AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



439 



same principle. The old Miller feeder had two feeding places for the bees, one on 

 each side ; the new one has two feeding places in the middle. The percolating 

 feeder has only one feeding place, and that is at one end. This allows, by having 

 the hive tip a trifle, a full supply at the feeding place just as long as any feed Is 

 left, and I find one end gives room for the bees, without crowding. 



Those who are familiar with the Miller feeder will need no further description. 

 Others may understand it from the diagram (Fig. 1) showing e^ transverse section of 

 one end of the feeder, the only end where any feeding is done. Take a T super, or 

 a box that will nicely fit over the hive, with a bottom % inch short, leaving the 

 passageway E for the bees to get up through ; % inch from the end A of the super 



J 



Fig. 1. 



Fig. 2. 



put in another wall, B, extending to within % inch of the cover H, and fitting tight 

 at the bottom. A third wall, C, with a % space between it and B, comes clear to 

 the top and down to the bottom ; but in putting it in, two thicknesses of flannel are 

 put under it, or between it and the bottom G. 



When the feeder is put on the hive, the mixture of sugar and water is put into 

 the main compartment ; it soaks through the cloth at the point D into the small 

 compartment F, where the bees get it, coming up from the hive through the open- 

 ing at E. 



On the very night after I had finished making this feeder, I had a visit from the 

 junior editor of Gleanings. In the morning we went out and put it on a hive. I 

 carried the sugar, and he carried the water and a quart cup. I put in 10 pounds of 

 sugar, and said to him, " Now put in four quarts of water." 



" Why not put in five quarts ?" said he. " H. R. Boardman has come to the 

 belief that it is better to use equal parts of sugar and water in feeding." 



"All right," said I, " Five quarts it is. H. E,. Boardman is a pretty solid sort 

 of man to follow. Very likely he is right." 



I had thought I was pretty radical to use, for every 5 pounds of sugar, 4 pounds 

 of water instead of two, the orthodox quantity ; but it seems to work all right with 

 equal quantities, and, as Doolittle would say, it's more according to nature, for 

 nectar is pretty thin stuff. 



I was anxious to have that feeder show off in good shape while Ernest was here; 

 but the bees didn't touch the feed until I baited them in. Then they worked it in 

 good shape, and in about 48 hours it was dry. I wish I had 40 like it. But I'll 

 stuff in rags and make the old Miller feeders do. Marengo, 111. 



The editor of Gleanings, in which appeared the above valuable article by Dr. 

 Miller, commented upon it as follows ; 



In my opinion, Dr. Miller has made what promises to be one of the most impor- 

 tant improvements, in the way of feeding, that has been made for many a year. Of 

 course, the idea of using dry sugar, and pouring just simply water on it, to make 

 bee-feed, is old. Years and years ago, the senior editor of this journal experimented 

 a good deal, but he did not succeed in attaining satisfactory results. In all his ex- 

 periments the sweetened water would be taken up by the bees, leaving the dry sugar 

 to stick to the feeder. In order to get the bees to take up all the sugar, it required 

 constant moistening with water. This took so much time and bother that he con- 



