March, 1916. 



American Hee Journal 



tinge, just such as would be produced 

 by a small amount of ink mixed with 

 amber honey. The taste is slightly 

 nauseating as far as I can describe it. 

 If the crop is taken in sections, that 

 peculiarity disappears in three or four 

 months and leaves a honey of good 

 quality. But if the honey-dew is bad. 

 quite dark, and of an abominable taste, 

 it is not fit for anything. 



When there is a honey-dew, there is 

 a gap between the poplar and the per- 

 simmon blossoms. This last begins 

 on or a little before June 1, in this 

 locality and lasts 10 or 12 days. 

 The yield is usually good and the 

 honey of good quality, medium amber 

 in color. If the weather is not too 

 dry, some minor sources, weeds and 

 such give enough to keep up brood- 

 rearing during the gap. There is also 

 a gap between the persimmon and sour- 

 wood blossoming, unless there are lin- 

 dens in the locality, which is not the 

 case in this neighborhood. 



Sourwood honey, if pure, is the best 

 we have in America. It is water white, 

 very sweet in taste with just enough of 

 a delicious aromatic flavor to fulfill the 

 the highest ideal of what a nectar fit 

 for the gods should be. But it is not 

 often pure. Some honey-dew or per- 

 simmon honey may have been deposited 

 in the comb previously. Or there may 

 be a mixture of linden honey if there 

 is any tree within reach. The sour- 

 wood begins to bloom about June 20 

 and lasts until the middle of July. This 

 ends the flow or rather the surplus sea- 

 son. I understand that the lindens be- 

 gin to bloom about a week before the 

 sourwoods, and that their blossoming 

 lasts about three weeks. 



Sometimes the sourwood crop fails 

 completely. At that time of the year 

 there is an increase of rain that cor- 

 responds to the rainy season of Cuba, 

 South Florida, etc., and some years 

 showers occur almost every day and 

 interfere with the gathering of the 

 nectar. Nectar in small quantities is 

 obtained from different sources after 

 the main flow, from melon fields, cow- 

 peas, soy beans, cotton, etc. These 

 depend upon the amount of rain that 

 may fall. After a good rain, they start 

 nectar production only to stop after a 

 few days. One of the chief conditions 

 for the production of nectar is an 

 abundance of moisture in the ground. 

 There must be enough to supply the 

 evaporation through the leaves and 

 some besides for the nectaries. 



Of these small sources, two need 

 special mention. One is the late flower- 

 ing sumac. The yield is good, but un- 

 fortunately there are too few bushes to 



5\m YfUlias (iott^wUbU *^ee feeder, 



No. 09 



Perfection Feeder, 



amount to anything in the line of sur- 

 plus. It blossoms during the middle of 

 August. With enough of it a fair sur- 

 plus might be obtained. The other is 

 a tall perennial plant similar to the 

 wild. sunflower so far as the stems and 

 leaves are concerned, but with an en- 

 tirely different flower. I do not know 

 the English name of it. I think the 

 botanical name is I'erbesina occidenta- 

 lis (L ) There was but little of it when 

 I came here, but it is gaining ground 

 in some localities. It resists the sum- 

 mer drouth better than all the other 

 summer plants. If the weather is not 

 too dry some surplus is obtained, 

 about once in three years. The blos- 

 soming is during early September. The 

 honey is somewhat darkerthan medium 

 amber, but good. 



The fall honey comes altogether or 

 nearly so from the asters. These blos- 

 som during the last half of September 

 and th^ early part of October. A light 

 frost does not injure them. The yield 

 would be good if the days were long 

 enough and warm enough to permit 

 the bees to work freely on them. 

 Usually they get enough to make up 

 their winter stores. Once in a great 

 while some surplus can be obtained. 

 The honey is white and quite good, but 

 candies very soon, even when in sec- 

 tions. 



Knoxville, Tenn. 



British Feeders and Feeding 



BY II. M. MACDONALD. 



EVERY beekeeper, all the world over, 

 recognizes the necessity for feed- 

 ing his bees under certain circum- 

 stances, and almost every individual 

 has his own favorite form of feeder; 

 consequently there are manystyles and 

 shapes, while their names are legion. 

 Before dealing with a small selection 

 of those used in this country, it may be 

 well to enquire " when should we 

 feed ?" Whenever it is discovered that 

 a colony of bees becomes scant of 

 stores from whatever cause, prompt 

 and effective means should be taken to 

 remedy the wrong. 



Before entering on the long spell of 

 cold weather, whatever colonies are 

 not provided with the 25 to 30 pounds 

 of good healthy stores deemed neces- 

 sary for safe wintering, must be fed up 

 to this ideal winter cupboard with 



syrup. Then, frequently, we desire to 

 increase our forces, and stimulate our 

 bees and queens to carry on breeding 

 at an accelerated pace in order that the 

 syrup fed may be turned into workers 

 who will still further swell our strong 

 forces. Our queen-rearing boxes, our 

 spring weaklings, and the small lots 

 made for increase also demand careful 

 feeding to keep them breeding right 

 on to the end of the season to make 

 " more bees." 



At the diflferent seasons syrup of 

 varying consistency should be fed, and 

 at different times the amount supplied 

 must be controlled. Hence we require 

 different kinds of feeders, because we 

 desire at one season rapid consump- 

 tion of the stores while at another 

 period we desire the bees to take down 

 only ounces. The words "take down " 

 show that we almost universally place 

 our feeders overhead. It will be noted 

 that No. 1, the " Perfection," is a glass 

 bottle resting on a wooden block. It 

 is well suited for stimulative feeding, 

 and can be easily regulated to any 

 number of ounces for daily consump- 

 tion. The index shown can be turned 

 to any figure from 1 to 10, thus open- 

 ing that number of holes and making 

 them available to the bees. It is in 

 very general use with the single-hive 

 man, as well as with those possessing 

 up to a dozen colonies. 



A rough and ready, but albeit per- 

 fectly effective, form of this feeder is 

 found in a one or two pound glass 

 honey jar. By placing only one fold 

 of thin cloth over the mouth and tied 

 on it is a rapid feeder, with two thick- 

 nesses ityields a medium supply, and 

 with three it becomes a slow feeder. 

 The rapidity of consumption is also 

 made to vary with the thickness of the 

 cloth used. 



A more artistic but equally effective 

 feeder is shown in No. 2, the Wilkes 

 convertible feeder, which can almost 

 instaneously be altered from a 

 slow yield to a rapid supply of 

 the syrup being fed. Section A can 

 give one, two or three holes, and when 

 removed and B is substituted, it yields 

 a copious supply. All three act on the 

 suction principle. Bees have to suck 

 down the syrup, which until then is 

 held up by the air preventing its es- 

 cape into the hive. The bees, while 

 scarcely quitting the cluster of the 

 brood-nest, can supply themselves with 

 a steady yield, just sufficient to induce 

 an I keep up breeding or at the will of 

 their keeper, enough to store some in 

 the brood-combs for spare stores. 

 These feeders suit almost any contin- 

 gency during most of the year, but in 



