158 



FOURTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



Feeding worth while because my ex- 

 perience has been too short. 



I told the Secretary when he asked 

 me to talk on Stimulative Feeding I 

 did not think I knew very much 

 about it. 



Mr. Miller — There is one correction: 

 I don't think he said just what he 

 meant about punching holes in the 

 bottom of a friction top pail; he said 

 "punch holes in the pail"; if you do 

 that the honey will run out. Punch 

 holes in the cover and invert the pail, 

 or else, without using the cover, fill the 

 pail and place over it cheesecloth — and 

 invert the whole thing. I find that 

 a bee escape board with the opening 

 in is very convenient as it allows the 

 escape of heat from the hive. If the 

 holes are punched in the pail as he 

 says the sugar syrup will run out. 



Mr. Hawkins — I meant punch holes 

 in the cover. 



Mr. Bull — I use for stimulative feed- 

 ing: A friction top can; instead of 

 using the bee escape I use common 

 ordinary roofing paper; I can get 

 scraps for practically hauling away. I 

 cut the heavy paper the same size as 

 the hive; and cut a little circle smaller 

 than your can, cover it over, and no 

 heat can escape. That roofing paper 

 is air tight; set your can over that. 

 When you want to change, take the 

 empty one off and put the new one on 

 quicker than a wink. 



Mr. Hawkins — Speaking about di- 

 vision board feeder, I have seen so 

 many complaints in bee journals; has 

 any one had experience with the di- 

 vision board feeder? 



It pays to take a small stick just as 

 wide and long as the feeder and put 

 that in and let it float on top of the 

 syrup and the bees have something to 

 sit on, and it keeps them from floating 

 ii\ the syrup and drowning. I think it 

 is necessary to use a stick in the di- 

 vision board feeder. 



Mr. Bull — I have some division board 

 feeders and use a stick something like 

 the bottom bar right inside the feeder; 

 leave it there all the time, and that 

 will keep the bees from drowning; I 

 never had any bees drown. 



Mr. France — Just a word in regard 

 to that float in that style of feeder. If 

 the corners of that float are cut round 

 ft "will not catch and stick on the side. 

 Mr. Sylvester — I am a kind of new 

 man here. I do not know very much 

 about bee-keeping anyway but I know 



one thing that if a man followed all 

 the suggestions that are offered in the 

 journals and the circulars that are 

 published he would not have very much 

 left after he had sold his honey crop. 

 I find that in feeding bees the most 

 simple way has always been the best 

 with me. I have heard this gentleman 

 talk about the division board feeders. 



When I started in bee-keeping 

 everything that was in the catalogue 

 I had to have, no matter what it cost, 

 and those division board feeders, I 

 believe, will swallow more bees than 

 they will save; although I put the float 

 and perforated it with holes, I gener- 

 ally had about % to % inch of dead 

 bees down at the bottom of the feeder. 



I have tried the Miller feeder, and I 

 have got piled up in my bee house 

 many feeders. I tried everything in 

 the catalogue. I think that you can 

 feed bees with an inverted can, or 

 simply put a pan or anything that will 

 feed inside of your super; I put a 

 gunny sack over the top of that, and 

 the bees get every drop of syrup out 

 of that and never drown a )Dee. 



You have to simplify things if 

 you are going to get anything out of 

 your honey. If you spend everything 

 for experimenting and fixtures there 

 will be nothing left when your honey 

 crop is in. 



A member — I think you can go fur- 

 ther, and start out and standardize 

 and then you have one size all the 

 way through your yard and everything 

 fits. 



Mr. Bull — That is a good idea; keep 

 everything the same. When you have 

 two oi* three of every kind along the 

 line you are up against a hard propo- 

 sition. 



Mr. Sylvester — I had the 8 frame 

 hive that was advocated to be the best. 

 Then I got a circular from sonie men 

 jn Michigan stating that there was 

 only one hive you could produce comb 

 honey with and that was the Hadden 

 hive; so I tried a lot of Hadden hives, 

 and when I came to winter my bees — 

 and the spring came, I did not have 

 any bees. They were all right through 

 tlie summer. 



So one thing after another I got in 

 trying to get the best, and I have tried 

 nfc<Trly everything. 



Now I have got down to the 10 frame 

 hive and you cannot get me out of that 

 rut if you tried. 



Mr. Wheeler — I cannot stand that be- 



