The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1863-03-19
Upton, March, II, 1868.
Care of Bees in April.

ms afticle comes thus cary loe see
that was not explicit enough on feeding
bees. Some ask what the rye meal is for?
To give the bees a thanksgiving dinner
after the long fast during winter? All
that have noticed bees in spring have
seen them carry something in on their
legs; this is called pollen, or bee bread.
The bees use very large amount Of this
in spring and early summer in rearing
thousands upon thousands of young bees.
The eggs hatch, if we'll brooded, at the
age of three days; the larvae is then fed
for six days on honey, bee bread and
water, "partly digested in the stomachs
Of the nursing bees" CHE nursing bees
are generally those less than fifteen days
old, in two days more they are sealed
over, aud remain ten days pymph,
(viz: the workers.) Now if bees have
honey and moisture gathers, as it will in
cool nights, on the inside of the hive, or
if the weather is warm and they can get
water outside, and you give them sub
stitute for pollen before it can be gath
cred from the trees and bushes, it will
excite them to great activity at home in
rearing young. By thus exciting the
colonies you will often get full swarm
in advance of those that do not feed One
bee reared able to work in May is worth
three in August.
Hives that have MT been cleaned out
during warm days in March should this
month be cleaned a. described last month.
Great care should be taken not to leave
honey exposed as it will learn bees TO
rob, and when cnce at it it is hard to
check them. Closing the hive and put
! ting little tanners oil round where the
robbers have been accustomed to enter
will drive them away If you wish to
change the situation of your apiary move
them about the last of this month; move |
the strong ones first, and SO continue for
week when the weather is mild; thu
you strengthen the weak to buk
disadvantage to tie strong. :,
bought bees and they are to *
mile or more do it this monj lbs
mon hives by inverting and ],
cloth over them, OF but ! ~.
but if in the LangstrotE
frames have not been distuu
carry without shaking toeo =
put wire cloth in front, or u
not that lay sixpenny nail dowl
entrance, one near each side, and
lath or board on, thus the air will
under, but bees cannot get out.
Five minutes work of the aparian ID /
cleaning the hive is worth more than /
three months of hard labor of the bees,
and how many lives you save. The
working bees die of old age in one hun
dred days, in the working season, brought
on by hard labor Bees will run out, as
the saying is, by keeping the same stock
for number of ye@rs in measure $50.
lated | can cite you to one or more
instances; therefore exchange with some
one FIVE or ten miles off and raise queens
from this stock for your new colonies
DIRE ctions for rearing queens will be
given in the May number.) There has
been introduced into this country, by
eastern ap'arians, at great cost, bee
called the Ii gurion or Italian, and it is
we'll worth the journey Of many miles to
see stock of this kind. Some queens
that reared last year had four yellow
rings around the body. The worker is q
harder bee, a more active worker, q lit
tie larger, longer lived, and superior in
every respect to the common black bee
The old original queen that | received in
1861 is still in good health, and will
probably lay all the eggs that will be need
ed for queens this season. All in want
of pure Italian queens will please send in
their orders early, that they may be filed
as early as practicable. They will be
ready for delivery in June, and perhaps
some in May, if the season is early.
Save all good drone comb, also bits of
worker comb to put into honey boxes in
May Bees should be covered SO that
there will be no upward ventilation this
month, as the warmer they are kept the
faster they will rear young, and more
workers can be spared from the hive