THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



181 



stating the condition of things, that so 

 many had starved, and others were very 

 short of stores, that he had equalized the 

 stores as best he could, I took the first 

 train for Port Huron, where 1 had 1,000 

 pounds of honey in L. frames, that came 

 with the "deal" in which 1 bought the 

 bees. I put this honey on the cars, and 

 sent it by express, and went with it my- 

 self, writing Elmer in advance to meet 

 me at Fife Lake with a team, and we 

 soon had a big, fat, solid comb of honey 

 near the center of every colony that 

 needed it. By the time this honey was in 

 the hives, it had cost ten cents a pound-- 

 rather expensive bee-feed; but it was the 

 salvation of those colonies. 



Yes, and I'll never forget the journey 

 with that honey. Most of it was in new 

 combs, built last year, with no wires nor 

 foundation in the frames — just great slabs 

 of heavy, fragile and tender honey. Even 

 th3 jar of the express train when running 

 would cause the combs to crack loose 

 next to the top bars. Once in awhile a 

 comb would drop out between the bottom 

 bars, and the honey dripped out on the 

 car floor and on trucks when it was 

 transferred, and daubed up the clothes of 

 the men who handled it. and caused them 

 to use language more picturesque than 

 polite. But we got there after awhile, 

 and tied the combs into the frames, and 

 th3 colonies thereby saved are worth ten 

 times the cost and trouble. 



There is just one lesson that I can think 

 of right here. Last fall, right at the 

 apiary where most of this honey was 

 used, we extracted, and sold at six cents 

 a pound, some 2,000 pounds of buck- 

 wheat honey. If we had kept over about 

 200 combs of it for some such an emer- 

 gency, or for spring feeding that is quite 

 likely to come, we would have been money 

 and labor ahead. Of course, we did not 

 expect such a spring, but they say that it 

 is always the unexpected that happens. 

 Anyway, Elmer says that we have had it 

 rubbed into us pretty effectually that we 

 can't get too much honey into the hives 

 before putting them into winter quarters. 



But we have about 500 colonies left, 

 and they are in pretty fair condition, bar- 

 ring the lack of stores, which, of course, 

 we are supplying. We have already 

 bought eight barrels of sugar, and will 

 buy as many more if necessary. We will 

 stand by the bees. From now until clover 

 or raspberries bloom, they will have all 

 of the feed that they can use to advan- 

 tage. 



The season is at least a month late. In 

 one sense, this is a redeeming feature, as 

 it gives time in which to build up the col- 

 onies in readiness for the harvest when it 

 does come, and you may rest assured that 

 we shall make the most of it. The rasp- 

 berries have not yet been injured by the 

 freeze, and it is the middle of June 

 when 1 am writing this, and it is not likely 

 that they will now be injured. White 

 clover is coming on slowly, in moderate 

 quantities, and may yield a fair crop. 



The loss of bees here in Michigan has 

 been very heavy this spring. Especially 

 is this true in cases where bee-keeping is 

 a side-issue. The bees have run short 

 of stores without their owners realizing it. 

 My loss over at Port Huron is typical of 

 the stories that come to me day after day. 

 A man was here after some sections a 

 few days ago. He lives near enough so 

 that he drove in. He said a neighbor of 

 his had over 100 colonies last fall, and 

 now has only ten colonies. And so it goes. 



The crop of honey the coming season 

 will certainly be short, and those who 

 have any to sell will be somewhat reim- 

 bursed for present losses by the increased 

 price and demand. 



^K,.-****^**** 



CONTROLLING 5WARM1NG. 



Yet Getting the Benefit of the ^loung 

 Hatching Bees. 



The plan of starting a new brood nest 

 upon the old stand of a populous colony, 

 and in some way getting the young hatch- 

 ing bees into the newly established col- 

 ony, is not new, but the details for carry- 



