326 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' HE VIEW 



out reference to the degree of smalluess 

 conduces to swarming. 



The feeding was begun the 15th of July 

 soon after the closing of the flow from 

 clover and basswood. Two or more cases 

 of sections were kept upon each colony and 

 the honey given as rapidly as the bees 

 would take it. The honey was prepared for 

 feeding by throughly incorporating with it 

 about one half its own weight of water on 

 the supposition that in this condition the 

 bees would handle it more rapidly. 



The work with colonies two, three and 

 four was closed August (i, one day more 

 than three weeks, owing to the fact that on 

 that date or shortly before they had cast 

 Bwarms, rendering it undesirable to continue 



Turning now to the table we tind some 

 questions presented which are not altogether 

 easy to answer. We find there so striking a 

 difference between the work of colonies as 

 that one requires more than two pounds of 

 honey to enable it to add one pound to its 

 store of comb honey while another requires 

 but a trifle more than a pound and a third. 

 It might be surmised that the one requiring 

 the larger amount had expended it in the 

 production of a larger amount of brood. If, 

 however, we allow that No. 3 reared an 

 amount of brood equal to that reared by No. 

 4, viz., eight H. frames tull and deduct from 

 the amount fed each the twenty pounds 

 suppored to be necessary for the rearing of 

 the brood we see No. 4 accounts fully for all 



^M 



pS 



I — ■ CC u 





62 



66 



1681/' 

 76i/i 

 75 

 67'/3 



317M 



\\\y». 



136 

 114!^ 



92-M 

 46K' 

 36% 

 48V^ 



5,5 



64 7 

 49 

 71.9 



1.81 I 10^ 



i.r.4 I M 



2.04 I 5 



1.31 I ^ 



61 



65.7 

 55.6 

 72.5 



7^.t 



8 



8 



6}^ 



8 



8 



Total I 452^4 | 378)^ | 679-M I 2271.^ | 58.7 | 1 70 | 16J^ | 63 



them in the work. Colony No. 1 was re- 

 tained in the experiment until the 2!)th of 

 August, nearly six and a half weeks. This 

 colony was particularly adapted to comb 

 building and showed that, during the first 

 half of the period, but later owing probably 

 in part to the low temperature which pre- 

 vailed during August, its work was less sat- 

 isfactory. 



Up to August 10th there was no noticable 

 amount of honey coming from the fields 

 but later there was some considerable being 

 gathered, though colony No. 1, being fed, 

 seemed to participate to a very small extent 

 in it, not bringing enough to tinge the color 

 of the comb honey in process of construction, 

 and so I judge not sufticieut to make it 

 an appreciable element in the problem un- 

 der consideration. 



*he remainder in its case, while No. ? lacks 

 eighteen and a quarter pounds of doing so. 

 In like manner, on the above supposition. 

 No. L' accounts for nearly all the honey giv- 

 en it, while No. 1 comes short of it by 

 more than thirty pounds. It can hardly be 

 that the amount of honey required by dif- 

 ferent colonies for the rearing of the same 

 quantity of brood can vary very greatly, 

 nor the amount required by the adult bees 

 for food where the strength of the colonies 

 is about equal. At present I see only two 

 other ways of accounting for the deficit, viz., 

 quiet robbing and varying amounts required 

 for the production of wax. l^obbingas an 

 outlet is hardly to be relied upon : wax pro- 

 duction seems more likely to afford some 

 measure of relief. If the table is examined 

 closely it will be seen that the sections 



