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Show H; ' SPRING 6ARE OF BEES ' ' CAREFUL ATTENTION TO THlv BEES AND THEIR H HIVES AT THIS TIME MAY BRING AN LW INCREASED HONEY YIELD. B By F. G. Rcrmnft. ' H ' It may be that . little fectf, eiveu H I fnsldc of tho hlvo. will save a coioii Hl 1 from tiarvation and death. When H , feeding for stimulating brood rearing. H 1 food from four to eight ounces per Jay, H I according to tho strength of the eol- H ony; and give thin just at Ouk. good H honay uNuiod with ;in cqu.il amount H of water or ryrup made of granulated H I sugar, ten to twelve pounds of sugar Hl ' I to Mir fallen of water, and three pints H ( I of honcv to this amount as a navort H i ami to induce the bees to take It moro j ' I prefer to feed right over the clus- Hl tor from above, but under no eonsid- H clr-tlon to ):ep breaking tho voniingv B of the cover joints If tho weather Is at H nil cool. If your colonics aic In twq- M story hives, p'.vee tho "sot of comhs" Bj I that tho "bees uce as a brood nest, at Bj the :op. until you arc rcr.ay foe the B niont above. H ' Comb? below the brc6d nest arc Bj . protected from tho moths fully as H ' well, if not hotter, than those abov. H It frequently happens that IhoTdoad H bees will become molded, together In H large lumps, and It Is well to remove H , theso masses &.t early as It may safely H be done. Irnny of tho doad bees may H be removed through the entrance by H the Ufo of a crooked wire or stick. H This same advico holds good with H tho bees in tho collar, though It Km well H to use the utmost care not to disturb H or break the cluster of bees. H I Much heat and vitality Is thus lost. H I When colonics of bees como out Into H in the spring. It may be boncflcial to H , put two or more of these weak colo- H nles together, so that ono strong col- H "ony may bo mado from several weak H Some suppose that If any uniting of H t wfak colonics is to be done, the earlier H ; in tho spring it Is accomplished tho H bettor the results will be, but from H i years of experience along this line I H am positivo that such oarly uniting Is H i a. mistake. H t ' To take outvtho collar bees, select a B nice warm and sunshiny day, with H I little or no wind. If it Is desirable to H , I set all out at once, as Is the case wlth- H I out apiaries, then scatter about or sot B out as much as possible,' and you will V ! have no trouble. H It is whero two colonies sitting side H by side aro at full (light at tho same H ! I tlmo that mixing of bees como about. H After setting out It sometimes hap- H I pens, especially if tho weather is very H warm, that the first set out will com- H menco to rob or carrj- off tho stores H of those set out last, which arc so H. busy with their cleansing night that F they do not seem to notice tho robbers. H Robbing is not always confined to B such colonics, but all weak colonics, H whether wintered In the cellar or H otherwise, aro subject to be attacked H in tho spring I In the spring the boos require large quantities of w&tor: It frequently hap-pojis hap-pojis Jn early spring that they aro compelled to go to tho creek or to somo pond, and In filling themselves with the very cold waur they become so chilled that many fall to over reach tho hlvo To avoid. pJicc a few wooden palls or dishes tilled with warm water at copvcnlent places In tho bee-yard; putting in a few -nooded floats, that tho boea mnj be enabled to keep on a moro or less "securo footing." Avoid tin or glass dishes, na the slippery sides will bring about the destruction de-struction of many a bee's Ilfo. If thero bo any snow upon to ground, do not fall to scatter a llttlo straw nbout moro particularly In tho Immediate vicinity of tho hives In as much as dampness within the 1.1.. r .i. . .. , ;i ib greauy uc:nmcnini to tno com-fort com-fort and welfare of the lice, particular care should be takon that tho hlve-covcrs hlve-covcrs aro tight and water-proof. If the hives are far enough apart, to avoid dancer of blowing off, a shade board, wall weighted down, will kcepr the hives nice and dry. And this moves me to say that a shade board Is an Indispensable article jn every well regulated o.plary. It Is also important that hives bo firmly and squarely fastened to a base support, sup-port, elevated some sit or eight Inches from tho damp and cold earth. A freo air space beneath is preferable prefer-able for evident reasons. If you can find lime, level up the apiary, marking out tho paths, etc. This work pays In moro ways than one, and should not bo neglected. Arrangements for tho coming profitable profit-able season should now bo complotcd; have everything in readiness so that no time may be lost when tlmo bo-comes bo-comes valuable In a pecuniary sense. This Is good management, and absolutely ab-solutely essential to a proper mcasuro of success. So much oil meal is now being shipped abroad that prices are bo-coming bo-coming higher In this country. Every pound of this product ought to be fed at home, Tho best spraying apparatus wo ever saw was on tho Virginia experimental experi-mental farm. It consists of a gas pipe mado in the form of a square and large enough for tho cows to pass through. It is fastened on posts, and as the cows are driven through every morning every part of them Is touched with a fine spray of fly rcpollent Any farmer can make one. Expect dairymen have found that It costs about C5 cents per hundred to produce milk, provided ono has first-class first-class cows. Is a good feedor and gives them tho very best attention. |