Tmm MM®micMif ®e® j©^mi«miu. 



827 



was from 1 to 10 pounds, or an aver- 

 age of about 7 pounds. One colony 

 had gained one pound. I expect to 

 weigh them again in the spi'ing, and 

 give the results. 



In using full sheets of foundation in 

 the brooil-c-hambei:, I ITnd it difficult 

 to keep them from warping, even in 

 wired frames. I have been more suc- 

 cessful with starters of thin foundation. 

 I also prefer starters in sections. 



In what little experience I have had 

 with cellar-wintering of bees, I think 

 that we have more to fear from a too 

 low temperature than from a too high 

 one, unless the cellar is veiy drj". My 

 experience would say that from 42° to 

 50° is better tliau lower. One thing I 

 do know, and that is, that moisture 

 enough to cause water to gather on the 

 hive-cover, is not good. 



Buffalo, Minn., Dec. 11, 1888. 



SPRING WORK. 



Manipulating Bcent in the Spring 

 of llie Year. 



Written for the Canadian Honey Producer 



BY O. W. DEMAEEE. 



It is well to know how to winter 

 bees successfull}', how to obtain in- 

 crease of bees in the way of stocking 

 up the apiary, etc. But if the apiarist 

 lacks the necessary knowledge and ex- 

 perience in spring management of his 

 bees, he will discover after awhile 

 that the chances for the best results 

 have been slipping through his willing 

 fingers, and from under his faulty 

 judgment without his knowing the 

 true cause of his partial failures. 



One of the important things to learn 

 is, that wliat suits some other locality 

 may not suit youi-s. This matter of 

 " locality " is one of the things upon 

 which no apiarist can depend on some 

 one else who occupies some otlicr 

 locality, for definite information as to 

 what is best for his particular case. 

 Hence it is essentially necessary that 

 each apiarist for liimself, should study 

 every feature of his own environments, 

 his climate, honej'-producing flowers, 

 at what time in the season they blos- 

 som, how long they continue to yield 

 nectar, etc. 



Let me illustrate here : Some years 

 ago when I was just beginning to see 

 the necessity of this .sort of knowledge, 

 I left home on Mouda}' morning early 

 in May. I had been with my bees 

 almost daily for two weeks past, and 

 they were living from " harul to 

 mouth," just barely getting enough 

 honey from late blooming trees, etc., 

 to keep from actual want ; in fact I 

 was compelled to feed some of the 

 weaker colonies. I attended court 



that week, and did not see ray bees 

 until the following Saturday morning. 

 The first hive I opened was one that I 

 had been feeding, and did not have 

 one pound of stores when I left home 

 just five days before. I found it full 

 of honey from top to bottom, I hast- 

 ened to another hive, and to another, 

 not willing to believe my own ej'es, 

 every hive in the apiary was jammed 

 full of honey, and I never knew how 

 much I lost bj' not being on hand to 

 furnish what i-oom the best colonies 

 needed. The black locust had come 

 into bloom, and poured out nectar as 

 free as water, outstripping the famous 

 linden before Kentucky was denuded 

 of her wondei'ful forests. How neces- 

 sary then it is to be thoroughly posted 

 in regard to these matters. 



Perhaps I have mentioned this in- 

 cident before, whether or not, it is to 

 the point here. Some years ago a 

 neiglibor of mine took up Ijee-keeping, 

 and on one occasion he met the writer 

 and said, " It is about time to put on 

 the surplus boxes, is it not ?" T/ie sur- 

 plus boxes ! I replied, why, sir, I have 

 taken a large honey crop, and the 

 harvest is about over. You can put 

 them on, but you have lost this year. 

 He was pei-fectly astonished. 



Sprln:; Work in tlie Apiary. 



If the bees have stores to last them 

 until the blossoms begin to open in the 

 spi'ing, thej' should be left undisturbed 

 till they begin to gather pollen. Any 

 warm day thei'eafter, each colony 

 should be examined, and all upward 

 ventilation .should be closed. To ac- 

 complisli this I spread some news- 

 papers between the quilts, and cover 

 warmly above the brood department. 

 All very weak colonies are contracted 

 on but few frames, aud they are made 

 as comfortable as possible. If the col- 

 onies have plenty of stores, stimulative 

 feeding is not resorted to, as I have re- 

 ceived but very little benefit from my 

 experiments in that direction. But if 

 the bees are scarce of stores, they will 

 not breed up rapidly without some 

 feeding. 



After giving the matter a fair trial, 

 no " spreading of brood " is practiced 

 in my apiary. It is a positive injury 

 to a colony of bees to break the nest 

 early in the spring, as advised by some 

 writers on bee-culture. When colonies 

 have been contracted on less than a 

 full set of combs, the combs are re- 

 stored to the bees as fast as they need 

 them, but they are placed at the sides 

 next to the brood, not between combs 

 of brootl as practiced by some apiai"- 

 ists. I am now speaking of the earlj' 

 spring. When warm weather has 

 come in earnest, the empty combs may 

 be placed between the combs of brood 

 without doing any harm. 



Approaching tbe Honejr Harvest. 



I keep a close watch over my bees, 

 and supply them with food if any of 

 the colonies run short by reason of 

 rapid breeding. When I discover that 

 a colony has begun to lengthen the 

 cells near the tops of the brood-combs, 

 giving them the "gilt>edge" appear- 

 ance so pleasing to the eyes of the 

 apiarist, being the first real sign of the 

 approaching honey liarvest, I proceed 

 at once to adjust the surplus cases on 

 the hives, and as others are ready the 

 surplus cases are put on, till the whole 

 apiary is equipped for the campaign. 

 As soon as the surplus cases are about 

 two-thirds filled with honey, they are 

 raised, and an empty case is adjusted 

 under each one of them. Usually the 

 top case will be ready to " take " by 

 the time the lower one is two-thirds 

 full ; if not, a third case is used. 



Tlerins Up. 



After this I proceed cautiously, so 

 as not to carry the " tiering up sys- 

 tem" too far, and thereby have too 

 many unfinished sections at the close 

 of the honey harvest. To guard against 

 this, as soon as the facts appear that 

 the main flow of nectar is past, I begin 

 to tier downward, that is, I begin to 

 concentrate the work in the surplus 

 cases by sorting out such sections as 

 have been advanced most, and group- 

 ing them together in fewer section 

 cases, in order to have them finished 

 up instead of permitting the bees to 

 neglect the partly filled sections and 

 start new work to be left unfinished 

 at the close of the honey harvest. By 

 this management not many unfinished 

 sections are left on hand at the close 

 of the season. 



Chistiansburg, Ky. 



Convention I^otices. 



CP- The Nebraska State Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will convene at Liucoln, Nebr.. on Jan. 9, 10 and 11, 

 1889. J. N. Heater, Sec. 



t^" The annual meeting of the Ontario Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association will be held at Owen Sound, Ont., 

 on Jan. 8 and 9, 1889. W. CODSE, Sec. 



J^W There will be a meeting of the Susquehanna 

 County Bee-Keepers' Association at the Court House 

 in Montrose, Pa., on Saturday, May 4, 1889, at lua.m. 

 H. M. SeeleT, SfC. 



5^" The annual convention of the Vermont State 

 Bee-Keepers' Association will beheld in the Court 

 House at Mlddlebury, Vt., on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 1889. 

 Maucia a. Douglas, Sec. 



J^" The annual meeting of the Northwestern 

 Illinois and Southwestern Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will be held in tbe Supervisors Room of 

 the Court House at Rockford, Ills., on Jan. 15 and 



16, 1889. D. A. KCLLER, SeC. 



Money in Potatoes, by Mr. Joseph 

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