^e (§ee-J\eepeps' JAeVieCu. 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL 



Devoted to tl^e Iqterests of Hoqey Producers. 



$L00 A YEAR. 



W. Z.HUTCHH^lSOri, EdltoK & Pvop. 



VOL. VI, FLINT, MICHIGAN, APRIL 10, 1893. NO. 4. 



TIMiELi^S' TOFICS. 

 No. 3. 



B. L. TAYLOB. 



■' Come gentle Spring, ethereal mildness 

 come." 



r^HIS is an excel- 

 L lent season for 

 the cultivation of the 

 new bee - keeper's 

 powers of observa- 

 tion with respect to 

 the weather. In look- 

 ing back to former 

 seasons before he be- 

 came interested in 

 bees, he remembers 

 that the last half of 

 April was crowded with rapturous, ethereal 

 days, but, somehow, the possession of bees 

 has lessened both their numbers and their 

 quality ; so the novice, like a lovelorn youth, 

 goes about dejected, casting glances at his 

 silent hive^ and cursing the weather. It 

 may not be amiss, then, for us to say, for 

 the benefit of all such, that it was always 

 thus. If the bees get out of their hives in 

 this latitude on more than two or three days 

 per week, on the average, at this season of 

 the year, it is owing to unusually favorable 

 weather ; besides, this, and similar things, 

 bring with them certain compensations. If 

 all things were at all times favorable, turn- 

 ing out as we would be likely to wish them 

 to, if there were no obstacles to overcome 

 and no dangers or evils to guard against. 



how small would be the encouragement to 

 the prudent and energetic. The careless and 

 indolent could not be excelled by the active 

 and vigilent, but all would be alike success- 

 ful, and attention and prudence would no 

 longer be at a premium. Happily there is 

 no immediate danger of any such chaos. 

 The long, severe winter just passed will 

 prove of great advantage to the skillful, 

 alert bee-keeper. By the destruction of the 

 bees of neglectful and incompetent owners, 

 competition will be decreased and prices en- 

 hanced and greater yet will be the affirma- 

 tive result of labor and care well bestowed 

 during April and ilay, and this, naturally 

 enough, will be principally in the line of 

 food and clothing — stores and protection. 



These matters should be attended to with- 

 out delay and should be pursued with thor- 

 oughness and certainty. If not already 

 done, the condition of each hive with respect 

 to stores should be determined on the first 

 day possible. The great majority can be 

 safely "diagnosed" as either being easily 

 heavier than necessary, or too light, by 

 " weighing " them in the hands — those near 

 the dividing line may either be put on the 

 scales or opened and examined. If the hives 

 are alike, and one knows the average weight 

 of hive and combs, and allows two or three 

 pounds for bees, but few hives need be 

 opened. Then the needy opes should be 

 supplied, and I should always aim to give an 

 abundance, and a superabundance would be 

 preferable to the least danger of a deficiency. 

 Combs of honey or combs filled with syrnp 

 can be exchanged for empty combs and this 



