THE AMERICAJS BEE JOURNAL. 



263 



there whs said to be whole apiaries 

 where the bees liad deserted their 

 hives and left ttiem full of honey. 



Gen. Adair, of Kentucky, was the 

 first one I ever talked witli that called 

 my attention to tliis kind of honey as 

 beinir injurious to bees. I think it 

 was in tiie vear 1869 or 1S70, that I 

 met him, and we talked about the 

 losses of Kentucky bee-keepers ; and 

 he told me that whatever it was that 

 caused it. he had not been able to 

 control it. and that the malady was 

 travelini; northward gradually, and 

 that if it sot as far north as where I 

 lived, that with our long cold winters, 

 it would destrov our apiaries if it was 

 as bad as it was with tliem. He had 

 a sample of the honey with him, 

 showing how it looked ; and the next 

 week, when I reached home, I exam- 

 ined my colonies, but found nothing 

 of it then, and did not for three years 

 afterward. 



It tirst shows itself by tlie caps of 

 the cells here and there being convex 

 instead of concave ; and as the dis- 

 ease, cir whatever it may be called, 

 progresses, there are more cells af- 

 fected, and the cappingsof the first 

 ones begin to possess yellowish tinge ; 

 and honev that a few days before was 

 of a heavy body, is, after being af- 

 fected, rather thin and watery. Im- 

 mediately under the cappings are fine 

 air bubbles. 



If none of the bee-keepers recognize 

 the diseaser, or whatever it may be, if 

 I find any of it this coming season, I 

 will send a sample to the editor of 

 the Bee Journal, if I do not forget 

 it. I did not find any of it the past 

 season, and but little the year before ; 

 but the two seasons before that tliere 

 was plenty of it in my yard. 



Garden "Plains. 111. 



For tbe American Bee Juuroal. 



Stimulative Spring Feeding. 



W. J. DAVIS. 



I have read with care and much 

 interest the able article on "Spring 

 Management of the Apiary," by Mr. 

 Allen Pringle, in No. 18, 



He advocates the feeding of substi- 

 tutes for natural pollen, in early 

 spring, and I have no doubt that for 

 his latitude he is right ; but for this 

 locality, I am forced by actual experi- 

 ence to consider the practice of doubt- 

 ful utility. I have often thought that 

 there is no legitimate pursuit of man, 

 that demands the exercise of more 

 discretion and good common-sense, 

 than that of bee-keeping; nor is there 

 any class of men, to whom prescience 

 should be given, to say, "What will 

 the morrow be," more than to bee- 

 keepers. 



To those of limited experience, 

 many of the articles in the Bee Jour- 

 nal appear very contradictory ; but 

 it should be remembered that this 

 Journal is Continental in its char- 

 acter. "While in one part of its her- 

 itage, the bees are closely clustered 

 and packed in cellars and wintering 

 houses, or snugly tucked under warm 

 blankets, in other parts honey and 

 pollen are coming in rapidly, and 



drones are on the wing. Hence, the 

 localitv of each writer should be 

 carefully considered ; while tlie honey- 

 bee of low or higli northern latitudes 

 may be the same, and its iiuslincts 

 the" same, its management will of 

 necessity be very diflVreut in many 

 respects. That "is to say, the man- 

 agement of bees must vary to suit 

 the climate, or kind of weather that 

 prevails in anv locality. With this 

 introduction, I will proceed to give 

 an index of our spring weather, and 

 my experience in stimulative feeding. 



Our bees generally have a cleansing 

 flight about the middle of February. 

 They are then re-housed for about 4 

 weeks. For several years I have sup- 

 plied them with unbolted rye meal, 

 thoroughly cleaned and ground finely, 

 or wheat flour mixed with bran or 

 corn meal. This I fed by placing in 

 clean barrels in a warm, sheltered 

 place on the south side of a building, 

 placing from 2 to o pecks of meal in 

 each barrel, and inclined them toward 

 the sun at an angle that would not 

 allow the bees to blow out the bran 

 with their wings ; and as they would 

 work out the flour, roll the barrels 

 about .y over, and the bran would 

 slide down and give the bees a chance 

 to cull the finest parts, which they 

 readily work into nice pellets on their 

 thighs, and go home rejoicing. 



If there is anything worker bees de- 

 light in, it is feeding their babies. A 

 strong mark of their feminine char- 

 acter. AVe see in this the wisdom of 

 Him who created all things. Had the 

 workers been males, there would have 

 been more failures in tlie bee busi- 

 ness than there is, provided the same 

 number engaged in it. 



Now for the result. The taking in 

 of pollen stimulates to breeding, just 

 as we expected and desired, and from 

 the middle to the last of April the 

 bees have about as much sealed brood 

 in their combs as they can cover when 

 the weather is mild; then a "cold 

 wave" comes along ; the wind blows 

 cold, and it freezes. I have known it 

 so cold here in the middle of April, 

 that blue birds were frozen to death. 

 "Where are our bees 'f Tlie cells within 

 the cluster are all occupied with brood. 

 The vitality of the old bees is severely 

 taxed in producing the brood. Not 

 an empty cell in which an adult bee 

 may enter to get warm. They are of 

 necessity spread in thin layers be- 

 tween the combs. By physical exer- 

 tion they do all they can to resist the 

 cold. They strive to keep themselves 

 and their brood warm. But there is 

 a limit to their endurance ; the cold 

 continues for about 8 days ; for 2 days 

 of which time the bees will be drop- 

 ping to the bottom-board, half of the 

 old bees be dead, and a large amount 

 of the brood chilled beyond recovery. 

 How much have we gained V 



Another item of my experience 

 may not be without inte"rest. Several 

 years ago I read in the Bee Journal 

 a suggestion of a British bee-keeper, 

 to stimulate breeding even before the 

 bees were able to fiy, by mixing flour 

 and honey in the form of paste, and 

 pressing it into the combs. I tried it 

 on 3 colonies. They did start a large 

 brood, but the result was far from 



One year 

 usual, and I 

 worked witl 

 the others. 



being satisfactory. The first of June 

 found them the poorest colonies in 

 my yard. 



ago I fed rye meal as 

 oliserved 2 colonies that 

 greater zeal than any of 

 I was pleased with their 

 conduct; but in Jlay there was a 

 greater mortality of old bees in those 

 two. thau in any of my other colonies; 

 and in their summer's work, they felB 

 below most of the others. In this 

 locality a large supply of pollen is 

 usually secured from the blossoms of 

 the soft maple, which bloom from the 

 20tli to the last of April. I am going 

 to wait for natural pollen this year, 

 and if I make a mistake by so doing, 

 I will frankly acknowledge it. In 

 higher northern latitudes, spring may 

 not throw out her promises so early, 

 but when it comes, it comes to stay. 

 The days lengthen with greater 

 rapidity ; and, hence, are not liable to 

 the backsets of this latitude. There- 

 fore, stimulative feeding may be an 

 advantage in Mr. Pringle's locality ; 

 but to resist cold, bees must have 

 empty combs to cluster in, whether it 

 be in December or April. 



Our 122 colonies have wintered 

 without loss, and in fine condition. 

 "We are looking with all our old en- 

 thusiasm for a good honey season. 



Youngsville, Pa. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Surplus Arrangements. 



WM. M. BARNES. 



A great deal has been said on this 

 subject to the end that a standard 

 shall be fixed for hives and honey- 

 racks, for the easy and successful 

 manipulation of bees. We all have 

 our choice so far as what already ex- 

 ists in the line of inventions pertain- 

 ing to the above subject will allow. I 

 will describe the surplus arrangement 

 I use, so the more experienced honey- 

 producers will have a chance to point 

 out my errors. . 



I take a board }4 of an inch thick, 

 and just as large as the top of the 

 hive. Across the ends nail cleats 

 %xi inches ; then nail this board to 

 the top of the hive, so that the cleats 

 will be above the top. Draw a line 

 lengthwise in the middle of the board; 

 then 3 inches on either side of this 

 line will be the centre of a row of slot 

 holes cut crosswise of the board 2 

 inches long and % of an inch wide, 

 and measuring l?i inches from the 

 centre, measuring lengthwise of the 

 board. This is then the bottom of 

 the rack. 



The separators I use are made of 

 basswood, tixl2i^x3-16 inches, with 

 insets J..^x2 inches cut in both edges 

 the same distance from the middle, so 

 as to just match the holes in the board. 

 Then directly between these insets, I 

 bore in each end one ?^ inch hole ; this 

 completes the separators. 



Mv sections are 0x6x1% inches, and 

 the "same width all around. To set 

 these up, I have glass cut just the size 

 of the separators. I then put one 

 glass on its edge against the cleats 

 across the board ; then put on 2 sec- 



