1878 



GLEANLNGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



301 



gave them only pure sugar and water. They 

 built comb, and seemed quite contented, the 

 cage emitting no smell at all. In order to 

 start brood rearing, I gave them some sugar 

 candy containing flour, and they got uneasy 

 very soon, and tried in vain to get out. At 

 this time, the cage gave olf quite an un- 

 pleasant smell, and so they were allowed to 

 fly ; had the pollen element not been given 

 them, I presume they would have stood the 

 confinement for a month or more. I once 

 wintered a fair colony of bees, on stores of 

 pure Sligar syrup, and when they flew in the 

 spring there was no perceptible spot on the 

 white snow about their hives. They had no 

 pollen, and, of course, no brood rearing 

 could go on without it. A few years ago, 

 I made some experiments with bees confined 

 in a large room iinder glass. As it was late 

 in the fall, after brood rearing had ceased, I 

 did not know whether I should succeed in 

 starting them again. After feeding them 

 for about a week, eggs were found in the 

 cells, but none of them hatched into larvse. 

 A heap of rye meal was placed in the centre 

 of the room near the feed, and anxiously I 

 waited to see them take notice of it. After 

 several days, a bee was seen hovering curi- 

 ously about it. In breathless suspense, I 

 watched him, until he finally began to dip 

 his tongue into the heap, and then to pad it 

 on his legs. He carried home a small load. 

 I had the hive open, and the frame out, as 

 soon as he was among his comrades, and 

 watched the behavior of the rest while he 

 shook himself among them, until he depos- 

 ited his treasure in a cell, and hurried away 

 for another load. Very shortly some of the 

 rest followed him, and buzzed about the 

 room, until they found where he was loading 

 up, and soon they were at work on the meal, 

 as merrily as in the spring. Of course, the 

 eggs were very soon, now, transformed into 

 unsealed larvae, then into capped brood, and, 

 in due time, I had young bees hatched out 

 in the month of Dec. 



By warming the room with a stove for sev- 

 eral days in succession, I found I could start 

 brood rearing and pollen gathering even in 

 the month of January. It may be well to 

 state here that, although I succeeded in 

 rearing bees in midwinter, as strong and 

 healthy, apparently, as those raised in sum- 

 mer time, the experiment was hardly a suc- 

 cess after all; for about as many bees died 

 from what I suppose was the effect of con- 

 finement, as were hatched out. It was a de- 

 cided success, in determining many un- 

 known points in regard to bees, aside from 



the oflice of pollen, and I presume, if it ever 

 should be necessary, we could overcome the 

 difficulties of flying bees under glass. 



ARTIFICIAL, SUBSTITUTES FOR POLLEN. 



It has been known for many years that, in 

 the spring time, bees will make use of the 

 flour or meal of many kinds of grain, and 

 many bee-keepers feed bushels of it, every 

 season. The favorite grain seems to be rye; 

 and, as the bees are apt to fall into it and 

 sometimes get so covered as to perish, I have 

 been in the habit of having the rye ground 

 up with an equal quantity of oats. A great 

 many plans have been devised for feeding it 

 without waste; but, after all our experi- 

 ments, a heap of meal on the ground seems 

 about as satisfactory as any way. Of course, 

 it should be protected from rain, and as 

 there is usually much high wind in the 

 spring, which is, to say the least, very an- 

 noying to the bees, it is well to have it in a 

 spot sheltered as much as possible, always 

 aiming to give them as much sunshine as 

 may be. By way of experiment, I have con- 

 centrated the rays of the sun on the meal 

 heap, by mirrors, that the bees might work 

 on days otherwise too cold ; I have also 

 made glass covered structures for the pur- 

 pose ; and have even kept their meal hot by 

 means of a lamp nursery ; all these plans 

 have succeeded, but I am inclined to doubt 

 whether stocks pushed along, in brood rear- 

 ing, by such means, were really in advance 

 of some that were left to take their chances. 

 It is amusing to see the little fellows start 

 from their hives on days so cold that they 

 would not otherwise stir out, hie to the 

 warm meal and load up, and then go home 

 so quickly that they do not have time to get 

 chilled. 



Is there any danger of feeding them too 

 much mealV In our own apiary, I have nev- 

 er known them to take so much that it was 

 not used at once for brood rearing ; but I 

 purchased of a neighbor some hives which 

 contained flour in the cells, dried down so 

 hard as to make it necessary for the bees to 

 cut it out, comb and all, as the only means 

 of getting rid of it. I presume this came 

 about by the sudden appearance of natural 

 pollen, when they had laid in a pretty good 

 supply of the flour ; it is well known, that 

 as soon as the natural pollen can be obtained, 

 they at once abandon all artificial substitutes. 

 I think there is but little danger of giving 

 them too much rye and oat meal, but I 

 would not risk giving them great quantities 

 of fine wheat flour. 



To he Continued. 



