THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



241 



or stimulative feediuy. They hold three 

 l)ouuds each and are so constructed tliat 

 tliuy can be used either on the top of the 

 hive or at the entrance. They are 5x7 inches 

 inside and four inches deep. They are made 

 of one-half inch stufif, with a tin bottom. I 

 think all the feeders should have tin for 

 bottoms, as I find that wooden bottoms, 

 made ever so tight when new, will, when 

 s • elled by dampness in continued use, push 

 the joints apart and leak. 



To hold the feed, part of my own have a 

 tin box that is entirely separate from the 

 wooden part, and I think this the best way. 

 The wooden part is constructed as before, 

 and the tin troughs set neatly inside, hence 

 no care need be taken with the wooden parts 

 of these to make the joints water tight. 



Oyster cans with one side cut out make 

 good pans for this kind of feeders, and cost 

 nothing. My feeders of this style have an 

 inside cover to prevent the bees from getting 

 out when refilling the feeders. 



When used at the entrance, one of the 

 entrance blocks is removed and the feeder 

 set in its place, and no bees can reach the 

 feed except from the inside of the hive. 

 With the other entrance block I can close 

 the entrance entirely if I wish. With a tea- 

 kettle of warm syrup I can fill fifty of these 

 feeders in thirty minutes, and can use one- 

 half ounce or three pounds at a time. I 

 used these feeders on the twelve hives in my 

 house-apiary last spring. In that case I cut 

 a hole in the burlap that was on top of the 

 hives, set the feeders over it, packed the 

 sawdust level with the top of the feeders, 

 thus keeping all warm and tiaht, and I could 

 feed the twelve colonies in five minutes at 

 any time of day, without seeing a bee or 

 exciting robbers. I regard this as the neat- 

 est way to feed bees in the spring whether 

 in the house or in the open air. The hives 

 in the house-apiary were fed a few ounces 

 each day, and they grew strong early and 

 have made the only fiinslied cases of white 

 honey I have taken this year; as the surplus 

 crop is a failure here agjiin for the third 

 year. 



I believe that I am the only bee-keeper 

 here who is not a little blue. Perhaps if my 

 bread and butter were dependent on the 

 results of bee-keeping, I might feel differ- 

 ently. 



Having said this much about feed and 

 feeders, I will say that my highest hopes for 

 successful honey producing is not coupled 



with any kind of feeders or feeding. I know 

 that under certain circumstances feeding 

 can be resorted to with profit, but I question 

 the circumstances. I have noticed that the 

 more we feed and force our bees by artificial 

 means, the greater grow our troubles in 

 wintering, springing and summering. Big 

 colonies with hives so filled with natural 

 stores that they need no tinkering in the 

 spring except to see that they have good 

 queens and are covered warmly on top, is 

 the gospel that is to control the Forestville 

 apiary in the future, and I am now, regard- 

 less of the surplus honey crop for this year, 

 giving all my colonies full hives of two sec- 

 tions each, and I am pleased to find the fall 

 flow of honey good enough to enable the 

 bees to fill them solid full. At this date, 

 August 30, the combs are well filled with 

 brood, and next year I will try and give a 

 big report. 



Of the house-apiary I will only •say that in 

 this poor season it has given far more than 

 average results. Just how much more it is 

 too early to say. Three of the twelve hives 

 swarmed. This was less swarming than in 

 the out-hives. This would argue that the 

 house operates to discourage swarming. I 

 have had no trouble in handling the bees in 

 the house. Indeed, I am surprised at the 

 ease with which all manipulations may be 

 performed. If I were commencing an 

 apiary anew I would make it on the house 

 plan, for with proper hives and a rightly 

 constructed house the thing could be started 

 cheaply and managed successfully with less 

 work than any other way. 



The revolving stand has been to me an 

 interesting experiment. The poor honey 

 year makes it necessary to work the stand 

 another year before coming to final conclu- 

 sions. This much is settled. Changing 

 hives daily and mixing the bees will not 

 prevent swarming, as four out of the six 

 hives swarmed: a far greater percentage 

 than in the house-apiary. The hives were 

 very large, giving the queens unlimited room 

 for brood. The surplus room was abundant 

 and the honey season poor, so that no one 

 of the six colonies has finished an entire 

 case of sections. 



I found no trouble in returning the swarms 

 by leaving the bees in the catchers over 

 night and returning them next day. The 

 same was true of the house-apiary. When I 

 constructed the revolving stand I felt quite 

 sure in my own mind of one thing at least, 



