118 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



to begin to feed without being prepared to continue 

 the supply, as needed, until the flowers yield 

 abundance. 



If it is wished to wait as long as possible, and 

 not lose the bees, when it is known they are nearly 

 destitute, a test will be necessary to decide how 

 long it will do to delay feeding. But, in this case, 

 strict attention will be absolutely necessary ; they 

 will need examination every viorning. If a light 

 tap ou the hive is answered by a brisk, lively 

 buzzing, they are not suftering; but if no answer is 

 returned to your inquiry, it indicates a want of 

 strength. Extreme destitution desti-oys all dis- 

 position to repel an attack. If the weather is cool, 

 very likely they will appear lifeless; yet they can 

 be revived, and now must he fed. When this is 

 their condition, invert the hive. If any bees are 

 scattered, gather them into the liive; get some 

 honey, add water, to prevent burning, and scald it ; 

 or, if no honey, take sugar, add water, and boil it ; 

 when cool enough, pour a quantity among the 

 combs, directly on the bees; cover the bottom of 

 the hive with a cloth to secure the bees, and bring 

 to the fire to warm up. In two or three hours 

 they will be revived, and may be returned to the 

 stand, providing the feed given is all taken up; on 

 no account let any run out around the bottom. 



The necessity of a daily visit to the hives is 

 apparent, from the fact that, if left over for only 

 one day, in the situation just described, it will be 

 too late to revive most of them. At night, if you 

 have a box cover that will exclude all bees outside, 

 you may open the holes in the top of the hive, fill 

 a small baking-dish with honey or syrup, and set it 

 on the top ; put in some shavings to keep the bees 

 from drowning, or a float be used, if you clioose, 

 made of some light, very thin wood, and full of 

 small holes or narrow channels made with a saw. 

 At the commencement of feeding, a iQVf drops 

 sliould be scattered ou tlie top of the hive and 

 trailed to the side of the dish, to teach them the 

 way ; after feeding a few times, they will know the 

 road. When the weather is warm enough for 

 them to take it during the night, it is best to feed 

 at evening — from four to six ounces daily is sufli- 

 cient. If the family is very small, what honey is 

 left in the morning may attract other bees ; it is 

 then best to take it out and return at night. A 

 g'jod look-out should be kept that they are not 

 plundered by other bees — which is quite common 

 when feeding — and again left in a starving con- 

 dition until flowers produce sufficient honey. 



When you have the means to keep up a supply 

 of food, and the time requisite to make feeding 

 secure, perhaps it would not be advisable to wait 

 till the last extremity before feeding, as a small 

 family will sometimes entirely desert the hive when 

 destitute. In these cases, they issue precisely as a 

 swarm : after flying a long time, they usually either 

 return or unite with some other stock. If they 

 return, or cluster (which they sometimes do), they 

 need attention immediately., by feeding as directed. 

 Whenever a desertion takes place, something is 

 wrong— in spring it may be destitution or mouldy 

 combs; at other times, the .presence of worms, 

 diseased brood, etc. By whatever cause it is pro- 

 duced, it is well to ascertain it and apply the 

 remedy. m. quinby. 



St. Johiiaville, N. Y., 186a. 



FEEDING BEANS TO M;LCH COWS. 



Eds. Gexesee Farmer: — Hay, owing to the June 

 frost, was a total ftiilnre in this section last year, 

 and the cry was that tlie cattle must starve. Now, 

 as the farmers in this section had never been in the 

 habit of using anything for feed but hay, >traw and 

 corn-stalks, with the corn all carefully removed, — 

 never feeding an ear to anything but the horse and 

 hog — they felt certain of poverty if not deatli to 

 their stock. What I propose to tell, is what was 

 my condition, and what has been my success. 



I cut twenty acres of meadow, and got twelve 

 tons of poor hay. This, with the exception of three 

 acres of corn, was all I had to keep twenty cows 

 and two horses upon. It was out of the question 

 to buy hay or sell cattle. I was fortunate in the 

 course of the fall to find a little straw that I could 

 get, and bought five tons, thinking cows Avould eat 

 it just before starving. Next I bought corn enough, 

 in addition to Avhat I raised, to make 250 bushels. 

 I always feed everything in the stalls, and when 

 feeding time came, I commenced with the stalks; 

 feeding, at the same time, corn in the ear, twice 

 eich day to the cows that were not giving milk. 

 To those that were, I fed stalks, with corn and bean 

 meal. I will now leave my subject to inform you 

 how I came to use beans for feed. 



The frost cut my beans when there was yet a 

 large number of green pods. When threshed, 

 these green beans turned so as to spoil them for 

 market. My neighbors told me they were lost, as 

 there was nothing that would eat beans. My first 

 experiment was to boil them and mix with meal. 

 This they seemed to like. Next I mixed them with 

 corn and got them ground. Tliey were said to be 

 tlie first beans ground at this mill. I feed two 

 quarts to each milch cow twice per day, with such 

 skimmed milk as is not needed for the pigs. My 

 cows with this feed, give large quantities ot milk. 



When the stalks were gone, I co;7imenced on the 

 straw, supposing they would think it an imposition ; 

 but they looked good-natured and ate it with a 

 relish. After the straw came the hay, continuing 

 with regularity the corn and meal. My cows look 

 well, ai'e strong and healthy, and were wintered 

 cheaper than I ever experienced before, v. e. o. 



Oberlin, Ohio. 



Walking Horses. — A correspondent of the 

 Country Gentleman suggests the ofiering of pre- 

 miums at annual county fairs for fast walking as 

 well as fast trotting horses. He says he knew a 

 man who kept from two to four teams at work on 

 the road, and never allowed them to trot at all ; 

 yet he made the distance in quicker time than his 

 neighbors who made their horses trot at every con- 

 venient place. He said that whan a horse walked 

 after trotting, he walked much slower than his' 

 common gait, if kept continually on the walk, and 

 thus lost more than he gained by the trotting. 



Taste of Ttjenips in Milk. — I noticed an article 

 in the Farmer stating that if turnips were fed to 

 cows' after milking, morning and night, the milk 

 will not taste. We have tried it all this winter, 

 but still the milk and butter tasted of the turnips. 

 We left oft' feeding turnips a little more than a 

 week, and fed with carrots, and the milk and butter 

 were sweet and nice. — R. J. S., Eillsiurg, G. W. 



