98 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



We find at this season that our 

 hives have become greatly depopu- 

 lated, the old bees having nearly 

 all died off and nothing but young 

 bees are left to care for the brood. 



Now, then, if we have not given 

 our bees proper care during April, 

 and but little brood is hatched, some 

 of them will be in a very weak con- 

 dition and unless assisted they will 

 be liable to dwindle. 



I have practised several methods 

 of management with weak stocks, 

 but I will here give the one I prefer, 

 all things considered, as it is the most 

 simple ; it is as follows. Go to a 

 strong stock and take from it a comb 

 of hatchingbrood with adhering bees ; 

 give it a few thumps with the thumb 

 in order to cause the older bees to 

 take wing and return to their hive, 

 .while the young bees will adhere 

 to the comb ; then place this comb 

 of hatching brood and bees in the 

 centre of the cluster of the weak 

 colony ; at the same time uncap 

 some honey and place it near the 

 cluster, removing all extra combs 

 that the bees cannot cover. Re- 

 place the frame of brood with an 

 empty comb which the queen will 

 very soon fill with eggs. 



It sometimes occurs that such light 

 stocks are too weak to care for a 

 whole card of brood ; in such a case 

 I simply give it a few young bees 

 that have never had a flight. This 

 operation can be repeated every few 

 days until the colony is sufficiently 

 strong to be out of danger of dwind- 

 ling. 



During May we usually go over 

 our bees once a week, the work of 

 the second week being nearly the 

 same as the first ; hence I pass it. 

 By the third week our work usually 

 increases, as we now find very many 

 colonies that will require more 

 combs. 



In giving bees more combs it is 

 sometimes (thougli not always) advis- 

 able to spread the brood-nest and 

 place the empty comb in the centre. 



My advice is to be very cautious 

 in spreading combs too early, as at 

 this season of the year we are lia- 

 ble to have sudden changes in the 

 weather which should be guarded 

 against. 



I often, during the month of May, 

 when giving more combs, place them 

 outside the cluster, because by so 

 doing I am sure that if a sudden cold 

 snap should follow, the bees will not 

 be obliged to leave their brood 

 which they might do had the spread- 

 ing method been earned too far. It 

 is well enough, however, later in 

 the season, and sometimes advisable, 

 when the hive is not already filled 

 with brood to spread it, thereby com- 

 pelling the queen to fill every comb 

 with eggs. 



It not unfrequently occurs in my 

 locality that bees have to be fed at 

 this season of the year, because I 

 have previously compelled them to 

 consume their honey in brood-rear- 

 ing. 



Feeding may seem expensive to 

 some, but it is like "casting our 

 bread upon the water;" but with me 

 it pays. 



Now, if we have given our bees 

 proper care and the weather has been 

 favorable up to the tenth of June, 

 the combs will be filled with brood 

 and well covered with bees. A glance 

 at the brood-nest will show us that 

 the swarming season is at hand. At 

 this point my method of manage- 

 ment changes very materially ; now, 

 instead of trying to induce brood- 

 rearing I try to discourage it, be- 

 cause as our honey flow ends about 

 the twentieth of July and as it takes 

 twenty-one days from the egg to 

 hatch a worker bee, and then ten or 

 fifteen more before it will gather 

 honey, it will be seen that bees 

 hatched from eggs lain after June 15 

 or 20 will be of no profit to the api- 

 arist. The amount of honey con- 

 sumed in rearing brood, together 

 with what they will eat after the 

 honey flow is over, will cvti balance 



