AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



363 



conducted by 

 Greenville. Texas 



Our School in Bee-Keeping'. 



SIXTH LESSOK — THE FEEDING OF BEES. 



Now I will tell you how to feed during 

 poor years or any other time when you 

 have to feed. 



If you have much feeding to do, you 

 had better put on the upper stories .and 

 feed with the bread-pan feeder, or any 

 vessel that will hold about a quart. Fill 

 the vessel with syrup made of sugar, 

 and cut a cloth just to fill the inside of 

 the vessel, leaving a strip of the cloth 

 . long enough to come out over the top of 

 the vessel, and down to the frames. 

 Now turn up the quilt at one corner, 

 and let the strip extend from the food 

 down to the bees, and let the cloth lay 

 right on the syrup. Pour a little food 

 all along on the strip to get the bees 

 started, and all you will have to do ■will 

 be to go around each evening and fill up 

 the vessel. 



The feeding should be done at night- 

 fall, so as not to excite robbing, and in 

 this way you can feed all you wish with- 

 out drowning the bees or having robbing 

 started. But should you wish to feed 

 • only a little, you may fill a comb and 

 hang it in the hive, about sunset or a 

 little later, and for stimulating it is a 

 good way. 



If you do not lookout, you will get 

 robbing started, and then you are apt to 

 lose as much as you have gained by 

 feeding, as the colonies that need the 

 least food will get the most, and you will 

 suffer a loss in bees, besides. We can- 

 not be too careful about robbers, for 

 they are the worst sort of a plague when 

 started. 



HOW TO PREPARE THE FOOD. 



To make the sugar syrup, I place a 

 vessel on the stove, holding as much as 

 I wish to make at a time, and put about 

 three parts sugar in and one part water, 

 and let it strike a boil ; then set it off. 



and pour in about one part honey, if you 

 have it, if not, use a piece of pure cream- 

 of-tartar as large as a marble, or say a 

 table-spoonful to a gallon of syrup, 

 and it will seldom turn back to sugar. 

 Then feed as above stated. 



I do not like syrup made cold, that is, 

 water poured on sugar, as it seems not 

 to give me nor the bees the satisfaction 

 that the boiled syrup does, but in 

 heating the syrup we must not scorch 

 it, as it might result in harm to the bees. 



I use for spring feeding the cheapest 

 grade of open-kettle brown sugar, or 

 what is just as good, the settlings of 

 syrup barrels that has candied in the 

 grocery stores, that is. Ribbon-cane 

 syrup. I have bought this at not over 

 two cents per pound, and it served my 

 purposes for spring feeding just as well 

 as any. 



Pleased to Read. " Sunny Southland." 



Mrs. Atchley : — You cannot imagine 

 how pleased 1 am to read your part of 

 the American Bee Journal, especially 

 your instructions to beginners. I feel 

 like giving you a warm shake of the 

 hand, and say. May the blessing of the 

 Good Father attend you and yours. 



Horatio N. Scratch. 



Kingsville, Ont. 



Queenless Colony— Feeding in Winter. 



I made the discovery Sunday that I 

 have a queenless colony in my yard. 

 They have no brood from which to rear 

 a queen. What would you advise? I 

 have queens in the yard laying. Would 

 you advise me to change one over, or 

 give them brood ? Or would you advise 

 me to order a queen ? I have lost one 

 colony with diarrhea, and one starved 

 out by robbers before I thought of such 

 going on. It was done during the pretty 

 days immediately following the long and 

 severe cold weather. We are now in 

 the midst of the coldest weather of the 

 winter. 



I notice some one inquiring through 

 the Bee Journal whether he could 

 feed his bees in the winter ; the answer 

 by some one was that it was not practi- 

 cable. I have been feeding mine all 

 winter. I have a feeder invented (not 

 patented) by G. H. Bymun, of this State, 

 that is a success for feeding bees in win- 

 ter. It consists of a circular piece of 

 tin 6 inches in diameter, with a rim 

 crimped to it like a bucket lid, around 

 which fits a band. Slip off this band, 



