DHVO'i.'JiD EXCLTJSrVEL"y TO BEES -A T^TT-i HONE'S". 
Vol. IL APRIL 1, 1874. N 0 . IV 
JIOW XO CONDUCT AN APIARY. 
No. 4. 
IM FTER the many hints given last month 
in regard to tidiness etc., and then to go 
and cover our own hives up with stable ma- 
nure may look a little inconsistent; it might 
well he said of us as of some physicians, that 
they resemble sign posts, inasmuch as “ they 
point the way for others, but go not.” Weil, 
the truth is kind friends, we did not dare ad- 
vise ail to do as we have, until we had well 
tried the plan, any more than we dared three 
years ago to advise all to sell their honey at 
20c. and winter their bees on syrup at a cost 
of 08c., yet we should by all means advise the 
the latter now. ’Tis now March lltli, and we 
have had some very cold rough weather that 
has made us many times thankful our bees 
were even warmer than they would have been 
in the house; besides, the manure when washed 
by the rain and dried in the sun is not so very 
untidy after all. It covers the ground so as to 
make a clean soft carpet to walk on, while the 
uncovered clay soil is a most unpleasant foot 
hold through the combined effects of sun and 
frost. We shall probably leave much of the 
covering around the. hives until May, for 
usually many sijdden cold changes occur with 
us, between now and that time. 
Strong colonies can probably have a comb 
l>ut in the middle of the cluster advantageous- 
ly during this month, but the plan of taking 
brood Horn them to build up weak ones, we 
regard as more of a damage to the strong one, 
than benefit to the weak, although such a 
course may be liest to save Queens of extra 
value. When you take a comb out of the cen- 
tre of the cluster, you often take the b<st half 
ot the brood, and sometimes nearly all the 
pollen, and the weak stock may be able to 
prevent only' a small part of the brood from 
perishing. Oct every colony us quickly as 
possible into a condition of things whereby 
they will be self sustaining, and to do tills we 
know of nothing equal to the meal feed ; and 
"’e know of no pleasanter or more enticing 
work about the apiary than getting them 
briskly at work on the meal. The heaviest 
crop of honey we ever had was when we in- 
deed them to take in most rye meal in March. 
We are In some doubt if even natural pollen 
gives brood-rearing the impetus the flour 
does. Several patent feeders have been claim- 
ed to have the property of inducing the bees 
o take the meal in the hive, but as we have 
entirely failed with such contrivances, as have 
all we have conversed with on the subject, wv 
think they may lie safely classed with hum- 
bugs and swindles. We have uever been able 
to induce them to take any substitute for pol- 
len even when placed in a comb next the 
brood ; the act of flying out and gathering it 
on the wing, seems to be absolutely a necessity. 
The plan advanced of keeping the bees 
housed during this month or until flowers are 
in bloom, it seems to us would be decidedly 
an error. We think modern Bee Culture de- 
mands that we proceed to get the hives full of 
bees as speedily as possible. 
If they can get up a large force to work on 
apple blossoms they will be prepared to send 
out an army of young bees when the clover 
appears. That colonies may catch up and do 
fairly' ev.n when so kept back in brood-rearing 
is quite probable, but our largest yields have 
invariably been from those that commeuced 
brood-rearing quite early. In our opinion the 
crop of clover honey Is very much dependant 
upon the start the bees get during the month 
ot April. Who can report a colony having 
brood in every comb in the hive during this 
month ? 
See your bees often, and please excuse us if 
we say it “ often. ’ Some day when you feel 
like taking a little rest, take the hives one by 
one aud observe whether each one carries in 
pollen or meal at a fair rate; if it don’t, see 
what the trouble is. If queeuless, give it eggs 
twice a week from some stronger stock on the 
plan given on page 90 Dec. No. of Vol. 1, un- 
til they can rear a queen of their own. Any 
good queen can during this month furnish 
three or four times as many’ eggs probably, as 
her bees can care for, therefore if we can re- 
move eggs only, we are not injuring the colo- 
ny, and are furnishing the weak ones all the 
help they require. 
Colonies with old or utiproliflc queens, can 
be treated in the same way. Before you ob- 
ject because this is too much trouble, consider 
that ’twould be time very well invested indeed 
if you could induce your weakest stock to do 
as well as your best. Almost every one has 
colonies that occasionally give a great result. 
Now this is too much luck and chance ; we 
should be sufficiently skillful to make our en- 
tire Apiary give a great result, perhaps not 
two or three hundred lbs. to the hive, but half 
that for instance, from 50 colonies would make 
a “ big stir” in almost any neighborhood. 
The best we have ever done was an average 
of 131 lbs. per hive, from 47 colonies, yet. we 
have had a fair paying crop every year; even 
the past one of 1873, with only a yield of lion- 
