362 FEEDING. 



that is capable of laying thousands of eggs daily, must re- 

 quire much food for their development. 



Feeding, to make a profit by selling the Honey given 

 TO the Bees. 



For many years. Apiarians have attempted to derive pro- 

 fit from the feeding of bees on a large scale ; but all such 

 attempts must, from the very nature of the case, meet with 

 no success. If large quantities of cheap West India honey 

 are fed to the bees in the Fall, they are induced to fill their 

 hives to such an extent, that in the Spring, the queen does 

 not find the necessary accommodations for breeding ; while 

 if over-fed in the Spring, their condition is still worse. 

 It must therefore be obvious that the feeding of cheap honey, 

 can only be made profitable, where it replaces an equal 

 quantity of choice honey taken from the bees. In the latter 

 part of Summer, the Apiarian may take away from the 

 main hive, some of the combs which contain the best honey, 

 and replace them with others into which he has poured the 

 cheaper article. If he takes away their full combs, giving 

 them honey to enable them, first to replace, and then to fill 

 them, the operation, for reasons already mentioned, will re- 

 sult in a loss, instead of a gain. 



I am aware that persons have attempted to derive a profit 

 from supplying the markets of some of our large cities, 

 with an article claiming to be the best of honey, but in re- 

 ality only cheap West India honey fed to the bees, and stored 

 by them in new comb. This article has become so well 

 known thai it can now be scarcely sold at all ; as purchasers, 

 instead of paying 25 cents per pound for West India honey 

 in the comb, much prefer to buy it, (if they want it at all,) 



