FEKUING. 156 



APPARENT CONTRADICTION WHEN FEEDING CAUSING STARVATION. 



It is possible that feeding a stock of bees in spring, 

 may cause them to starve I whereas, if let alone, they 

 might escape. Notwithstanding this looks like a con- 

 tradiction, I think it appears reasonable. Whenever 

 the supply of honey is short, probably not more than 

 one egg in twenty which the queen deposits, will be 

 matured — their means not allowing the young brood to 

 be fed. This appears from the fact that several eggs 

 may be found in one cell. I transferred over twenty 

 stocks in March, 1852 — most of the cells occupied with 

 eggs contained a plurality ; two, three, and even four, 

 were. found in one cell ; it is evident that all could not 

 be perfected. Also, the fact of these eggs being at this 

 season on the bottom-board. Now suppose you give 

 such a stock two or three pounds of honey, and they 

 are encouraged to feed a large brood, and your supply 

 fails before they are half grown. What* are they to 

 do? destroy the brood and lose all they have fed, or 

 draw on their old stores for a small quantity to help 

 them in this emergency, and trust to chance for them- 

 selves? The latter alternative will probably be adopt- 

 ed, and then, without a timely intervention of favor- 

 able weather, the bees starve. Tlie same effect is some- 

 times produced by the changes of the weather; a 

 week or two may be very fine and bring" out the' flow- 

 ers in abundance — a sudden change, perhaps frost, 

 may destroy all for a few days. This makes it neces- 

 sary to use considerable vigilance, as these turns of 

 cold weather (when they occur) make it unsafe, till 



