^JOURHAL:, 



• DELVoTEDi" 



•To -Bel 

 •AND Honey 



Pubitshejy THE~A I'Rool' Co. 

 $ii5p[RYtAR'^'\e) Medina- Ohio- 



Vol. XXIII. 



JUNE I, 1895. 



No. II. 



FEEDING. 



HOW THE AXTELLS DO IT. 



By Mrs. L. C. Axtell. 



Spring and summer feeding of bees is so much 

 easier done by feeding out of doors tiiat we feed 

 that way almost exclusively unless we know of 

 a liive or more that is clear out, and then we 

 give a comb of honey or one good feed in the 

 hive at night. We l<eep our feeder at the east 

 side of our honey -house, where the water runs 

 off the house and keeps it full of fresh clean 

 water whenever it rains, and this helps to keep 

 water out fur the bees, and at the same time 

 keeps the feeder from drying up if we forget to 

 keep water in it. Just now we are feeding only 

 by putting the syrup in feeders in the evening, 

 and on top of the feeder we set some black sec- 

 tions of honey-dew. as we don't care to feed 

 much honey-dew by itself; then we cover over 

 the feeder so as to shed ofT the rain should it 

 come in the night. The bees work at the feed 

 late in the evening and early in the morning, 

 and have it all taken up before the neighbors' 

 bees, two or three miles away, come around, 

 and then they have the day to go to the woods 

 and orchards. 



WINTEl? FEEDING. 



We always feed in the hives, as generally 

 half or more of the colonies have enough. 

 Often only a very few will need any, and the 

 very best and cheapest feeder we can get hold 

 of is a large tin pan set on the frames with a 

 thin cloth like a flour sack put into the pan, 

 and then tilled up with syrup as thick as will 

 dissolve sugar by stirring cold watev into sugar 

 and letting stand a few minutes to settle. We 

 then pour off the clear liquid. We do not even 

 heat the water any more, as it is so much less 

 work. If we have any extracted honey we care 

 to useva little of that mixed with the winter 

 feed, we think, makes it all the better, as it will 

 keep it from candying in the combs; and yet 

 we have not been able to observe any bad 

 effects from feeding clear sugar. Bees winter 

 all right upon granulated sugar if fed not later 



than Sept. 15; yet I believe it pays better to 

 feed in August, and let them seal their combs 

 over thoroughly. 



I.ATE FUSSING WITH BEES, 



I am inclined to think, is very injurious; at any 

 rate, our bees winter ever so much better, all 

 things else being right, since we quit bothering 

 their brood-nest in the fall. The honey may 

 be taken off the top, and not seem to hurt them; 

 but if they have a good queen, and get the 

 hive well filled with honey before cold weather, 

 and left alone without opening up the brood- 

 nest, and are properly protected in winter, such 

 colonies almost invariably come through safely. 



UNITING WEAK COLONIES. 



Doing this in the spring is not very satisfac- 

 tory. We have about come to the conclusion 

 that, if they can care for their queen, it is bet- 

 ter to let them alone unless we have queenless 

 colonies, and then they may be united to ad- 

 vantage with a weak one tliat has a queen. ' 

 Feeding out of doors does more to build up 

 weak colonies, and give them heart and health, 

 than uniting. We crowd them down on to 

 two or more combs, cover up warm, and let 

 them alone. 



TO MAKE BEES GENTLE TQr HANDLE, WHEN WE 



HAVE TO HUNT OUT THE QUEEN TO 



CLIP HEK WINGS. 



When there is no honey coming in, there is 

 nothing like feeding thin sugar syrup— merely 

 water a little sweetened, and give them all they 

 will take. 



In all my foregoing remarks I would not have 

 it understood that I believe in feeding sugar to 

 have it stored in sections. I think that is wick- 

 ed, and should be classed with other sins, such 

 as stealing, etc.; but there is no need of getting 

 a particle of sugar syrup in sections if we un- 

 derstand the habits of bees, and feed only when 

 they would not store in sections, or when there 

 are none on the hive. We can be honest or dis- 

 honest in every thing. 



Our bees have wintered unusually well, hav- 

 ing lost but one colony out of 115, and it was 

 queenless, though there are quite a number 



