonies from the sun. 

 Colonies that are packed to protect them 

 from the sudden changes that so often 

 recur in the spring, do much better than 

 unpacked, and for this reason every 

 colony should be packed in the spring, 

 and for booming or building up colonies 

 for the honey-flow, I don't know of any 

 method that will equal the uncapping of 

 the honey in the brood-chambers in 

 warm evenings in the spring when the 

 bees are gathering honey ; and then 

 packing every half-story well on the 

 colonies in the packed cases. By doing 

 that, mote room will be made in the 

 brood-chambers for brood when the bees 

 remove the uncapped honey into the 

 half-stories so warmly packed. Then by 

 the time the clover begins to bloom, 

 every colony will be booming in bees, 

 and will be in grand order for business, 

 after having gathered a large quantity 

 of honey from fruit-bloom, dandelion 

 and thorn-trees. 



Woodburn, Ont., Canada, March 12. 



Bees In tlie SoiilH— Feeilni. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY DK. J. p. H. BKOWN. 



William Cullen Bryant, in his " Thana- 

 topsis," refers to fall as the season of— 



"The melancholy days have come, the sad- 

 dest of the year; 



Of wailing winds, nalied woods, and meadows 

 brown and sear." 



Were he here now to see the "brown 

 and sear " vegetation which only a day 

 ago was green and growing with the life- 

 sap coursing through its tissues, he 

 could well repeat the same rhapsody. 



The cold blizzard that has passed from 

 Texas to the Atlantic did its work well 

 in killing fruit, vegetables, and all bee- 

 forage that was any way advanced. The 

 loss to farmers, truckers and bee-keep- 

 ers will amount to some millions. It is 

 the most complete vegetable Mil that ever 

 I experienced in the South. The reason 

 was this : A few weeks before, we had 

 warm and most delightful weather, 

 which pushed vegetation forward at a 

 very rapid rate, and all the tissues were 



loaded with sap. The bees were breed- 

 ing very rapidly, and .had all the brood 

 they could attend under the most favor- 

 able conditions. As it is, it will be some 

 weeks before they can gather anything 

 to speak of, and unless fed, and faithful 

 and prompt attention be given them, 

 hundreds of colonies will perish. 



The bulk of the colonies were deficient 

 in stores, and were dependent upon their 

 immediate lal)or for their support. They 

 must be fed at once. Improvise almost 

 anything for a feeder. Sardine boxes, 

 fruit-cans, etc., answer a very good pur- 

 pose, if you put in a few sticks to keep 

 the bees from drowning. If the hive is 

 constructed to admit of it, place the feed 

 inside, and feed late in the evening, 

 from a pint to several quarts, depending 

 upon the strength of the colony. Those 

 hives containing the most brood need the 

 most feed. The feeding should be done 

 at least three times a week, and regu- 

 larly kept up until they can gather 

 from natural sources. 



When feeding during a dearth of 

 honey, great care should be taken not 

 to spill any feed on the outside of the 

 hives, or to have the entrance too open to 

 encourage robbing. An ounce of pre- 

 vention in this matter is worth a pound 

 of cure. Two gallons of water to 20 

 pounds of granulated sugar makes a 

 syrup good enough for the purpose. You 

 need not fuss and bother with boiling — 

 that is all nonsense. Stir and agitate 

 until dissolved. 



Augusta, Ga., March 30. 



Ttie Kiiig-Bim ani Otlier Bee-Eneinies. 



Written for tlie American Bee Journal 

 BY S. E. MILLER. 



The article on the king-bird, by Will 

 A. Bryan, on page 275, has moved me 

 to write a few words in reply. 



Every little while some one, in order 

 to be in fashion (I presume), seems to 

 think it necessary to write something 

 very sentimental about the innocent — 

 the very innocent — birds. Some even 

 go so far as to say we should not molest 

 the big-mouthed, noisy crow. The 

 farmer, after lie has toiled hard to plant 

 his corn, in due time and with great 

 care, should stand by with arms folded 

 and allow the crows to indulge to their 

 entire satisfaction in pulling up the 

 corn that is just coming through the 

 ground, and pushing up the beautiful 

 green blades, thus causing him to have 



