FEEDING. 269 



The singing masons building roofs of gold ; 

 The civil citizens kneading up the .honey ; 

 The poor mechanic porters crowding in 

 Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate ; 

 The sad-eyed justice, with his surly .hum, 

 Delivering o'er, to executors pale, 

 The lazy, yawning drone." 



SHAKSPEARE'S Henry V., Act /., Scene 2. 



Impoverished stocks, if in common hives, may be fed 

 by inverting the hives and pouring a teacupfull of 

 honey among the combs in which the bees are clustered. 

 A bee deluged by sweets, when away from home, is a 

 sorry spectacle ; but what is thus given them does no 

 harm, and they will lick each other clean, with as much 

 satisfaction as a little child sucks its fingers while feasting 

 on sugar candy. When the bees have taken up what has 

 been poured upon them, the hive may be replaced, and 

 the operation repeated, at intervals, as often as is needed. 

 If the stock is in a movable-comb hive, the food may be 

 put into an empty comb, and placed where it can be 

 easily reached by the bees. 



If a colony has too few bees, its population must be 

 replenished (p. 221) before it is fed. If it has but a 

 small quantity of brood-combs, unless fed very moder- 

 ately, it will fill the cells with honey instead of brood. 

 If the Apiarian wishes the bees to build new comb, the 

 food must be given so regularly as to resemble natural 

 supplies, or they will store it in the cells already built. 



To build up small colonies by feeding, requires more 

 care and judgment than any other process in bee-culture, 

 and will rarely be required by those who have movable- 

 comb hives. It can only succeed when everything is 

 made subservient" to the most rapid production of brood. 



By the time the honey-harvest closes, all the colonies 

 ought to be strong in numbers; and, in favorable sea- 



