THE HONEY-BEE. 189 



strangers, and eventually lead to plunder. It is a good 

 method, therefore, to administer the food, when it is 

 given at the external en trance, in a covered vessel, hav- 

 ing its opening at one side placed close to that of the 

 hive, so that the bees proceed directly to the trough, 

 without having any communication with the open air, 

 and, consequently, without affording an opportunity of 

 admittance to strangers. A trough of this kind is de- 

 scribed in the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, and, with some 

 little improvement, by Howatson. We have used it, 

 and found it to answer pretty well, and shall, there- 

 fore, for the benefit of others, describe it here. (See 

 PL XIII. fig. 3.) " It cons'ists of an oblong box, in one 

 end of which is a reservoir containing honey that is 

 allowed to flow from the bottom, under a thin float, 

 buoyed up with cork, and perforated with small holes, 

 through which the bees, standing on the float, supply 

 themselves with the honey. There is a hole in the 

 side of the box, which is to be applied to the entrance 

 of the hive for admitting the bees above the float, and 

 another on the opposite side which is opened at 

 pleasure, to allow them to escape, should the box be 

 too much crowded. The lid of the box is a glass pane. 

 On pouring the honey into the reservoir, the float 

 rises, whence there should not be such a quantity as 

 to raise it close to the lid or pane above. The box is 

 about 10 inches long, 4 broad, and 2J deep, and the 

 reservoir is an inch wide. When used, the hole in 

 the side is to be placed close to the entrance of the 

 hive, which must be gently rapped on, if the bees'do 

 not immediately find the way down. It is entertain- 



