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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1 



SOME OF ALEXANDER S STRONG COLONIES. 



At the time this picture was taken, even in May, there were 237 colonies in the apiary, so strong that not all 

 the bees could get into the hives at one time, even at night. 



him some he told me that he had about 150 

 heavy combs that he had saved from last 

 season to give to his bees in the spring to 

 stimulate early breeding as some recommend- 

 ed. These he distributed among his hives, 

 so as he thought he would surely have strong 

 colonies ready for the first How of nectar. 

 But here he was disappointed. His bees 

 would not work in the supers, neither for 

 comb nor extracted honey. He went so far 

 as to unite several colonies, putting the bees 

 of from two to live colonies all in one hive 

 in order to get up a working force. I asked 

 if those hives were not crowded with honey 

 which caused them to be weak in worker 

 bees. He said he had not thought of that, 

 but they certainly were very heavy. I ask- 

 ed him about how much brood they had. 

 "Oh! not much," he said. Some had five 

 and six combs partly filled, and some had 

 only four combs containing any; but every 

 thing was full of honey, and he could not 

 understand why the bees did not uncap that 

 honey and carry it above. 



Now, my friends, is it any wonder that he 

 did not secure a good surplus, and that he 

 thought it the poorest season he had ever 

 known? I can not understand why a man 

 of experience should have allowed his bees 

 to get in such a condition. It, about the first 

 of May, he had extj acted those heavy combs 

 he foolishly put into his hives, and also ex- 

 tracted the capped honey that was already 

 in the hives, he would have had much honey 



to his credit, and his hives full of maturing 

 brood which would have given him a tine 

 surplus of early honey. I honestly think a 

 moderate use of the extractor through the 

 latter part of May and fore part of June, es- 

 pecially when running an apiary fur comb 

 honey, would be the means of many bee- 

 keepers securing twice as much surplus as 

 they usually do Here at the North May is 

 the month of all the year when our bees re- 

 quire the closest attention. Jt is then that 

 we should care for them so that every inch 

 of comb in the hive is utilized for brood rear- 

 ing that can possibly be used for that pur- 

 pose. Bring your extractor into use, clean- 

 ing your hives of nearly all capped honey, 

 and see to it that every queen in the apiary 

 is doing her very best to crowd the combs 

 with brood; then you will soon have those 

 strong colonies that will give you a fine sur- 

 plus, and at the end of the season you will 

 hardly believe it when told that the summer 

 has been a poor one for the pi'oduction of 

 honey. Spring feeding has never received 

 the attention that such an important subject 

 should. We have been taught that honey is 

 the proper food for winter use, and that, if 

 a colony were shoi't of it in the spring, just 

 give them a heavy comb, and that was all 

 that was necessary to do through the whole 

 spring season. But experience has taught 

 many of us that honey is not the best winier 

 food, and that to give our bees heavy combs 

 of old capped honey in the spring is one of 



