FEEDING. 171 



properly fed during the interval in the honey harvest, 

 there is no necessity of having feeble stocks in the 

 fall from those permitted to swarm in the natural 

 way ; and when propagated by artificial swarms, if 

 the directions given .under the head of "how to 

 strengthen artificial swarms" are followed, there 

 should be no weak colonies from this source, either ; 

 hence, there is but little necessity for feeding late in 

 the fall, but early in the spring and during every 

 interval in the honey harvest throughout the entire 

 season, until nature ceases to produce flowers, keep- 

 ing them constantly advancing and improving, until 

 the change of the season admonishes them to cease 

 rearing brood and prepare for winter. As the stock 

 raiser keeps his stock thriving and constantly im- 

 proving, well knowing that if they cease to advance 

 or are permitted to retrograde, a serious loss is in- 

 evitably incurred ; so is it with bees. If they are 

 permitted to go backward, or even come to a stand- 

 still, at any period from the opening of spring until 

 the middle of September, a serious loss is the inevi- 

 table result. 



BEVAN ON FEEDING. 



The celebrated Dr. Be van seems to have under- 

 stood, to some extent, the advantages of feeding. I 

 quote from his work, page 67: "Toward the middle 

 of February, or as soon as the bees come freely forth, 

 it will be advantageous to treat them with one of the 

 above compounds (feed), which as I have already 

 observed, will tend to promote early breeding, and 

 may sometimes obviate the death of the first brood ; 



