FEEDING. 317 



crease of breeding, in a hive ; and ihe taste of something 

 sweet, however small, to be added to their hoards, exerts a 

 very sliniulating effect upon the bees; a few spoonsfull a 

 day, will be gratefully received, and will be worth much 

 more to a stock of bees in the Spring, than at any other time. 

 By judicions early feeding, a whole Apiary may be not 

 only encouraged to breed much faster' than they otherwise 

 would have done ; but they will be inspired with unusual 

 vigor and enterprise, and will afterwards increase their 

 stores with unusual rapidity. Great caution must be exer- 

 cised in supplying bees at this time with food, both to pre- 

 vent them from being tempted to rob each other, or to fill 

 up with honey, the cells which ought to be supplied with 

 brood. Only a small allowance should be given to them, and 

 this from time to time, unless they are destitute of supplies ; 

 and as soon as they begin to gather from the fields, the feed- 

 ing should be discontinued. Feeding, intended merely to 

 encourage the bees, and to promote early breeding, may be 

 done in the open air. No greater mistake can be made 

 than to feed largely at this season of the year. The bees 

 take, to be sure, all that they can, and stow it up in their 

 cells, but what is the consequence ? The honey which has 

 been fed to them, fills up their brood combs, and the increase 

 of population is most seriously interfered with ; so that often 

 when stocks which have not been over- fed, are prepared not 

 only to fill all the store combs in their main hive, but to take 

 speedy possession of the spare honey boxes, a colony im- 

 prudently fed, is too small in numbers, to gather even as 

 much as the one which was not fed at all ! The inexpe- 

 rienced Apiarian has thus often made a worse use of his 

 honey than he would have done, if he had actually thrown 

 it away I while all the time, he is deluding himself with the 

 27* 



