21 



that is diseased should never be added to a healthy one, but" 

 it should be destroyed. Uniting is accomplished in the follow- 

 ing manner: Each colony of bees has its own peculiar odor so 

 that when a strange bee enters the hive it is recognized as a 

 foreigner on account of its different odor, and it is considered 

 a robber by the guards at the entrance. For this reason it is 

 necessary to destroy the odor of colonies before uniting them; 

 this is accomplished by giving each a good smoking. If the 

 colonies to be united are on stands near one another, it is a good 

 practice to gradually bring them closer together by moving them 

 a little nearer every day until they are very close to one another. 

 Bees have a perfect knowledge of the location of their home and 

 if the hive is moved any distance, say one or two feet, the bees 

 are not slow in recognizing the change. When the bees return- 

 ing from the field discover that their home has been moved they 

 fly to the space where the old hive stood and then circle about 

 until they recognize their old hive in its new position and enter 

 hesitatingly. For this reason after uniting two colonies, or 

 nuclei, a small piece of wood or a few leaves should be placed in 

 front of the entrance. This is to act as- an obstacle to attract 

 their attention to the position of their new quarter. It should be 

 noted that bees returning with a full store of honey are generally' 

 admitted into other hives than their own and are not considered 

 robbers. When two weak colonies are united it is well to cage 

 the queen for two or three days so that she will not be destroyed 

 by the foreign members introduced. 



FEEDING BEES. 



In Porto Rico, as ^ far as the writer knows, bees have never 

 ha d to be'fe d. If bees wer e kept oh the soutlr-c©a«ferJ3t««Kexeiv it 

 might be necessa ry_t oTee9^ th em" during seasons of long droughth; 

 The following ex'Eact on feeding bees taken from Farmers' Bul- 

 letin 397, United States Department of Agriculture, is of interest 

 on the subject: 



" Honey from an unknown source should never be used, 



for fear of introducing disease, and sirup made of granulated fugar is 

 cheapest and best for this purpose. The cheaper grades of sugar or 

 molasses should never be used for winter stores. The proportion of sugar to 

 water depends on the season and the purpose of the feeding. For stimulation 

 a proportion of one-fourth to one-third sugar by volume is enough, and for fall 

 feeding, especially if rather late, a solution containing as much as it will 

 hold when cold is best. Thdre seems to be little advantage in boiling the 

 sirup. Tartaric acid in small quantity may be added for the purpose of 

 changing part of the cane sugar to invert sugar, thus retarding granulation. 

 The medication of sirup as a preventive or cure of brood disease is often 

 practised, but it has not been shown that such a procedure is of any valup. 

 If honey is fed, it should- be diluted somewhat, the amount of dilution depen- 

 ding on the season. If robbing is likely to occur feeding should be done in 

 the evening. 



Numerous feeders are on the market, adapted for different purposes and 

 methods of manipulation. A simple feeder can be made of a tin pan filled' 

 with excelsior or shavings. This is filled with sirup and placed on top of 

 the frames in a super or hive body. It is advisable to lean pieces of wood OU; 

 the pan as runways for the bees, and to attract them first to the sirup, 

 either by mixing in a little honey or by spilling a little sirup over the frames 



