THE AMERICAN APIGULTURIST. 



13 



€iu£rii ?Dcpartincnt. 



AHlwngh the names of the parties attached to the 

 replies to the questions below may not be familiar 

 to all our subscribers, pet they are well known to 

 the editor of the Apiculltirist, and we assure our 

 readers that each one of them is well posted in 

 practical bee culture, and thorotighly competent to 

 give instructions in beekeeping; as all of them have 

 had many years experience in the beeyard. — Ed. 



Feeding bees in winter. 

 Question l. Soinctinies it Is necessary to feed 

 bees iu winter. 1. Is tliereany practical metlioii 

 of feeding ii coli)ny of bees after the we.'ither has 

 become so cold that it is not safe for the bees to 

 fly? '2. Has any one tested a method of feeding 

 and a feeder that has proved successful in a ma- 

 jority of cases > W. 



1. Yes. Feed candy on top of frames. 



2. I liave not. Tliose who have can tell you how 

 to do so. M. A. Kelley. 



1, I lay a comb of sealed honey flatwise over 

 and on the frames and cluster. 2. Never used a 

 feeder in whiter. C. W. Costellow. 



We have had no experience in this matter, as 

 we feed our colonies enough before cold weather 

 conies to last till spring. H. D. Davis. 



1. I think there is. 2. I am now testing a feeder 

 that will permit feeding syrup any time during 

 the winter or summer. (In the queen-breeder's 

 department you will find more about this ques- 

 tion.) K. L. Pkatt. 



If it is necessary, should give them a comb of 

 honey if I had it; if not, feed candy on the top of 

 the frames. 



But " an ounce of prevention, etc."; feed your 

 bees in thefall. J. D. GOODRICH. 



1. I feed honey in the fi-ame. Have fed cofl'ee 

 and sugar syrup, by pouring it in emi)ty combs. 

 Have also fed candy made of coffee and sugar in 

 thin cakes and placed immediately over the clus- 

 ter on the top of the frames, and then covered 

 with cloth. 



2. Have never used a feeder and cannot speak 

 of its practicability. W. P. Henderson. 



1. Yes, by giving combs of sealed honey. Come 

 out to the honey house and see the combs of 

 honev 1 have saved for just such cases. 



2. I presume so. J. H. Larrabee. 



I have fed very little in cold weather. If feed- 

 ing were necessary, I should remove the coverings 

 as gently as possible, and place, flatvvi^e, just 

 over the brooU-nest, a card of sealed honey, or 

 part of a card, or some sealed sections. If I had 

 no sealed honey I should purchase such. If ] 

 could not get sealed honey, I should use the candy 

 made from extracted honey and pulverized sugar ; 

 placing it just over the brood nest. 



Mrs. H. HiLLa. 



1. Yes. 



2. Make a rim same dimensions as the hive 

 and two inches deep; place it top of hive; next 

 lay combs of capped honey flatwise on top of 

 brood-lranies (unsalalile section-honey may be 

 used il you have such); provide bee passage 

 above and below said combs; replace the cover- 

 ing, and the work is done ; il' you have given them 

 enough to last lliem through. This method has 

 always proved successful with me. 



Joshua Bull. 



1. Tliey may be safely fed in tlie cellar, or on 

 summer btanii in mild weather. Fill a pint glass 

 jar with warm sugar syrup, tie a stranier cloth 

 tecurely over it, and invert over the bees just at 

 night ; set it level ; give the bees room under it and 

 cover up warm. 



It is well to have a coarse wire screen, so ar- 

 ranged that the feeder can rest on it. Then the 

 feeder can be removed without letting out. 



2. The foregoing is the best way I have tested. 



J. L. Hubbard. 



1. I think it is practical to feed bees in winter. 

 If combs are empty, or nearly so, the bees will be 

 lound clustered in the upper part of the brood- 

 nest. Bees in a state of activity can endure a 

 great deal more cold than tliose which have not 

 got their blood warmed ; hence to put two or three 

 pounds of syrup or honey warmed to blood-heat 

 in a leeder that will cover an entrance over the 

 cluster, and the cusliion on top, would be a prac- 

 tical method of feeding. I have, liowever, always 

 done my winter feeding before winter so far, and 

 hence have not tried the pian. To pour a little 

 honey not warmed, say half a pound, over the 

 cluster occasionally, might be as good a way as 

 any. 2. 1 believe Mr. Heddon makes a winter 

 feeder, but I have not seen it. Geo. F. Kobbins. 



1. I have had very little experience in cold 

 weather feeding; but tliis season a few light colo- 

 nies were brought to regulation weiglit by placing 

 cases of unfinished sections over the broodnest. 

 In several instances when the bees were too con- 

 trary to carry the honey down 1 placed the cases 

 under the broodnest. This method was success- 

 ful with all but one or two colonies and these 

 were given frames of honey from colonies that 

 could spare the stores. The best feeder in exist- 

 ence for cold weather is sealed honey in your 

 regular frames. If this is not at hand dash sugar 

 syrup into empty combs and hang them in the 

 hive. Some of the bee-books recommend molding 

 sugar candy into frames and placing these in the 

 brood-nest. I have no doubt this is a good plan 

 but I have never tried it. I would strongly rec- 

 ommend that you do not permit the "necessity" 

 mentioned in the question to occur very often in 

 your yard. Z. T. Hawk. 



Mr. F. E. Merriman of Boston, Mass., has de- 

 vised and patented a feeder which we shall soou 

 describe iu the API.— Ed, 



