Publisht Weekly at US Michigan St. 



George W. York, Editor. 



tl.OO a Year— Sample Copy Free. 



38th Year. 



CHICAGO, ILL., MAY 5, 1898. 



No. 18. 



Spring Management ot Bees— Good Advice. 



BY G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



A correspondent who says he is a reader of the American 

 Bee Journal, requests that I tell how I manage bees In the 

 spring from the time they are put from the cellar till swarm- 

 ing-time arrives, which I will endeavor to do. 



As I now feel in the matter there is only one thing which 

 is really essential to look after as soon as the bees are put 

 from the cellar, or in early spring, no matter which way the 

 bees have been wintered ; and that is to see that they have 

 plenty of honey to last them till pollen becomes plenty, or 

 steady warm weather arrives. 



This part is something that can be done on any cool morn- 

 ing after a day or two of cool or cold weather, when the bees 

 will be clustered compactly together, thus drawing off from 

 much of the comb surface, so that you can peer down the 

 vacant spaces between the combs, outside the cluster of bees. 

 To do this, carefully remove the cover to the hive, then as 

 carefully roll back the quilt or cloth covering over the combs, 

 beginning at the end or side the farthest from the entrance, 

 as the cluster is generally formed near the entrance, rather 

 than next the back side of the hive. If you have been careful 

 you can roll the covering back to the cluster of bees without 

 arousing them but little, if any. 



Now look down between the combs, noting the sealed 

 honey they have, and if plenty is seen along the top-bars of 

 the frames that colony is safe during the next month to come. 

 If little or none is seen the hive should be markt in some way, 

 and the very first day (when the bees can fly) should be em- 

 braced to feed all such colonies. To do this understandingly 

 the frames should be taken out and examined to see how much 

 honey they really do have, and enough be fed so that each 

 colony has at least 10 pounds. 



Sometimes we find colonies which do not show any honey 

 along the top-bars of the frames on account of the bees carry- 

 ing the honey from this portion of the hive down Into the 

 cluster during the winter, altho very few colonies do like this, 

 in which case they may have honey lower down in the combs. 

 Where this is the case an examination of the combs by lifting 

 from the hive will reveal the same. When looking at the bees 

 during the cool morning it is well to note how many spaces 

 between the combs the bees occupy, and set it down on a piece 

 of section, which is to be left on the hive, so that we may 

 know something of what will be needed for this colony when we 

 commence active operations later on. I write on the section 

 piece thus : 



Supposing it to be April 5, or the fourth month and fifth 

 day of the year 1898— '98, 4-o, H. P.; S. 6— which tells me 

 at any time I may look at this piece of section thereafter, that 

 on April 5, 1898, that hive contained plenty of honey and a 

 cluster of bees large enough to occupy six spaces between the 

 combs ; or, in other words, it says that the colony was A No. 



1 for that time of the year, and needed no further attention 

 until the time for general work among the bees. 



The markings on the different pieces of sections are 

 varied to suit what is found in each hive, and are left on the 

 hives till both sides of the section are completely covered over 

 with this "brief" regarding the colony it contains. From 

 this piece of section I can tell regarding the "standing" of 

 many colonies of bees as far back as four years, and it is a 

 great help in deciding which queens are best for further 

 breeding purposes. 



In deciding as to the amount of honey each colony should 

 have it is well to remember that bees consume much more 

 honey at this time than they do during fall and winter, and 

 that it is better to err on the side of too much honey than on 

 the other, which will mean a retrenchment of brood-rearing 

 a little later on. 



Having made sure that all have honey enough there is no 

 further need of molesting the bees till the weather becomes 

 generally warm enough for tbera to work in the fields or trees 

 nearly every day gathering pollen and honey. In fact, I now 

 believe that further disturbance is positively detrimental, in- 

 asmuch as it often causes the loss of bees and brood by break- 

 ing the cracks open about the top of the hive so as to let the 

 warmth out, as well as a greater consumption of honey, with- 

 out any proportionate gain to the colony. 



Francis Danzenbaker — See parje 276'. 



Six weeks is a sufiScient time to build up a fair colony to 

 one sufficiently strong to store honey to the best advantage, 

 and as the clover usually begins to yield honey here about 

 June 20. from May 1st to the 10th is soon enough to begin 

 working for brood, and it is better not to touch them even 

 now, unless the weather is warm enough so that the mercury 



