224 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



I will give some of the advantages 

 of feeders used over the combs. A 

 properly constructed feeder can be 

 placed upon the frames and directly 

 over the cluster at any season of the 

 year. It can be covered by a chaff 

 cushion, or some warm material and 

 retain the heat. The bees can 

 take the food from it and not 

 leave the cluster. A feeder of this 

 description can be filled without dis- 

 turbing it or the bees even, as often 

 as the food is removed. During my 

 long experience with bees, I have 

 been obliged to use feeders, more or 

 less, every year during some portion 

 of the season. My experience with 

 such implements will equal that of 

 any man in the bee business. I have 

 used every kind of a feeder thus far 

 presented, and have finally settled 

 upon the two best adapted for gen- 

 eral use. 



The one is a glass fruit jar; 

 the other " Locke's Perfection 

 Feeder." Both embody the same 

 principle, namely : atmospheric. 

 The latter has many decided advan- 

 tages over all others in use. It is 

 made of tin, and can be made large 

 enough to hold several quarts of 

 syrup. The samples which I have 

 seen, and which are sent by mail, 

 are made to hold about one pint of 

 syrup. There are apertures in the 

 top and bottom. The one in the 

 top is for the reception of food, 

 while the one in the bottom is closed 

 with a sponge from which the bees 

 sip the food and place it in the 

 combs for further use. The cap 

 which covers the opening in the top, 

 through which the food enters, fits 

 so nicely that no air can enter, and 



also prevents any scent of the food 

 from escaping. Therefore, when 

 one of these feeders is placed upon 

 a hive unprotected by any covering, 

 no robber bee can enter or even 

 get a sniff of the contents of the 

 feeder. We have used them this 

 fall upon some hives and have not 

 protected them at all from the 

 weather. The heaviest rain that ever 

 descended cannot enter the feeder, 

 either at the top or about the bot- 

 tom. It is weather- and robber-proof 

 in every sense of the word. 



For a hive that has a honey board, 

 a mat or plain top, it requires about 

 one minute to apply the feeder to it. 

 All that is necessary is to make an 

 opening about i^ inches in diameter 

 in whatever covers the frames ; and 

 when the feeder is ready, let the 

 sponge come directly over the aper- 

 ture made to give the bees access to 

 the feeder. I have no doubt that 

 this feeder would preserve a colony 



"jisiaai,- ^^yjilll ll 



through the winter, even though it 

 had no capped honey at all. If the 

 bees are kept in a cellar or reposi- 

 tory where the temperature is kept at 

 45°, they can sip the food from the 

 feeder as easily as they can take 

 honey from the combs. One of 

 these feeders could be made to hold 

 a sufficient amount of food to last a 

 colony through the winter. It could 

 be filled in the fall and need not be 

 disturbed till spring. Their cost cer- 

 tainly can be no objection to their 

 general use. 



The illustration here given repre- 



