80 BEES. 



spring IS placed, by some keepers, outside the hive, under the 

 protection of an empty hive, or any other suitable cover. 

 Tiie ])ohcy of this advice is very questionable, as if tbe food, 

 whether honey or sug-ar, is exposed outside the hive, the 

 robber-bees are sure to find it out ; and there will, in all 

 probability, be a constant warfare going' on between the 

 bees for whose benefit it was intended and the bees who 

 intend to benefit themselves dishonestly. All this feeding-, 

 however, is quite unnecessary where bees are regularly 

 well managed, and the hives have grown strong-. 



Feeding the bees by any process which requires the hive 

 to be turned up, is at all times but a clumsy expedient, and 

 ^more so, if feeding is required in winter-time, as if bees 

 are suddenly exposed to severe cold they die instantly. To 

 put a piece of honeycomb inside the hive is certainly the 

 most natural plan; but as that cannot be done without 

 turning up the hive, some other method must be discovered. 

 There have been many most ingenious devices invented 

 for this important purpose. Some hives are made with 

 moveable drawers in the footboard, in which a saucer full 

 of honey is placed, of course properly guarded by per- 

 forated card, or other material, and then introduced into 

 the bottom of the hive. But to make the feeding appara- 

 tus ns natural as possible, we must remember that the 

 honey for the winter is not stored upon the floor, but in 

 combs hanging- from the roof, and we must, therefore, 

 attempt as far as we can to imitate nature. The next best 

 plan, as we cannot in most cases actually suspend a comb 

 for the bees, is to place their food at the top of the hive, and 

 not at the bottom. This, of course, cannot be done in an 

 ordinary straw hive ; but in any of the carefully-made capped 

 hives, whether of straw or wood, it is easily managed by 

 placing the food upon the top of the hive, withdrawing the 

 cork, or whatever obstacle is placed to prevent communi- 

 cation with the upper part of the hive. Thf, bees soon 

 find out their food, readily ascend, and carry it away into 

 their combs. In this case no bees but those of the hiv© 

 can obtain access to it, and the important point is also 

 gained, viz., that of scarcely diminishing the temperature of 

 the hive. 



As to the form of the feeding vessel, each bee-keepei 



