FEEDINa. 347 



which would hjive saved their lives, and enabled them to 

 repay him tenfold for his prudent care. 



It is best to feed the bees a little, even if they have 

 enough and to spare. There seems to be an intimate con- 

 nection between the getting of honey, and the rapid increase 

 of breeding ; and the taste of something sweet, however 

 small the addition to their hoards, exerts a very stimulating 

 effect upon the bees ; a few spoonsfuil a day, will be grate- 

 fully received, and will be worth much more to a stock of 

 bees in the Spring, than at any other time. 



By judicious early feeding, a whole Apiary may not only 

 be encouraged to breed much faster, but they will be in- 

 spired with such vigor and enterprise, as to increase their 

 stores with unusual rapidity. Great caution should be exer- 

 cised in Spring feeding, to prevent bees from robbing each 

 other, or filling with honey, the cells which ought to be 

 supplied with brood. Unless they are destitute of supplies, 

 only a small allowance should be given them, and this from 

 time to time ; and as soon as they begin to gather from the 

 fields, the feeding should be discontinued. 



No greater mistake can be made than to feed largely at 

 this season of the year. The bees, indeed, will take all they 

 can, and store it in their cells, but what is the consequence .' 

 The honey fills up their brood-combs, and thus the increase of 

 population is most seriously checked ; so that often when 

 stocks which have not been over-fed, are prepared not only 

 to fill all the store combs in their main hive, but to take 

 speedy possession of the spare honey boxes, a colony over- 

 fed, is too small in numbers, to gather even as much as one 

 not fed at all ! The inexperienced Apiarian has thus often 

 made a worse use of his honey, than if he had actually 

 thrown it away I while all the time, he is deluding himself 



