1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



313 



I know that there is something very fasci- 

 nating about this outside feeding, especially 

 seeing the bees go to and fro in their eager 

 scramble after the coveted sweets; but after 

 years of experimenting along this line I have 

 come to the conclusion that such feeding, as a 

 rule, is a "delusion and a snare;" and it is 

 really but little more work to feed inside the 

 hive, especially if you can have combs of 

 sealed honey to set in the colonies which do 

 not have sufficient stores. 



During the first warm days of spring each 

 colony should be examined to find out regard- 

 ing their supply of stores, and queen. If they 

 have plenty of stores and a good queen, such 

 colonies need not be looked after further till 

 the surplus is placed on the hive, especially 

 by the person who does not think a gain can 

 be made by a spreading of the brood. As to 

 what plenty of honey would mean during ear- 

 ly spring, 1 place the amount at from 10 to 15 

 pounds. Then if the weather is favorable dur- 

 ing all of the early bloom, especially the fruit- 

 trees, they need no further looking after as to 

 stores; but should the weather be such that 

 the bees can secure nothing during fruit- 

 bloom it may be necessary to feed even those 

 which had 15 lbs. of stores in early spring; 

 for honey is consumed very rapidly when 

 brood rearing has reached its height unless 

 there is some coming into the hive almost dai- 

 ly to take the place of that turned into brood. 

 Hence it becomes every person keeping bees 

 to be alert in this matter of stores during the 

 time of the most prolific brood-rearing. Those 

 which do not have the supply of stores named 

 above should be fed in some way. While 

 many believe it pays to feed nightly for stim- 

 ulating purposes, nearly 30 years of experi- 

 ence along the feeding line compels me to say 

 that, with myself, there is not enough gain 

 made by such feeding, over and above what 

 brood the bees would naturally rear where 

 they have plenty of stores, to pay for the ex- 

 tra work of feeding; hence I prefer the plan 

 of setting in full combs of honey for each col- 

 ony which does not have at least 10 pounds of 

 honey in early spring, till they have that 

 amount, or, better, the 15 pounds. If I do 

 not have combs of honey enough to go around 

 to all needy colonies I fill combs with syrup to 

 supply the place of the combs of honey. 



To fill the combs, take any old milk-pan 

 and punch the bottom full of holes about one- 

 sixteenth of an inch in diameter, punching 

 from the inside out. Place this pan over a 

 wash-tub, or any \essel having a large open 

 mouth, in which you can have room to hold 

 the combs about 18 inches below the pan, 

 when an assistant will pour the (about blood 

 warm) syrup in the pan, from which it will be 

 distributed in small streams which, when fall- 

 ing into the cells, will force the air from them, 

 thus filling them, while other modes of pour- 

 ing the syrup would result in its running over 

 the surface of the comb more largely, instead 

 of entering the cells. As soon as one side is 

 filled, turn over and fill the other, when the 

 comb is hung away to drain, after which it can 

 be used in any spot or place where a frame of 

 sealed honey can. But this is only my pref- 



erence. Others can feed as suits their fancy. 

 I give this only as my mode of working after 

 trying nearly every plan yet given to the pub- 

 lic. 



[We make the following extracts from a pa- 

 per read by R. C. Aikin at a farmers' institute 

 in Colorado. Although much of it is well 

 known to most of our readers, it is a subject 

 that can not be too strongly impressed on the 

 minds of the general public. — Ed ] 



There are in the minds of the masses some very 

 crude and erroneous ideas in regard to bees, their hab- 

 its, and their usefulness. As an illustration, let me 

 tell you what has been reported to me as having been 

 said by a farmer whose face is often seen in these 

 meetings, and who is counted as an intelligent man. 

 Speaking of bets and their owners, he was reported 

 to have said, " The man who keeps bees is just steal- 

 ing from his neighbors." Your humble servant is one 

 of the thieves hereabout, according to that man's 

 idea. I can, however, produce the proof that my rob- 

 bed friend is not giving a just compensation to me 

 (my bees) for what he is benefited by them. No, no, 

 brethren, the bee has a very prominent and impor- 

 tant place in the e onomy of nature, and particular- 

 ly in relation to fruit production. Instead of the bee 

 becoming a damage to the fruit industry, it is an in- 

 dispensable aid. Instead of the fruit-grower striving 

 to exclude the bees from his orchards, he should en- 

 courage their visits. The bees working on the fruit- 

 bloom means far more in returns to the orchardist 

 than that received by the apiarist. 



Every bloom mu-t be fertilized; and if not, no fruit 

 will be borne. It is a part of the economy of nature 

 that insects aid in the pollenization of bloom, and of 

 the insects useful in this way the bee stands first of 

 all, particularly in relation to fruit. Botanists tell us 

 that the nectar in the bloom is there for the express 

 purpose of enticing the bee, and that the flower will 

 not secrete the nectar until it has reached that point 

 of development when it is ready for the visit of the 

 bee, to thus be pollenized. The nectar is sought by 

 the bee as food, and as well a portion of the pollen. 

 The bee in the act of g.itheting these substances not 

 only aids in the pol'euization of the blossom on which 

 it is at the instant, but passing to other blossoms with 

 the pollen dust upon its body produces cross fertiliza- 

 tion. The stock-man knows well what cro-sing means 

 in the animal kingdom, and the horticulturist gets 

 the same thing in the botanical kingdom by the trans- 

 fer of pollen. 



But you want more than mere assertions before you 

 are convinced. This institute could not have done 

 better than to have had a lecture by Prof. Crandall, 

 the botanist of the Agricultural College, showing and 

 explaining by charts all these points The State Bee- 

 keepers' Association once had such a lecture by Prof 

 Crandall, and it was most instructive indeed. He told 

 us there are certain plants that depend exclusively 

 upon insects for distribution of the pollen. Others 

 are not wholly dependent upon the insects, but receive 

 help from the" winds. Again, others are self-polleniz- 

 ing. Upon the whole, very few plants exist that are 

 altogether independent of'outside help in this matter. 



Almost all our fruits, except the strawberry, have 

 both sexes in the same plant, and almost the entire 

 list depend very largely upon the bee to transport the 

 pollen from bloom to bloom. So great is this depen- 

 dence of the apple, peach, pear, plum, cherry, and 

 such fruit, that a ciop from these can scarcely be ex- 

 pected unless the bees have access to them. The cher- 

 ry will make almost an entire failure of fruiting un- 

 less visited by bees. 



The experiment station in Florida selected two 

 peach-trees; one was protected from insects, the other 

 was left exposed. Both set fruit; but when the pit, or 

 seed, of the fruit was forming the protected tiee drop- 

 ped its fruit, but that of the exposed one matured. 



It is now well known by many, that, should cold 

 weather prevail during fruit-blooming, thus keeping 



