FEEDING. 
156 
APPARENT CONTRADICTION WHEN FEEDING CAUSING STARVATION. 
It is possible that feeding a stock of bees in spring, 
may cause them to starve 1 whereas, if let alone, they 
might escape. Notwithstanding this looks like a con- 
tradiction, I think it appears reasonable. Whenever 
the supply of honey is short, probably not more than 
one egg in twenty which the queen deposits, will be 
matured — their means not allowing the young brood to 
be fed. This appears from the fact that several eggs 
may be found in one cell. I transferred over twenty 
stocks in March, 1852 — most of the cells occupied with 
eggs contained a plurality ; two, three, and even four, 
were found in one cell ; it is evident that all could not 
be perfected. Also, the fact of these eggs being at this 
season on the bottom-board. Now suppose you give 
such a stock two or three pounds of honey, and they 
are encouraged to feed a large brood, and your supply 
fails before they are half grown. What are they to 
do? destroy the brood and lose all they have fed, or 
draw on their old stores for a small quantity to help 
them ip this emergency, and trust to chance for them- 
selves? The latter alternative will probably be adopt- 
ed, and then, without a timely intervention of favor- 
able weather, the bees starve. The same effect is some- 
times produced by the changes of the weather ; a 
week or two may be very fine and bring out the flow- 
ers in abundance — a sudden change, perhaps . frost, 
may destroy all for a few days. This makes it neces- 
sary to use considerable vigilance, as these turns of 
cold weather (when they occur) make it unsafe, till 
