146 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



was removed, and the second batch start- 

 ed some forty-eight hours later, and 

 nearly ahvays upon larvce ivhich ivere 

 only eggs when the queen disappeared . 

 The first batch of cells raised maj' be any 

 nuniljer from three to fifteen, or even 

 more. On the other hand, the second 

 batch will consist of perhaps of two or 

 three, and occasionally only one. But 

 whether one, two, or three, the last batch 

 always produces the best queens, and on 

 these later cells being seen the older ones 

 should be all removed and the younger 

 ones taken care of." 



Denver, Colo., Feb. 16, 1S99. 



SELECTED BY DR. A. B. MASON. 



thinner for spring feed than for winter 

 nourishment. In fact, it is almost indis- 

 pensable that the bees have access to wa- 

 ter when they are raising brood, as at this 

 season, well diluted food will probably 

 cause less need of trips to the water 

 trough, or to the pond. * * In the spring 

 about half sugar andhalf water in weight, 

 warmed up so as to be lukewarm, would 

 make good feed. 



On the same page Mr. W. J. Stephen- 

 son in an article on " Water for Bees, " 

 says: — 



I suppose * * this subject is less looked 

 after, * * than any other subject pertain- 

 ing to bee culture, but I dare say it is 

 not the least important. By watching 

 bees about puddles, branches, and creeks, 



- - : ""~~ anybody can tell that they need water, 



^ ^ , and that they want it during- the brood 



OOri f n 1 n 0'^ rearing season. * * I think it advisable to 



\f\J\-L L. 1 i 1 1 1 >^ O ^^^^ Q^j^ ^^Q kinds of water, salt and fresh. 



_ _ . . . Last season our bees visited refuse places 



rrnm llTnPr Iniirri/I Q to obtain salt. when I commenced to 



riUIII Ulllul uUUIIIQIOl put out salt water for them they immedi- 



ateh- quit visiting such places. * * When 



fixing salt water, it must be barely salt 



enough to taste it, or else ihe bees will 

 not have it. Bees will consume twice as 

 much salt as fresh water. 



In Langstrothon the Hive and Honey 

 Bee, revised bj- the Dadants, they more 

 than once emphasize the importance of 

 water for bees; and on page 126 say: — 



Water is necessary to bees to dissolve 

 the honey, which sometimes granulates 

 in the cells, and to raise brood. They 

 can raise a certain amount of brood with- 

 out water, but they seem to suffer more 

 or less in consequence. In winter, they 

 breed but little. * * yet we have noticed 

 that as soon as the bees are brought out 

 of the cellar, if the temperature is suffi- 

 ciently warm, a great many may be seen 

 sucking water. * * Berlepsch was right 

 when he advised bee-keepers to give wa- 

 ter to bees in winter. * * Mr. \'ogel, edi- 

 tor of the Biencn-Zeitung, on the 19th of 

 March, gave to a colony a comb contain- 

 ing crystalized honey, and another con- 

 taining about three-fourths of a pound of 

 water. Within sixteen hours, both combs 

 were em]>tied by the bees. * * * ' ' During 

 the early part of the breeding season," 

 said Dr. Bevan "till the beginning of May, 

 I keep a constant supply of salt and wa- 

 ter near my Apiary, and find it thronged 

 with bees from early morn till late in the 

 evening." 



And on pages 354 and 355, under the 

 heading Spring Dwindling, they call at- 

 tention to the fact that 



GIVING BEES WATER IN SPRING. 



There are so many good things in all 

 of the bee-journals that it seems too bad 

 that every bee-keeper can't have and 

 read them all; but, in looking them over, 

 I often find articles that don't give a new 

 thought or even call attention to any 

 thing of value; and I also often find arti- 

 cles of a column or more containing facts 

 that could be easily stated in a few line . 

 I was reminded of these facts as I scan- 

 ned one of our bee-journals this morning. 

 I laid it down and picked up a copy of 

 the Modern Farmer and Busy Bee for 

 March 15th, and the first words I saw 

 were ' 'access to water. ' ' As that was a sub- 

 ject in which I felt interested, I looked to 

 see who used those words, and saw that 

 it was C. P. Dadant; and that he was 

 writing about "Spring management of 

 the Hives;" and I felt sure he had some- 

 thing of importance to say. I found that 

 he urges the importance of caring for the 

 bees in the spring, feeding them if need 

 be. He says: — 



If no honey is at hand, good sugar 

 syrup will do, and it may be made nmch 



