272 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



SELECnXG COLONIES TO PEED. 



I have spoken as if a feeder was put over each colony lacking 

 stores. That is by no means always the ease — indeed, not often 

 the case. There are reasons why it is better to have a compara- 

 tively small number of colonies do the storing, taking sealed 

 combs from these to give to the weaker ones. It is a good deal 

 less trouble, when the feeding is begun in good season, to have 

 one colony store enough for five or ten others besides itself than 

 it is to have feeders on all of the five or ten colonies. Some 

 colonies will store better than others, and the best can be 

 chosen. 



FEEIiIXCI IX FALL FOR SPRIXG. 



For some reason, bees seem to store from a feeder much belter 

 late in tlie season than thoy <lo before the Jiar\'esi timc\ The 

 greater strength of the colonies and the warmer weather would 

 make one expect a difference, but it has always seemed to me 

 that there was more difference than could be accounted for 

 without some other reason. So it is desirable at this time to 

 have not only enough combs filled to bridge over the winter, 

 but to supply any possible deficiency up to the harvest time. 



An upper stoi'v of empty combs is put on, possibly two. As 

 fast as combs aie completely filled and sealed tliey can be re- 

 moved and replaced by emjoty ones. If it is desired to have 

 combs filled out upon foundation, beautiful work will be done 

 u|inn them in these upper stories. It will easily be seen that it 

 is less trouble to add sugar from time to time as needed, also 

 to add water as needed, than it is to apportion the smaller 

 amounts to a number of colonies. No gTeat matter if too much 

 or too little of one or the other is present; the thing will regu- 

 late itself. For with cold water there is no danger of the feed 

 being too tliick, and all the harm of too large a proportion of 

 sugar is that the bees will have to wait for more water when it 

 is too dry to give down. On the other hand, they will continue 

 taking it down when it is much thinner than half-and-half, and 

 perhaps it is all the better manipulated when very thin. 



Perhaps it would do as well to feed as described under whole- 

 sale feeding in spring, but in that case I should want the feed 



