MakcH 21, 1912] 
NALORE 6 
ios) 
and although, by artificially feeding the weaker 
colony for the first week or so, I might have made 
good the deficiency, I wished the experiments to 
represent as far as possible the natural increase 
of the bees. To this may be attributed the com- 
paratively poor results achieved in a good season. 
My apiary is situated about 300 ft. above sea- 
level, and stands in a sheltered, sunny position. 
The main honey-producing plants are, in April, 
the sallows and the bush fruits, currants and 
gooseberries. Then follow, in this case during 
the first ten days in May, pears, plums, cherries. 
After this the apples (both cultivated and wild) 
produced a plentiful supply of nectar, and these, 
accompanied by the holly, sycamore, and horse 
chestnut, lasted till nearly the end of the month. 
The maple, which in some districts is a valuable 
aid to brood rearing, is scarce near me. 
Down to May 20 the weather had been of a 
somewhat varied character, the sky being fre- 
quently overcast and seldom clear, the winds 
mainly from the south-west, and light to fresh in 
force. The temperature, however, was above the 
mean, the minima being exceptionally high for 
the period. On the evening of the 21st the strong 
colony was 17 lb. heavier, and the weak one only 
4 lb. 
On the 22nd the temperature rose considerably 
and the sky was clearer; in the ten days ending 
May 31 the strong colony gained 16 lb., and the 
weak one 4 lb. The hawthorn came into bloom 
soon after the middle of the month, and provided 
a very heavy crop of pure honey of delicious 
flavour and density. This hawthorn honey-flow 
continued during the first ten days of June, and 
during that period there was a gain of 8 lb. in 
the strong hive and 3 lb. in the weak one. 
By this time the strawberries were in bloom, 
and the main honey flow seemed to be close at 
hand. The blackberries, which are a great honey 
source in this neighbourhood, began about the 
5th of the month, and the white clover, from 
which the main crop is usually gathered, on the 
Sth. Notwithstanding this, the remainder of the 
month was of an exceedingly disappointing char- 
acter, owing to the prevalence of high winds, low 
temperatures, and larsely overcast skies. On 
June 30 the colonies weighed 82 Ib. and 47 Ib. 
respectively, being a gain during the twenty days 
of 2 lb. and $ Ib. only. 
No sooner did July open, however, than the 
weather improved, the wind blowing lightly from 
the north-east, the sky clear, and high tempera- 
tures prevailing. Honey came in at a great rate 
down to the 22nd of the month, when the flowers 
dried up completely on account of the drought. 
During this period nearly all the surplus was pro- 
cured from the white clover; the limes, which 
were certainly blooming freely, seeming to have 
little attraction for the bees, and the blackberries 
producing only a small portion of the surplus. 
In the twenty-two days the strong colony gained 
32 lb. and the weak one 25 lb. 
Before passing on to state the conclusions I 
arrived at after tabulating all the results, I 
NO. 2212, VOL. 89] 
may point out how marked is the difference be- 
tween the colony having large stores to commence 
the season with and one that is deficient in that 
respect. As will be seen, the weak colony did 
practically nothing during the May honey flow, 
owing to its being so much behind in breeding ; 
but when the queen, having plenty of supplies, 
| began to push the breeding, the colony pulled up 
nearly level, and had there been any heather here 
it is most probable she would have outstripped 
her older sister. This is a lesson the practical 
beekeeper may well take to heart. A few rence 
spent on sugar in the autumn will be amply repaid 
by an early crop of honey the following season. 
The next striking thing is the suddenness with 
which a flow of honey commences and leaves off. 
In the May flow, for instance, after three days 
when there was an actual loss of weight, and one 
where there was only a gain of 4 lb., the next 
day showed a gain of 3 lb., which continued more 
or less for several days. Again, on July 2, the 
gain was } lb., but on the 3rd 2+ Ib., followed 
by 32 lb., 44 lb., 24 lb., 34 lb., 34 Ib., 2 Ib., 2 Ib. 
This offers another useful lesson to the beekeeper. 
A day’s delay in putting on surplus chambers may 
result in the bees swarming; for once they com- 
mence preparations, which they do as soon as they 
find their quarters getting cramped, no device will 
stop them, and they will refuse to enter the supers. 
If the extra room is provided in good time, they 
take to it readily and work steadily on. 
It is impossible in the space of this short article 
to give the details of the observations made. All 
that can be done is to state as briefly as possible 
what conclusions are to be drawn from an analysis 
of them. 
The total gain of the strong colony, which | 
will call No. 1, was 76 lb., which is an average 
of o-7o1 Ib. per day. The weak stock (No. 2) 
gained 36} lb., or an average of 0-447 lb. per day. 
The range of pressure over the whole period was 
very small, the barometer being universally high, 
but I have divided the readings into three equal 
parts, high, medium, and low. On the twenty- 
eight days when the mercury was high the gains 
averaged for No. 1, 1-402 lb.; No. 2, 0936 Ib. 
On the thirty-one medium days, No. 1 averaged 
o-710 lb., and No. 2 0:218 lb. On the days of 
comparatively low pressure, No. 1 averaged 
0°203 lb., and No. 2 0'125 lb. 
Here we have conclusive evidence that a high 
barometer is favourable. Especially is this the 
case with the weak stock, for it does very badly 
under any except the best conditions. 
With regard to temperature, I have divided the 
maxima also into three sections, those under 
65° F., those between 66° and 75°, and those 
above 75°. As may be expected, with the high 
readings come good results, the average being 
t-182 Ib. for No. 1, and 0-743 lb. for No. 
With a medium day temperature, No. 1 averaged 
0723 Ib., and No. 2 0:213 Ib. Under low tem- 
perature I find the results extremely poor, the 
average of twenty-three days being 0-108 Ib. for 
_ 
No. 1, and an actual loss of 0°068 Ib. for No. 2. 
' 
