CHAPTER VII. 
SPRING MANIPULATION. 
The first examination in the spring should be mainly for the purpose 
of ascertaining whether or not the honey stores have been exhausted. 
It should be early, and hence not so extended as to risk the loss of much 
warmth from the brood apartment. Merely lifting one edge of the quilt 
or, if the bottom board is a loose one, tipping the hive back so as to get 
a view in between the combs will often suffice. Should there not be at 
least the equivalent of two full frames of honey it is best to supply the 
deficiency at once. Without disturbing the brood full combs may be 
substituted at each side for the empty ones. If combs stored with 
honey and sealed over are not in reserve liquid honey or sugar sirup 
may be poured into empty ones and placed in the hives at night. A 
less dauby plan is to use one or more feeders directly over the brood 
nest, supplying several pounds of food at once. An excellent way is to 
give at one time all they need in the shape of a cake of bee candy, made 
by mixing fine sugar with just enough honey to produce a stiff dough. 
This cake of candy should be wrapped in heavy paper (half parchment, 
or such as is used for wrapping butter is good) and laid on top of the 
frames, after having punctured the paper in several places with a pencil 
or sharp stick to give the bees ready access. Two or three twigs or 
strips of wood laid across the frames before the cake is placed on them 
will also give the bees a better opportunity to reach the food. 
If the food be given in small quantities brood rearing will be en- 
couraged and still greater supplies of food will be called for, render- 
ing it absolutely necessary to give a large amount at once or continue 
the feeding until natural sources fully supply the needs of the bees and 
brood, otherwise both may starve. Three pounds of sugar dissolved in 
one quart of water will make a suitable sirup for spring feeding. Dry 
sugar may be used instead of sirup. The bees will liquify it themselves 
if they have access to water. For stimulative purposes honey ; s better 
than sugar, "strained honey" being better than extracted. This is 
because of the greater amount of pollen which the strained product 
contains, the pollen being highly nitrogenous, hence capable of building 
up muscular tissue. But if the liquid honey is one-half more in price 
per pound than sugar the latter would doubtless be the more econom- 
ical, certainly so if a plentiful supply of good pollen in the combs or 
fresh from the fields can be had. Eye flour put in sunny places and 
sprinkled with honey to attract the bees Mill be collected until new- 
pollen comes. 
When the weather has become sufficiently settled to render safe 
the inspection of the brood combs, or, in general, when the bees fly 
