entrance examination is impossible of de- 

 scription; bnt I can tell you how 1 learned 

 it. I would dequef.i a stock and then sit 

 down and watch the actions of the beas, and 

 the watching might be for an hour or for 

 several hours, and be renewed at intervals 

 for many days. Many repetitions of such 

 procedure shows a lot, provided one has the 

 eyes to see and the ears to hear. This sort 

 of experimental study of bee behavior is 

 most valuable ; but, oh how rarely is it used ! 

 and how even more seldom do we ever hear 

 of it! One experiment will not suffice. It 

 must be one after another during different 

 parts of the season, and season after 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



season, and with different strains of bees. 

 Can I always _tell conditions within the 

 hive by appearances at the entrance? Frank- 

 ly, no. But 1 can most of the time, partic- 

 ularly where I know the normal behavior of 

 my stiain and the general standing of my 

 apiary. Under such conditions I can tell 

 enough to save myself from opening any 

 but an occasional hive, and even then a 

 casual glance across the top of the frames 

 is all that is needed to settle the matter. 



Ti'y the plan of e:j{:perimental obsei-vation 

 and see if you do not discover a new world 

 in bee culture. 



Providence, R. I. 



FURTHER PARTICULARS 



ABOUT THOSE TEN=POUND PAILS FOR 



FEEDING 



BY J. L. BYER 



When sending in " Notes from Canada," 

 Dec. 1, I did not think that the item on 

 using the common ten-pound friction-top 

 pail as a feeder would excite any comment, 

 as I knew that here in Ontario, at least, the 

 plan was known to the majority of our 

 beekeepers, as it has often been discussed at 

 our conventions. Imagine ray surprise, then, 

 to get letters from California, Texas, Flor- 

 ida, and New York, to say nothing of inter- 

 mediate points, asking that I explain more 

 fully how we use the pails. So far as I 

 know, I have personally answered all who 

 gave me their addresses ; but as some wrote 

 me asking me to describe the plan in Glean- 

 ings, and gave no address, I am taking this 

 opportunity to oblige the last-named, and at 

 the same time to save me from doing a lot 

 more writing on this subject. 



The pails that we get here in Ontario have 

 a lid that presses down in such a manner 

 that, when it is firmly in place, the edge of 

 the pail projects quite a little beyond the 

 flat surface of the cover; and as they are 

 inverted over the bees on top of the frames, 

 this projecting edge allows a space for the 

 bees to move freely between cover and 

 frames. With a perfectly flat-surfaced pail 

 this same advantage could be given by plac- 

 ing small strips of wood under each side. 



Now as to preparing the pails, that i'i 

 simplicity itself. Remove the lid to be u'^ed, 

 and place it on a block of wood with the 

 inner side up. With an awl or other sharp- 

 poinled instrument (I have used even a 

 three-inch nail filed sharp), punch 40 or .')n 

 holes in the lid. Preferably have a larger 

 number than this with very small holes than 

 a less number with larger openings. Punch- 

 ing from the inside of the lid leaves a 



smoother surface inside, and will insure 

 cleaner draining of the pail. 



For use, all that is necessary is to fill the. 

 pail with syrup, firmly press in the lid, and 

 then invert pail and all right over the bees 

 to be fed. If you use a double-walled hive 

 with an extension to take roof or super, 

 simply turn back a corner of the quilt ; in- 

 vert the pail over the exposed surface; pack 

 around it if the weather is cool, and the 

 job is done. If single-walled hives are used, 

 place an empty super on top and place the 

 pail inside. If a honey-board is used it will 

 be necessary to have an opening cut in the 

 board and place a pail over this opening. 

 This is an ideal condition for feeding, as all 

 heat is kept in, and it is absolutely safe 

 from I'obbers. as the pail fits closely on the 

 board. 



Nothing is new about the principle of 

 this feeder, as it is simply the old-time 

 pepper-box feeder used in a moie wholesale 

 manner. The hives must be fairly level, and 

 the pail-tops perfectly tight, and then the 

 syrup will come out no faster tlian the bees 

 draw it from the holes. . Atmospheric pres- 

 sure does the rest. As the syrup is drawn 

 away from the bottom of the upturned pail 

 a vacuum is formed, and this keeps the 

 syrup from running out of the holes. In 

 feeding at an outyard. if you wish to give a 

 colony more than ten pounds of syrup at 

 once, simply give them an extra pail and 

 they have twenty pounds — no measuring of 

 syrup nor slopi)ing it over hives, as the 

 pails can be filled inside of a building and 

 carried out as wanted. If the feeding has 

 been delayed till late cool weather, a pail 

 may be ]ilaced directly over the cluster, all 

 packed snugly above, and the bees will take 



