350 FEEDING. 



may at once be placed among the combs in which the bees 

 are clustered, by inverting the hives, and pouring in about a 

 tea-cup full at once. The Apiarian can then see just where 

 to put it, and need not fear that the bees will be hurt by it ; 

 they will lick each other clean, and will be no more hurt or 

 displeased than a child, by the sweets which adhere to its 

 hands and face, as it feasts upon a generous allowance of 

 the best sugar candy. When the bees have taken up all 

 that has been poured upon them, the hive may be replaced, 

 and the operation repeated in a few days : the oftener it is 

 done, the better it will suit them. With my hives, I can 

 pour the honey into some empty comb, and then put the 

 frame containing it, directly into the hive : or I can set a 

 feeder, or honey in the comb, in the hive, and near the 

 frames which contain the bees. 



I have already stated, (p. 225,) that unless a colony can 

 be supplied with a sufficient number of bees, it cannot be 

 aided by giving it food. If the bees are not numerous 

 enough to take charge of the eggs which the queen can lay, 

 or at least, of a large number of them, they can seldom, 

 unless they have a tropical season before them, increase 

 rapidly enough to be of any value. If they are sufficiently 

 numerous to raise a great many young bees, but too few to 

 build new comb, they must be fed very moderately, or they 

 will be sure to fill up their brood comb with honey, instead 

 of devoting themselves to the rapid increase of their num- 

 bers. If the Apiarian can give them plenty of empty 

 worker comb, he ought to supply them quite sparingly with 

 honey, even when they are considerably numerous, that they 

 may breed as fast as possible ; not so sparingly, however, 

 as to prevent them from storing up any honey in sealed 

 cells ; or they will not be encouraged to breed, as fast as 

 they otherwise would. If he has no spare comb, and the 



