1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CTLTURE. 



761 



suits, although swarming might have been 

 pi'evented. 



Now, while these methods are, I believe, 

 sound to the core, and could be carried out 

 in detail where the seasons are very similar 

 to those in Mr. Doolittle's locality, yet in 

 other places, where conditions are different, 

 the details must vary to suit the ever vary- 

 ing conditions with which the bee-keeper is 

 surrounded. For instance, he secures a large 

 amount of partly tilled combs of honey for 

 spring feeding from buckwheat, as well as 

 many new combs drawn out or built entirely 

 new," while here I have known but one or 

 two seasons in forty years when any new 

 combs would be built by the bees, or even 

 (lid ones tilled partly full at this season. 

 Even the basswood has failed for several 

 years past to give us any considerable amount 

 of honey. The season for honey is vex'y 

 I short — from two to six weeks on clover. The 

 average is not more than three or four, and 

 much of this time only a moderate flow. 



The necessity for sti'ong colonies is quite 

 as great as with Mr. Doolittle, or even more 

 so. We have few combs of honey with which 

 to feed and build them up as he does. We 

 might feed sugar syrup heavily in the autumn; 

 but should there happen to be a good flow 

 of early honey, and we shook bees on to 

 these combs with sugar syrup, they would 

 be likely to carry more or less of it up into 

 the surplus combs, thus injuring its flavor 

 and our reputation at the same time. 



During the past seascm I had some section 

 honey injured from old honejun brood-combs 

 on to which swarms had been shaken. We 

 might buy cheap honey from the South to 

 feed, but the danger from disease and inferi- 

 or quality still would make it impracticable. 



A better way would be to use our weaker 

 stocks for tilling a suftieient number of combs 

 to lay by for spring feeding. 



While the storing of his surplus combs in 

 the open is a success with him, 1 fear it would 

 be wholly impracticable in many places, not- 

 withstanding the bee keeper had given away 

 two or three per cent of his crop to his 

 neighbors, although in some communities it 

 might be entirely satisfactory. 



Last season 1 tried to run a number of col- 

 onies on the Doolittle system. I followed 

 his dii"ections, I think accurately, except that 

 I used eight-frame hives instead of ten, as he 

 does, and, as nearly as I remember, about 

 one-third prepared to swarm after their brood 

 was removed. I attributed my lack of suc- 

 cess to the small brood-chamber I used. If 

 so, this shows how careful we should be in 

 following all the dix'ections of any given sys- 

 tem before we are able to judge accurately 

 of its value. 



I shall try again another season, following 

 his directions to the letter so far as I am able, 

 and i wish many other bee-keepers would 

 do the same until we have fully mastered 

 this perplexing problem. 



It seems to me that if others can make it 

 work as well as Mr. Doolittle does, it is the 

 most practical method of swarm control that 

 has yet been published. Yet other methods 



before us should not be overlooked, as they 

 too may bring success or lead in that direc- 

 tion. 



FEEDING BACK. 



"1 have 31 colonies of bees now, but ex- 

 pect to increase somewhat as I can cai e for 

 them. I wish to work two-thirds of my col- 

 onies for comb honey, and the other third 

 for extracted. The extracted honey I wish 

 to feed back to the comb-honey colonies, as 

 comb honey sells the best here. I thought 

 that, by extracting from one-third of them 

 and feeding it back to the rest, I could pro- 

 duce more and better comb honey than in 

 the usual way. My trouble is this: The white 

 clover shuts off so quick that I can't get more 

 than half of my sections finished up, and I 

 have to take them off partly filled or leave 

 them on to be finished off with buckwheat, 

 which spoils the looks and sale of the sections 

 for white honey. Hence I wish to feed back 

 the white honey I extract, to finish up those 

 partly filled with clover honey; and I want 

 you to tell what is the most practical feeder 

 to use in connection with this work." 



"I do not know that it makes very much 

 difference as to the feeder used, friend R., 

 only something which will hold enough so 

 the feeding can go on rapidly." 



"Where should the feeder be used — on top 

 of the sections or bottom of the hives?" 



"I have tried both ways, and I did not see 

 that it made much difference, though I rath- 

 er pi'ef erred the bottom feeder." 



"Well, tell me how you did it." 



"I used a common four-quart milk-pan for 

 a feeder, using a float of very thin wood 

 with a lot of holes bored through it. Over 

 this float was thrown a piece of cheese-cloth, 

 which allowed the bees to go on top of the 

 feed, with no danger of drowning. If this 

 feeder was put on top of the sections, a few 

 pieces of sections were set up against the 

 side of the pan, so that the bees could run up 

 on them; or the cheese-cloth was cut large 

 enough so that the corners hung down and 

 touched the sections which the pan rested 

 on." 



"How did you keep the outside bees from 

 this feed?" 



"By setting an empty super over the sec- 

 tions, and putting the cover to the hive over 

 this empty super." 



"Why did you use such pans?" 



"Simply because we had plenty of them at 

 our house. They are no better than any dish 

 that will hold three or four quarts. Any old 

 thing which can be spared from the house 

 that will hold the feed is as good as these 



