148 HANDY BOOK OF BEES. 



CHAPTEE XXIX. 



FEEDING. 



Ix bee-keepiiig, as in other things, it is not all honey and 

 sunshine. Stings and venom-bags are placed side hy side 

 with honey-bags in the bodies of these industrious crea- 

 tures. Cold, rainy seasons come sometimes ; and when 

 they do come, bees have to be fed pretty constantly. One 

 year well remembered by some apiarians, the best hives, 

 though weU attended to, never rose -in weight beyond 

 22 lb. each. They were near starvation-point the whole 

 of the summer. In such seasons the management of bees 

 is attended with anxiety, disappointment, and loss. Part 

 of the profits of other years have to be spent on sugar to 

 keep them alive. On two noticeable years bees had to 

 be fed from April to August, when the weather changed, 

 and became so favourable for honey-gathering, that strong 

 hives rose rapidly in weight to 70, 80, and 100 lb each. 

 It is rather an unfortunate circumstance for a working 

 man to commence bee-keeping in a wet season. His bees 

 must be fed again and again ; and his wife does not like 

 to see so great a waste of sugar, and may grumble sorely 

 about it. To put an end to such loss and dissatisfaction, 

 he seUs his bees at a sacrifice. Such failures we have seen 

 with sorrow. "We should be glad if any poor words of 

 ours contribute in the smallest degree to encourage all 



