=Feeding in Winter.=—Mr. A. B. Weed, in the _Michigan Farmer_, says:
“Many colonies which were put up for winter with but a small
amount of provision, have consumed what was given them, and
starved for want of more. Others have but a small amount of
stores left, and must be fed soon if they are to be saved.
The best way to feed such is to give them frames of well
ripened honey, but this the weather will not always permit.
The next best thing for them is candy; this can be given
at any time, and can be laid on top of the frames. If the
cluster is low down in the hive, it should be put down into
it, where it can be reached.”
=Bees and Grapes.=—Mr. W. H. Stout, in the Lancaster, Pa., _Farmer_,
gives the following as his experience:
By close investigation I have satisfied myself that bees do not destroy
sound grapes. I had, during the past season, 22 colonies of Italian
and common black bees; all the hives were in close proximity to the
grapes, while a number had the vines trained over them for shade during
the heat of summer. The grapes are of the Concord variety, of which I
had an abundance of fine fruit, some clusters of which grew within 18
inches of the entrance to the hives. Bunches of the grapes remained on
the vines until the frost had killed the foliage, which fell off and
left the grapes exposed, affording every temptation to the bees; and
this, too, through a season when the honey yield from natural sources
was so small that the bees consumed stores they had gathered earlier in
the season. But the bees do work on grapes, and also on other fruits
under certain conditions. If the skin of grapes, peaches, pears, etc.,
is ruptured from any cause, the bees, wasps, ants, etc., are very quick
in discovering it, and soon leave only the dried shells. During the
hot weather of August, especially when there are frequent showers, the
skin of ripening fruit cracks, for reasons which I will leave to some
philosophical friend to explain. My conclusions are not hasty; nor were
my observations superficial; but they were prolonged from the time
the first grapes ripened until the close of the season. I found some
clusters of grapes literally covered with bees scrambling and fighting
for the little sweets contained in the cracked grapes, which are the
only ones on which they work, as I found out by driving the bees away
and removing from the clusters all the bursted grapes, when the bees,
as soon as they found only sound fruit remained, went away and left the
grapes uninjured. We also laid some bunches of grapes on top of the
hives and others close to the entrances, also left clusters hanging on
the vines close to the hives, where they remained uninjured by the bees
as long as the fruit was sound. I know very well that bees can gnaw
through heavy muslin, or shave off wood and straw. To cover the bees we
have quilts made of heavy muslin, which they sometimes bite through,
and we have wood and straw hives on which they have enlarged the
entrances; but, nevertheless, I am fully satisfied they do no injury
whatever to sound fruit.
=Feeding Rye-Meal.=—In the _Indiana Farmer_ Mr. F. L. Dougherty says:
“Bees will not raise brood without pollen in some shape.
We frequently find colonies with but very little, and at
times none at all. In crowding them on a few frames, quite
frequently those left in the hive contain but little, if
any. So it becomes necessary to furnish it to them, until
they can gather it from natural sources. Unbolted rye-meal
is probably the best substitute, although they will use
wheat-flour, corn-meal, oat-meal, or in lieu of any of these,
will even carry saw-dust. To get the bees started, place a
piece of comb on the meal, and if the weather be pleasant and
no pollen to be had they will soon appropriate it. They will
leave the meal when natural pollen makes its appearance.”
☞ That excellent Monthly, published in Nyon, Switzerland, by Mons. E.
Bertrand,—the “_Bulletin D’Apiculteur pour la Suisse_”—gives the
Weekly BEE JOURNAL the following kind notice:
“We have received the first 2 numbers of the AMERICAN BEE
JOURNAL, which has been transferred from a Monthly to a
Weekly, by its Editor, Mr. T. G. Newman. Only one apiarian
publication is issued every 2 weeks, the _Bienen-Zeitung_ of
Eickstadt. That of Mr. Newman’s is, therefore, ‘the only one
in the entire world which is published weekly.’ It is also,
without doubt, the most universal. Its principal contributors
are among the most distinguished bee-keepers of America,
together with scientists, entomologists, chemists and
farmers; and the number of those who send it communications
can be called legion. It is, with an understanding of the
full extent of the services which it renders, through the
abundance of the observations and of the information which it
brings before its readers, that we offer to our colleague and
friend our warmest felicitations on the occasion of the new
development of his publication.”
This very kind notice is the more valuable as Mons. E. Bertrand is a
man of intelligence and wealth, whose sole interest is his love of the
pursuit of bee-keeping.
☞ _L’Apicoltore_, the organ of the Central Società d’Apicoltore
d’Italia, also gives the BEE JOURNAL the following very kind notice, in
its excellent number for February:
“The bee-papers are every day augmenting to suit the
increasing need of the readers, and the publisher of the
AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, Signor Newman, who came to Europe and
to Milan last year, announces that at the beginning of 1881
his Monthly JOURNAL will be issued every week.”
* * * * *
☞ In Mr. A. Hoke’s letter, on page 77, he stated that the dead bees
covered the ground for several yards. That was bad enough, but our
compositor made it a hundred times worse by adding the word _hundred_.
The reader will please discount that expression accordingly.
[Illustration:
_SELECTIONS FROM
OUR LETTER BOX_
]
=But Few Bees Lost.=—We have had a pretty hard winter for bees,
although I have heard of but few losses in this section. My bees are
packed in chaff, and are all alive but 2 colonies, which were very weak
when packed. Success to the BEE JOURNAL.