href="@public@vhost@g@gutenberg@html@files@24583@[email protected]#Page_284" class="pginternal" tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">284. Examination and treatment in the Fall. Persons who cannot attend to their bees themselves, may safely entrust their care to others, 285. Business of the Apiarian united with that of the gardner. Experiments with queen bees, 286.

CHAPTER XIII.

Union of Stocks. Transferring Bees. Starting an Apiary. Queenless colonies should be broken up, Spring and Fall. Small colonies should be united. Animal heat necessary in a hive. Small swarms in Winter consume much honey, 287. Colonies to be united, should stand side by side. How to effect this. Removal of an Apiary in the working season, 288. To secure the largest quantity of honey from a given number of stocks, 289. Non-swarming plan. Moderate increase best, 290. Transferring bees from common, to the movable comb hive, 291. Successful experiment. Should not be attempted in cold weather. The process of transfer, 292. Best time. May be done at any season when the weather is warm, 294. Precaution against robbing, 295. Combs should be transferred with the bees, 296. Caution on trying new hives, 297. Thrifty old swarms. Conditions of their thrift, 298. Procuring bees to start an Apiary. New early swarms best. Signs to guide the inexperienced buyer, 299. Directions for removing old colonies. For removing new swarms, 300. To procure honey the first season. Novices should begin in a small way. Neglected Apiary, 303. Superstitions about bees. Cautions to the inexperienced, against transferring, renewed. Parallel between bees and covetous men, 304.

CHAPTER XIV.

Robbing. Idleness a great cause of it, 305. Colonies should be examined and supplied with food in Spring. Appearance of robber bees, 306. Their suspicious actions. Are real "Jerry Sneaks," 308. Highway robbers, 309. Bee battles. Subjected bees unite with the conquerors. Cautions against robbery. Importance of guarding against robbery, 310. Efficiency of the movable blocks to this end. Comb with honey not to be exposed, 311. Curious case of robbery, 314.

CHAPTER XV.

Directions for Feeding Bees. Feeding greatly mismanaged. Condition of the bees should be ascertained in the Spring. They should be supplied if needy, 315. Many perish from want. Connection between feeding and breeding in the hive, 316. Caution in feeding necessary. Results of over feeding, 317. Necessary to feed largely in multiplying stocks. How to feed weak swarms in Spring, 319. Considerations governing the quantity of food, 320. Main object to produce bees. Proper condition of an Apiary at close of honey season, 321. Feeding for Winter attended to in August. Unsealed honey sours. Sour food is unwholesome to bees. Striking instance, 322. Spare honey to be apportioned among the stocks. Swarms with overstocks of honey do not breed so well. Surplus honey in Spring to be removed, 323. Full frames exchanged for empty ones. Feeble stocks in Fall, to be broken up. Profits all come from strong swarms. Composition of a good bee-feed, 324. Directions for feeding with the improved hive, 325. Feeding useless when but little comb in the hive, 326. Top feeding. Feeder described. Importance of water to bees, 328. Sugar candy a valuable substitute for honey. Summer feeding, 330. Bees with proper care need but little feeding. Quantity of honey necessary to winter a stock, 331. Feeding as a source of profit. Selling W. I. honey a cheat, 332. Honey not a secretion of the bee. Evaporation of its water the principal change it undergoes, 334. Folly of diluting the feed of bees too much. Feeders of cheap honey for market, deceivers or deceived, 335. Artificial liquid honey, 336. Improved Maple sugar, 337. Feeding bees on artificial honey not profitable, 337. Dangerous feeding bees without floats. Their infatuation for liquid sweets, 339. Like that of the inebriate for his cups, 340. Avarice in bees and men, 341.

CHAPTER XVI.

Honey. Pasturage. Overstocking. Honey the product of flowers, 342. Honey dew. Aphides, 343. Qualities of honey, 345. Poisonous honey. Innoxious by boiling. Preserving honey, 346. Modes of taking honey from the hive. Objections to glass vessels, 347. Pasteboard boxes preferred. Honey should be handled carefully. Pattern comb to be used in the boxes. Honey safely removed, 348. Should not be taken from the bees in large quantities during honey harvest. Pasturage, 349. The Willow. Sugar Maple and other honey-yielding trees, 350. Linden tree as an ornament. White clover, 351. Recommended by Hon. Frederick Holbrook as a grass crop, 352. Sweet-scented clover, 363. Hybrid clover front Sweden, 354. Buckwheat. Raspberry, 355. Garden flowers. Overstocking, 356. Little danger of it. Bee-keepers and Napoleon. No overstocking in this country. Letter from Mr. Wagner on the subject, 357. Flight of bees for food, 361. Advantages of a good hive in saving time and honey. Energies of bees limited. Bees injured by winds, 362. Protector saves them from harm. Estimated profits of bee-culture. Advice to the careless, 363. Value of Dzierzon's system. Adopted by the government of Norway. Want of National encouragement to agriculture, (note), 364.

CHAPTER XVII.

Anger of Bees. Remedy for their Sting. Bee-Dress.