CHAPTEE VII. 

 SPRING MANIPULATION. 



s The first examination in the spring should be mainly for the purpose 

 of ascertaining whether or not the honey stores have "been exhausted. 

 It should be early, and hence not so extended as to risk the loss of much 

 warmth from the brood apartment. Merely lifting one edge of the quilt 

 or, if the bottom board is a loose one, tipping the hive back so as to get 

 a view in between the combs will often suffice. Should there not be at 

 least the equivalent of two full frames of honey it is best to supply the 

 deficiency at once. Without disturbing the brood full combs may be 

 substituted at each side for the empty ones. If combs stored with 

 honey and sealed over are not in reserve liquid honey or sugar sirup 

 may be poured into empty ones and placed in the hives at night. A 

 less dauby plan is to use one or more feeders directly over the brood 

 nest, supplying several pounds of food at once. An excellent way is to 

 give at one time all they need in the shape of a cake of bee candy, made 

 by mixing fine sugar with just enough honey to produce a stiff dough. 

 This cake of candy should be wrapped in heavy paper (half parchment, 

 or such as is used for wrapping butter is good) and laid on top of the 

 frames, after having punctured the paper in several places with a pencil 

 or sharp stick to give the bees ready access. Two or three twigs or 

 strips of wood laid across the frames before the cake is placed on them 

 will also give the bees a better opportunity to reach the food. 



If the food be given in small quantities brood rearing will be en- 

 couraged and still greater supplies of food will be called for, render- 

 ing it absolutely necessary to give a large amount at once or continue 

 the feeding until natural sources fully supply the needs of the bees and 

 brood, otherwise both may starve. Three pounds of sugar dissolved in 

 one quart of water will make a suitable sirup for spring feeding. Dry 

 sugar may be used instead of sirup. The bees will liquify it themselves 

 if they have access to water. For stimulative purposes honey is better 

 than sugar, " strained honey" being better than extracted. This is 

 because of the greater amount of pollen which the strained product 

 contains, the pollen being highly nitrogenous, hence capable of building 

 up muscular tissue. But if the liquid honey is one-half more in price 

 per pound than sugar the latter would doubtless be the more econom- 

 ical, certainly so if a plentiful supply of good pollen in the combs or 

 fresh from the fields can be had. Eye flour put in sunny places and 

 sprinkled with honey to attract the bees will be collected until new 

 pollen comes. 



When the weather has become sufficiently settled to render saft 

 the inspection of the brood combs, or, in general, when the bees fly 



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