BEE KEEPERS MISCELLANEOUS APPLIANCES. 145 



tin is kept in place by two pieces of wood 2 in. by 

 5 in. by j in., nailed edgeways to the dummy, and 

 two other pieces 5 in. by 1 in. by \ in., nailed to 

 the backs of these, so that J in. embraces the back 

 of the tin. The whole works like the female por- 

 tion of a slide. A small strip E underneath pre- 

 vents the tin from going too low. If the screw cap 

 is an objection, it could be replaced by a tube and 

 good cork, an indiarubber stopper being still 

 better. For spring feeding, when only a small 

 quantity of syrup is required to be given at a 

 time, some of the holes in this feeder may be 

 plugged up with wax. 



Fig. 140. Rapid Bee Feeder. 



The principal objection to the feeders shown by 

 Figs. 135, 138, and 139 is that they must be fre- 

 quently attended to, on account of the small quan- 

 tity of syrup which they contain. This defect has 

 been overcome in the American rapid feeders, of 

 which there are many in the market. The float 

 feeder, the first appliance described in this 

 chapter, is also free from this defect. 



Fig. 140 is a general view and Fig. 141 a cross 

 section of one of these American rapid feeders. 

 It consists of a trough holding about 10 Ibs. of 

 syrup. This is supported over the brood nest by 

 the ends and a pair of supplementary sides, which 

 allow the bees free access to the top of the trough 

 without permitting them to escape, a thin board 

 acting as a cover. The vertical lines in Fig. 141 in- 



