Sept. 15, 1911 



Is it not up to the bee-keepers in their re- 

 spective localities to talk buckwheat and al- 

 sike? Keep up the campaign, brothers, if 

 you would help fill your pocketbook. 



It is our intention to get out a buckwheat 

 pamphlet; for, so far as we can ascertain, no 

 bulletin, either State or national, has been 

 issued on the growing of buckwheat. Mr. 

 Harrington has promised to write the one 

 for us. 



The statement has previously been made 

 in these columns that .Japanese buckwheat 

 does not yield honey like the old-fashioned 

 silverhuli or gray buckwheat; but Mr. Har- 

 rington says the Japanese had more bees on 

 it this year than either the gray or the sil- 

 verhuli; but as the Japanese came in bloom 

 at one time, and the silverhuli at another, 

 it is possible that weather conditions were 

 more favorable at the one time than at the 

 other. We should be pleased to get reports 

 from our readers on the relative value of 

 Japanese and other buckwheats for honey. 



MORE ABOUT THAT SCHEME OF FEEDING SO 

 THAT BROOD-REARING CAN BE KEPT UP 

 LATE IN THE FAXL, THUS SECURING A 

 LARGE FORCE OF YOUNG BEES IN GOING 

 TO WINTER. 



On page 483, Aug. 15, we refer to a new 

 method of slow feeding in the hives by 

 which it takes a colony 24 to 48 hours to 

 take up a pint of syrup. On page 514, Sept. 

 1, also, we describe J. E. Hand's method of 

 outdoor feeding of sweetened water to ac- 

 complish the same results. At three of our 

 yards we have been practicing both the out- 

 door and indoor metliods of feeding in com- 

 bination, and our Mr. Marchant, who has 

 charge of three of tliese yards, says he pre- 

 fers to use the two methods because he can 

 distribute the feed more equitably, or rath- 

 er, perhaps we should say, where the feed is 

 most needed. By the outdoor plan the 

 strongest colonies will necessarily get the 

 lion's share of the food, leaving the weaker 

 ones with a disproportionately small 

 amount. To overcome this, Mr. Marchant 

 puts one or two hole Boardman feeders to 

 the entrance of the weaker colonies, or where 

 he desires to stimulate brood-rearing by con- 

 stant feeding, whether the outdoor feeders 

 are going or not, or when the weather is so 

 inclement the bees can not fly. 



In order to stimulate the whole apiary the 

 outdoor feeders are put into service when- 

 ever there is no buckwheat or other source 

 of natural nectar supply. When these fail 

 — that is to say, when the bees are not flying 

 at all, showing that "nothing is doing" — 

 we start tlie outside feeders agoing. This 

 we do by mixing nine parts of water and 

 one part of sugar in a common tin pail, and, 

 after thoroughly stirring, pour the sweeten- 

 ed water into the outdoor feeders. In a 

 space of about five or ten minutes the bees 

 will begin flying, for apparently a few strag- 

 glers are constantly in the air to give notice 

 when the food is available, and, presto! the 

 whole apiary is alive and doing. But this 



549 



sweetened water causes no excitement; and 

 the strangest thing about it, says our Mr. 

 Pritchard, of our north yard, is that, when 

 the supply gives out, the bees go home in- 

 stead of coming out and prying into every 

 thing where there is a possible chance of rob- 

 bing. 



Right here the reader's attention is direct- 

 ed to the fact that, by the old method of 

 outdoor feeding, i. e., giving a syrup two to 

 one or one to one, there would be more or 

 less excitement after the supply of food gave 

 out, and conditions in the apiary immedi- 

 ately following were such that no one could 

 open up the hives without expecting an on- 

 slaught of robbers. 



You see the point is here: When the bees 

 get hold of honey or any thick sugar syrup 

 it brings on a furore that is practically the 

 same as wholesale robbing. In other words, 

 there is a decided difference in the behavior 

 of bees gathering nectar from the fields and 

 gathering a strong sweet from some hive, 

 kitchen, or honey-house. The former is nat- 

 ural, but the latter unnatural. When, 

 therefore, we give the bees outdoors a sweet- 

 ened water which is no stronger — nay, rath- 

 er, 'Weaker than the nectar they get from 

 the flowers — they are not unduly excited; 

 and when the supply ceases it does not seem 

 to have any more effect on them than when 

 the supply of nectar gives out. 



Our Mr. Pritchard, who rears anywhere 

 from 2000 to nearly 3000 queens a season, 

 says he believes this scheme of outdoor feed- 

 ing of thin syrup is one of the greatest aids 

 to the business he has ever run across. He, 

 like all other queen-breeders, has discovered 

 that a heavy honey-flow paralyzes the queen- 

 rearing operations. A very light honey- 

 flow, just enough to keep up brood-rearing 

 operations, and no more, stimulates brood- 

 rearing and cell-building. Now, then, by 

 bringing about the conditions artificially, 

 we control the supply so that we get a more 

 uniform grade of queens and an amount of 

 brood that can not be secured when the sup- 

 ply comes in so fast that the queen is cramp- 

 ed for room. 



The one objection to outdoor feeding is 

 that it has a tendency to wear ovit old bees; 

 but as they would die any way during the 

 early winter, if we can trade old bees for 

 young ones we make a splendid trade, even 

 if the deal does cost a little sugar. 



It is our intention, after the hives are well 

 stocked up with hatching brood, to cease 

 the slow method of feeding, and then give 

 all the colonies, after the brood hatches, one 

 quick feed of thick syrup to fill up all avail- 

 able cells except a winter nest which the 

 bees will make if given an opportunity. 



A CAUTION ABOUT FEEDING SWEETENED 

 WATER OUTDOORS. 



We find in a couple of our nuclei, where 

 there is a comparatively small force of bees, 

 that some of this syrup from the outdoor 

 feeders has begun "to sour a little. Cool 

 damp nights we have been having of late is 

 partly responsible for this. There is no trou- 

 ble of this kind in our stronger colonies. 



