1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



265 



Spring Feeding of Bees. — In Gleanings for April 

 1, we find the following on "Spring feeding a la Boardman > 

 how to get all the honey of the fields Into surplus :" 



In the first place, the syrup should be made by mixing 

 sugar and water in equal proportions. You can use heat to 

 dissolve the sugar if you prefer, but I do not think it is neces- 

 sary. Pour the sugar and water, equal parts, into an extract- 

 or-can, and turn vigorously for a few minutes. (If you haven't 

 an extractor, use a tub and a stick.) In half an hour or so 

 you will find a clear limpid syrup ready to draw off from the 

 honey-gate of the extractor into those glass jars of the Board- 

 man feeder. 



I believe it is unnecessary to explain this feeder, which I 

 believe is the best adapted for this kind of feeding. It per- 

 mits of the syrup being fed a little at a time, and when the 

 feeders are empty they can be seen at a glance, without open- 

 ing the hive or disturbing the bees. In almost a minute's time 

 it is possible to tell what feeders are empty in an apiary of 75 

 or 100 colonies, just by glancing down the rows, and walking 

 rapidly across one end of the yard. For spring feeding, at 

 least, an entrance feeder, especially Boardman's, is altogether 

 the best. 



A great many ask if it is necessary to feed, providing the 

 hive is fairly well supplied with stores. Not so necessary ; but 

 if you wish to carry out the Boardman idea as I understand it, 

 it would bo advisable to feed all the colonies. Those that have 

 a good supply already will be stimulated by the feeding, and, 



The Boardman E^itrance Feeder. 



as a consequence, commence rearing a lot of brood ; and that 

 means a host of young bees and a lot of honey later on in the 

 season, if there is any to be had. Even if the bees are fairly 

 well supplied with stores, they won't rear brood anything as 

 they do when a fresh supply is coming in every day. Of course, 

 the colonies that are well supplied do not require as much 

 syrup as the others that are running short. But suppose the 

 combs are stored and the brood-nest will permit no more. Such 

 combs of sealed stores taken out and set aside will come in 

 play for winter. 



Perhaps you may argue, "What is the use of buying syrup 

 to feed bees in the spring, when they have already enough to 

 carry them through till the honey-flow ?" 



"Enough" — there's the point ! If they have just barely 

 enough, the bees will scrimp and economize in some way, to 

 make their stores last ; and the only way for them to econo- 

 mize is to cut down brood-rearing — very poor ecomomy for 

 you, certainly. 



" But " you say, " if I feed the bees a little every day, the 

 hives will be crammed full of syrup, and I shall be out of 

 pocket to the extent of several barrels of sugar." 



What of it ? You will be a gainer in the end by having a 

 large force of bees to gather the honey if it does come ; and 

 then when that time arrives, it will be shoved right into the 

 supers, because there will be no room for it in the brood-nest. 

 The honey from the fields will bring a higher price, and you 

 have made a first-class trade — sugar for honey. More than 

 all, your brood-combs will be filled with the very best of winter 

 stores, and much cheaper. And suppose you are out of pocket 

 several barrels of sugar. Suppose you have fed 1,000 lbs. of 

 sugar syrup, costing you, say, 4 cts. per lb. (when ripened,) 

 and suppose you get in exchange 1,000 lbs. of honey. The 

 latter ought to bring, if clover or basswood, from 8 to 9 cts. 

 Clearly, then, you have made a profit of at least 4 cts. per lb. 

 on the syrup, or an aggregate of §40.00 on the trade, because 

 the honey would have taken the place of the sugar syrup in 

 the brood-nest. 



As Mr. Boardman well says, the farmer thinks nothing of 

 feeding his stock, expecting to got returns. He who would 

 say he could not afford to feed his hogs well because the grain 

 that he would feed them would cost money, would be consid- 

 ered a fool indeed. 



In view of the poor honey-years of late, and in view of the 

 further fact that what little honey has come in has just about 

 filled the brood-nest and no more, leaving little if any surplus, 

 it would look as if Mr. Boardman's idea of substituting syrup 



for honey, and pocketing the big difference in price between the 

 syrup and honey, was simply utilizing good business sense. 



One year when I called on Mr. Boardman, he had quite a 

 crop of honey. He had been feeding, as I have explained. 

 His neighbors round about him did not feed, and did not get 

 any surplus honey. I firmly believe that many of our bee- 

 keeping friends can just as well be getting a little surplus, and 

 a little money for it, as to be going ahead on the old plan of 

 getting no surplus, and nothing but bees in fair condition for 

 winter. But suppose a big honey-flow does come, and you have 

 followed Mr. Boardman's method of feeding ; your hives 

 filled full of sugar stores, and capped over, are just fairly boil- 

 ing over with bees. It is perfectly evident you are going to 

 get a big crop of honey that year, and all of fluxt honey will be 

 surplus. 



One of my warm friends in Canada has written me, earnest- 

 ly protesting against feeding the bees as Mr. Boardman does, 

 clear up to the time when honey is coming in. He insists that, 

 as soon as bees begin to gather from natural sources, they will 

 crowd some of the sugar syrup from the brood-nest up into the 

 sections or surplus combs. I have talked with Mr. Boardman 

 on this very point, and he is very certain that, as he practices 

 feeding, it is not done. I have also talked with other promi- 

 nent bee-keepers, and written for the private opinion of others. 

 All seem to feel that there is but little danger to be appre- 

 hended from that source. But we will suppose that my Ca- 

 nadian friend's point is well taken. To be on the safe side, 

 then, stop feeding within a week or two of the expected honey- 

 flow. If the stores in the brood-nest are capped over, there 

 certainly can be no danger of the syrup's being carried above. 



Taking the matter all in all, Mr. Boardman's idea of feed- 

 ing offers the best solution of the problem as to what we are 

 going to do with short honey seasons — in short, what will ena- 

 ble us to get all the honey there is in the field into surplus 

 without wasting any of it in brood-rearing. E. R. Root. 



..^:/i0^ 



CONDnCTED BY 



DR. C. C. MJLLEie. AULRENGO, ILL. 



LQuestlonB may be mailed to the Bee Journal, or to Dr. MlUer direct.l 



moTiiis Bees a Short Distance. 



I have a colony of bees that I wish to move, perhaps ^ 

 mile, about May 1. There is another colony in the same yard 

 that will remain. My colony is in a double 8-frame brood- 

 chamber. Can I move them all right so short a distance by 

 simply closing the entrance with wire-cloth, and carry them 

 on a wheelbarrow ? Bee Ginnek. 



Lombard, III. 



Answer. — Yes, you can wheel them that distance without 

 much trouble, providing you have muscle enough and are care- 

 ful not to tip over your load. Of course you will give them a 

 little smoke before shutting them up. Then within a day or 

 two after moving them you will find that all the field-bees 

 have gone back to the old place, and you will have left in your 

 hive nothing but the young or nurse-bees. So that will leave 

 your colony in much the same condition as though a swarm 

 had issued. 



The bumping they get on the wheelbarrow will make 

 some difference, for some of them will mark the new location 

 that would not do so if they were set down very quietly in 

 their new place. But most of the field-bees will go back to 

 the old place, and after trying to find their hive there, will do 

 the next best thing and join the colony that is left there. 



If you put up a board before the entrance for them to 

 bump against when they fly out, that will help some, for it will 

 confuse them to some extent, and make some of them mark 

 the new location. But do the best you can, there will be a 

 large number go back to the old place. 



So you may as well make up your mind the bees are going 

 back, and act accordingly. Instead of moving the whole busi- 

 ness all at once, take only one story, having in it all the bees 

 you can get, the queen, and nearly all the brood. You will 



