MANAGEMENT OF OUT-APIARIES 5 



praised and blamed at intervals during the last half-century. I have tried 

 the feeding and "the spreading of the brood" plans by the side of the "rich- 

 in-honey plan," as is given in this book, setting apart a given number of 

 colonies to each, only to prove, after numerous trials and experiments, that 

 the latter would outstrip either of the others in the race for brood,i as well 

 as saving all feeders, all the labor of extracting and feeding, which 

 amounts to a great big lot when the same is pi-actieed on 50, 100, 

 or more colonies. Just put the combs of honey in next the sides of the 

 hive, shoving the frames composing the brood-nest into the center, if it is 

 not already there; and this once fixing of the brood-chamber is all the work 

 necessary for the largest amount of brood the reigning queen can produce. 



There are those who still insist that where combs of sealed honey are 

 given colonies for the purpose of providing a larger amount of stores dur- 

 ing the spring of the year, that the capping over the cells should be broken 

 by passing a knife, chisel, or some instrument over the "face" sides of the 

 comb till no cell is left sealed, and this comb set in the middle of the brood- 

 nest, if the best results are to be secured. They argue that, no matter how 

 cold it turns right after this is done, the colony is set in such activity 

 through the removal of the honey that no harm can result through the 

 spreading of the brood in an un propitious time, as this activity creates 

 enough surplus warmth to hold the brood in perfect condition through a 

 Week of cold weather; while if the weather continue fine, a greater gain in 

 brood will result in this increased activity than could otherwise be obtain- 

 ed. This does not hold out in practice, as over 30 years have proven 

 with our most careful experimenters. To be sure, great activity is brought 

 about in this way, the same as would be the case in any home should the 

 roof of the house be taken off by a cyclone. But that does not prove that 

 this unroofing is to the best interests of the family. And the breaking up 

 of the brood-nest in this way is nearly as detrimental to any colony of bees 

 as the unroofing was to the family. 



In fact, after trying all other plans for, stimulating brood-rearing at 

 the out-apiary I feel to say there is nothing that comes "anj'where near in 

 sight" of this plan of "millions of honey at our house." All talk about daily 

 feeding, as practiced by Mr. Alexander^ and others, or the spreading of 

 brood, as I have advocated during the past, is of no use at the out-apiary, 

 for the apiarist can not be there to attend to it. And, even if he could, 

 resiiilts show that the "millions of honey at our house" plan, followed by 

 what is to come hereafter, will outstrip any of the heretofore known stimu- 

 lating p^ans by far in the race for bees in time for the harvest. 



^ When this was written, stimulative feeding and spreading the brood in the spring 

 were much more commonly practiced than at the present time. These practices have been 

 largely abandoned because, as the author points out, the bees usually rear as much. 

 if not more, Ijrood in the spring when left alone provided they have an abundance of . 

 honey in the hives. Where the main honey flow comes late in the season as in the 

 buckwheat region and in some parts of the South and the West, spreading the brood 

 and stimulative feeding are often advantageous, since the bees are not inclined to 

 rear so much brood after the spurt of brood-rearing in the spring. 



2 Mr. Alexander was located in the midst of the buckwheat region in New York. 

 His main crop of honey was from buckwheat which begins to yield in August. In his 

 case the workers for the honey flow were reared chiefly in July, when the bees naturally 

 reduce the amount of their brood. In such localities the presence of an abundance 

 of stores at this time is not a sufficient stimulus to brood-rearing, because the natural 

 period of extensive brood-rearing is then past. Alexander's problem was to rear bees 

 for the buckwheat honey flow of August, while Doolittle's problem was to rear bees 

 for the clover honey flow of June. Each was right for his own locality. 



