166 THE BEE-KEEPER IN SPRING. 



But however well the bees have wintered, there will 

 always be plenty for the bee-keeper to do in spring ; 

 only he must not be — as many bee-keepers are — 

 in too great a hurry to do it. Of course with weak 

 hives, and when stores of food are exhausted, he must 

 not delay. Such a state of things — the very sight of 

 empty combs and hungry bees, tells him what to do — 

 that he must at once give them food. 



But, with strong hives as well as weak, you must 

 remember that the bees having lived all through 

 the winter will now be comparatively old bees, and 

 will not live much longer ; and you must remem- 

 ber what has been said of the great importance 

 of strong hives. And thus we see at once the point 

 of greatest importance to be attended to, namely, 

 that the queen should — as soon as the weather is 

 suitable — begin to lay the eggs, which, producing 

 young bees, shall replace the old ones, whose time 

 for work is nearly over, 



And the careful bee-keeper can do something to 

 this end — to hasten the time. It is an important 

 part of his spring work. There is a way of giving 

 liquid syrup which seems to make the bees think 

 that the necessary continuous supply of food for 

 young bees is to be had, and therefore leads the 

 queen to commence egg-laying sooner than she 

 otherwise would. This is called ' stimulative feeding,' 

 but such stimulation should never be practised before 

 there is a good prospect of warm weather. If the 

 bee-keeper is in too great a hurry — many are so — he 

 will do a great deal more harm than good. He must 

 not be beguiled by a few warm sunny days in 



