29 



A SniM.K l)iA];\. 

 The beo-yoai- fn.iu (Ik- apiansf.s pniiiL <if view liugiiis, t huieforu, in Septeriilier. 

 But since we have made a little piogiess willi the Npring ediiditions we may as well 

 continue. Every begiiniei- in bee-kee])ing shnuhl kee]) a diaiy for the first year, at 

 least as a guide for tlie future. It need not bo in any way elaborate, just a sheet of 

 note-paper lying convenient mi which to make brief ji'ttings like these :— 



Feliruary 'J-J — Willow blooms ; pollen carried in. 



March 13 — A few dandelions ; plentiful April T. 



March 15 — First examination nf hives ; temperature, 63°. 



April 12 — Karly pears. 



April IS — Karly plums ; jiollen plentiful. 



May 3 — Nectar and ]iollen above immediate needs. 



May 19 — Dearth of nectar ; feeding. 



June 1 — First clover-blossom. 



June 19 — Honey-How starts. 



These items are simply suggestive, as the ayiiarist should make it his business and 

 pleasure to know every plant visited by bees in his locality, also their date of blooming. 

 In most regions there are breaks in the flow of nectar and these should lie anticipated, 

 as during a dearth brood-raising will be stopped, m ith serious loss at the time of the 

 honey-flow unless feeding be done. The end of fruit-bloora often marks the beginning 

 of one of these periods. 



M.VKrii. 



Earl}^ this month, sooner if possible, lift the hi\'c off' the bottom board and clean 

 off the dead bees and other- waste matter. The simjilest way is to take a spare board, 

 remo\'e the complete hive, place the new' board on the stand, then swing back the hive 

 to its place. The operation takes but a minute, so there ought to be no disturbance to 

 the inmates. The old board is now cleane<l off and used for the next hive. ANdiile 

 lifting the colony one learns roughly its condition as to stores. If light, it must, of 

 course, be fed with as little disturbance as possible, because during this month and 

 next the bees may cluster in a compact ball round the queen — ball her — when the 

 frames are disturbed, and a balled (pieen is apt to disappear at an early date. Smoke 

 is rarely necessary at this time, provided the bee-keeper is gentle and avoids jarring 

 the frames wdien returning them to the hive. In the south end of Vancouver Island 

 there ought to be brood in three or four frames about the middle of the month, but, of 

 course, the space occupied b\' the young ni tlie outside of the nest will be very small. 



ArKin. 

 In the coast regions, during the latter half of March and the first week of this 

 month, there is apt to be a cool spell, with cloudy or wet weather which prevents bee- 

 fliglit. Brood-raising fretpiently comes to a stop, so that when the warm weather 

 returns there may not be a single egg in the frames. However, as soon as pollen again 

 comes in freel\-, the queen resumes her duties, laying so freely that by the 20tli 

 there is generally brood in as many as five frames. The young bees begin t(j hatch out 

 about the end of the month, when they are very nuuth needed, as the old ones that 

 carried the colony through the winter are dying off very rapidly. In fact, for a few days 

 at the end of April the low-watei- mark of population is apt to be reached ; then the 

 tide turns, the working force is rapidly added to, and almost as if by magic the frames 

 become covered with bees. During this month the great source of nectar and pollen in 

 most regions of the Province is the dandelion, but in some parts of the dry l>elt there is 



