GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Filling the " Perfect " feeders. 



feeding. The four years following ran some- 

 thing like this: Bees in large hives with 

 plenty of stores did well; but about one- 

 half did not have plenty of stores. 



Perhaps one swarmed, and both the 

 swarm and the old colony went into winter 

 quarters a little short of stores. Both failed 

 to respond to the call of the maple blossoms 

 in sjDring. Perhaps the increase that was 

 made depended upon that " fall tlow " that 

 did not come. Perhaps there was a failing 

 queen. Yes, there are many " perhaps " in 

 an apiary of but 100 colonies. So, after 

 toying with the non-feeding method it was 

 plain that, whether I liked feeding or not. 

 T would liave to feed if I stayed in the bee 

 business. 



Of all the feeders on the market, the 

 Alexander was plainly head and shoulders 

 above all others; but for me it had several 

 draw-backs. I wanted a feeder that was 

 always on the hive, so that, if necessary, 1 

 could make syrup and feed the whole apiary 

 any time the bees needed it, and do it after 

 or before school. The Alexander feeder is 

 hard to fit to a hive. Where brood-frames 

 are flush with the hive-bottom tlie frames 

 rest on the feeder, shutting ofi the passage 

 for bees, and killing them when handling 

 frames, as the cross-piece on the back of 



tlie bottom-board also comes in contact with 

 tlie brood-frames. Tlien if not left on the 

 hive the year round, in case the bees need 

 feeding in the spring it takes more time to 

 ])ut the feeders on tlian I can spare. 



After considerable experimenting I hit 

 upon the feeder illustrated. I had the nar- 

 row cleats made at a i^laning-mill, and the 

 material complete cost 5 cts. per hive. It 

 took about 40 minutes' work per hive to 

 make them. To fit the cleats I put ten of 

 lliem in a vise so they could not split; then 

 with a little drill I made the holes for the 

 nails. They could then be nailed to the 

 bottom-board without splitting. 



There is a quarter-inch space between 

 tliem and at the ends, for the syrup to run 

 around. The lower side of the five cleats 

 next to the door are notched so as to allow 

 the syi'up to run through, and the block on 

 the back of the bottom-board is also notched 

 so the syrup will run into the feeder. The 

 syrup also stands in this, so you can see at 

 a glance how much there is in tlie feeder. 

 If it should become sour for any reason, all 

 you have to do is to raise up the front end 

 of the hive, and it will run out the door. 

 The upper part of the lid is notched out so 

 as not to crush bees if any should crawl out 

 while the syrup is being put in; and there 



