THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



47 



and sim])ly proved the rule. We learned to our 

 sorrow that poor houey districts have this pe- 

 culiarity, that they furnish but one brief period 

 yearly of abundant pasturage, and if that can- 

 not be properly availed of bee culture, will be a 

 failure there for that season. If the spring be 

 mild and promising, the new beginner, misled 

 by his desire to multiply stock — a common and 

 in his case an excusable though deplorable weak- 

 ness — neglects to enlarge his hives at the proper 

 time, buf rather contracts them, and thereby 

 stimulates his colonies to swarm. Still his ex- 

 pectations are frequently disappointed. The 

 bees multiply in numbers, indeed, but lumx] out 

 idly for weeks without swarming; the season 

 passes unimproved by the workers for lack of 

 room to store away what might be gathered, 

 and he obtains neither swarms nor honey. But 

 sometimes his hopes are realized, and he re- 

 joices at the issue of swarm after swarm. Now 

 comes a sudden change of weather, the blos- 

 soms cease to secrete nectar, or a prolonged 

 raining spell prevents the bees from securing 

 what might be gathered. Then the disappoint- 

 ed bee-keeper finds himself in possession of 

 weakened old stocks only half supplied with 

 stores, and young swarms unable to procure the 

 needed supplies, and liable to perish of destitu- 

 tion and want. He can contemplate with grati- 

 fication perhaps only a few old colonies which 

 failed to swarm, and having occupied roomy 

 hives, could accumulate honey enough for their 

 wants, with some surplus for the use of their 

 necessitous neighbors. But what is this among 

 so many? The first inquiry is, of course, how 

 many of these poor swarms or mpoverished col- 

 onies are worth an attempt at' preservation. He 

 finds his swarms have only half-filled their hives 

 with comb, and must be united with others 

 and the imited stock then fed, so that after 

 much trouble and no small expenditin-e of mo- 

 ney, the luckless bee-keeper finds the hives in 

 Ms apiary reduced to the original number — and 

 all hope of realizing any profit from them has 

 vanished. But this is not the worst of the evil. 

 He must abandon all expectation of having popu- 

 lous and well supplied stocks, at the opening 

 of the season the following year. We have 

 ourselves experienced all this, not once, only, 

 but repeatedly: and we advert to it here the 

 more emphatically, because we arc all very 

 prone to attribute to a supposed unfavorable 

 season that which results from our OAvn mis- 

 management. For why, if the fault was with 

 the season, were our non-swarming stocks so 

 well stored with honej^ that they could yield 

 a surplus, and yet be healthy, strong and popu- 

 lous next spring? 



It is an ascertained truth that, even in very 

 poor districts, though the supplies of forage are 

 furnished for only a very brief period, they are 

 then so ample that a populous colony can store 

 up several pounds of honey daily, if it possess 

 enough empty combs. From the mere circum- 

 stance that at such precious time, we were in 

 possession of strong stocks, and plenty of emp- 

 ty comb, and could thus keep our bees from 

 idling away their time, were we able to secure 

 most gratifying results. lu the course of a sin- 



gle week, several of our stock hives increased 

 thirty or forty pounds each in weight; and we 

 have known instances where the increase was 

 sixteen pounds in a day; while the bees of most 

 of our neighbors literally stored up nothing be- 

 cause their colonies were too feeble to avail 

 themselves of the abundance around them, or 

 had to devote the honey they gathered to eking 

 out the combs which had been improperly 

 pruned. 



From these remarks may be deduced several 

 rules, already indicated, which should be ob- 

 served in the management of bees in poor ho- 

 ney disiricts: 



1. Never cut out empty combs from your 

 hives; and carefully preserve the combs of 

 hives the bees of which you unite with other 

 stocks in the fall. IMuch time is wasted in comb- 

 building, which could be profitably devoted to 

 gathering and storing honey; and, in addition 

 thereto the production of wax involves a large 

 expenditure of honey which your bees may need 

 for their own support. This can be saved if 

 'we do not remove ariy empty combs; and much 

 can be gained, if we are able to furnish the bees, 

 at the gathering season, with supers or top-boxes, 

 containing empty combs. They then need 

 not build, but can devote all their indomitable 

 energy to the gathering and storing up of the 

 supplies which a favorable but transient occa- 

 sion furnishes. 



I would here earnestly caution those who re- 

 side in poor honey districts against the to them 

 ruinous practice of spring pruning, which many 

 carry to the extent of removing all but a few 

 honey-filled rudiments at the ceiling of the hive. 

 This process is literally a death-blow to profita- 

 ble bee culture in such districts, for it constrains 

 the bees to devote what little honey they have 

 remaining to building comb at a season when 

 supplies cannot be obtained abroad, and com- 

 pels them to fly out in unfavorable weather in 

 search of sustenance for their brood, whereby 

 numbers are lost. If on the contrary the emp- 

 ty comb is not removed, the bees, undisturbed 

 in their economical arrangements, will devote 

 themselves to nursing their brood, and soon 

 have a strong population ready for the opera- 

 tions of the coming season. Free pruning away 

 of empty comb, in the spring, is only permissa- 

 ble in cottage hives when the colony is popu- 

 lous and well supplied with stores, and when 

 the season has already opened favorably and 

 promises so to continue. But just here is the 

 difficulty — we cannot foretell the weather; and 

 the sanguine farmer is most apt to misinterpret 

 its indications. The danger and delusion con- 

 sist in this, that the operation is occasionally suc- 

 cessful — and though it be only once in fifty 

 times, that is enough to mislead numbers. 



3. Another rule to be observed is that in poor 

 honey districts we must be careful to have one 

 colony well supplied with honey. In a hive de- 

 ficient in houey, brooding will not be prosecut- 

 ed vigorously, and it will consequently be still 

 weak in numbers when the honey season opens. 

 Irrefragable experience teaches this. In win- 

 tering stocks, therefore, it should be an undevi- 

 ating practice to see that they contain not only 



