290 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



From the Country Gentleman. 



Feeding Bees. 



The feeding of bees is a matter m which 

 the inventive genius of man may profitably 

 be exercised in discovering a method tliat 

 shall be perfectly satisfactory mider all cir- 

 cumstances. It is tlie general custom to 

 feed them in the hive, by placing the tood 

 in the supers in a manner that will attract 

 the bees to it. For instance, a colony ot 

 bees is found in October to be short ot 

 honey, a fact that every skillful bee-keeper 

 may ascertain by lifting the hive, or even 

 by raising one side of it; or if he has mov- 

 able comb hives, he may examine the combs. 

 These bees may be fed on honey in the 

 comb, strained honey, or on a syrup made 

 of white sugar, four pounds to a quart ot 

 water, heated to the boiling point and 

 skimmed. , , j ^ ^ i„„ 



If honey in the comb be used, first lay 

 down small sticks, about half an inch thick, 

 directly upon the frames, or when common 

 hives are used with supers, upon sticks laid 

 between the holes througli which the bees 

 pass up into boxes in the supers, but now 

 removed. You lay down a piece ot comb, 

 scatter a little honey near the holes, rap on 

 the hive, and the bees come to the holes im- 

 mediately to see what is wanted, and hnd- 

 ing the honey, they will, if very short ot 

 honey, soon carry it ail down into the lower 

 section of the hive. But in some cases they 

 will cluster on the comb, cement it to the 

 hive, and leave it where it is, not knowing 

 tliat it will be impossible to come up and 

 get the honey in cold weather. It is best, 

 therefore to uncap the cells with a sharp 

 knife, and then the bees will carry all the 

 honey down. , , , i 



Feeding in some climates should never be 

 delayed beyond September, but in warmer 

 latitudes it may be done in October, and m 

 some localities it may be done all winter. 

 The novice in bee-keeping may ask. Why 

 not feed the bees outside, in front of their 

 hives? " This would be feeding the entire 

 apiary— those colonies that already have 

 enough, or too much, as well as those that 

 need feeding— and when the honey had all 

 disappeared, the strong colonies would m 

 many cases commence robbing the weak 

 ones, being highly excited over the spoils. 



1 have spoken of comb honey to teed to 



bees: but strained honey and sugar syrup 



are better, sugar being found about as good 



as lioney. There are different methods ot 



feeding these. Some " patent "feeders 



have been introduced based on putting tlie 



honey or syrup into a vessel with cotton 



cloth at the "bottom, through which the bees 



take the honey; but it is useless to buy such 



a feeder, as anybody can make one it 



wanted. Let a tinman make a cylinder 



about the size of a quart measure with both 



ends open, then attach three legs, to be 



soldered on about an inch from the bottoin, 



which space will allow the muslin to be 



tied over it. Tiie legs should come down 



about an inch below tlie lower edge of the 



feeder; and when the cloth is tied on, and 



the feeder filled with honey, the cloth will. 



or should, sag down in the center, so that 



the bees can reach it ; and they will soon 



cover the cloth, and in one night they will 



empty the feeder, if tlie cloth is not too 



thick. If the feed is too thin it will run 



through the cloth too fast, antl if too thick 



not fast enough. Tlie tinman should make 



a cover to the feeder, or the bees will enter 

 it at the top, and get stuck fast in the lioney. 

 If strained honey be fed it should be slightly 

 thinned, by adding a little water, and heat- 

 ing it to the boiling point. 



Another way to feed bees m the caps ot 

 their hives, is to put the liquid feed into a 

 tin cup with perpendicular sides, and quite 

 shallow, say from three to four inches deep, 

 and to hold a quart. Fill this cup nearly 

 full, and then cover the honey with floats 

 made as follows : Take rods three-eights 

 of an inch square, saw them off with a line- 

 tooth saw in pieces a half an inch long, then 

 with a sharp penknife cut off the edges to 

 the center of each piece, and you have the 

 best float ever invented, and originating 

 with the writer. You take a handful of 

 these floats (made of dry white pine) and 

 spread as many upon the surface ot the teed 

 as you can, without putting one upon an- 

 other; you then place the cup in the hive, 

 and tole the bees up to the feed by letting 

 a few drops of honey run dovi^n on the out- 

 side of the feeder in several places; or a 

 piece of honey comb filled with the teed 

 may be placed against the feeder, and reach- 

 ing to the top of it. As soon as the bees 

 have found the feed, in one night they will 

 empty a quart feeder, taking every particle 

 of it, and not a single bee will be killed by 

 getting into the honey. It was a mere acci- 

 dent that I learned the value of these floats, 

 the principal point being in cutting them 

 down to octagons. 



Wlien an entire apiary requires feeding, 

 wliich may happen in a bad season tor 

 gathering honey, the bees may be fed out- 

 side in several large feeders; but great care 

 must be taken that the strong colonies do 

 not rob the weak ones, as soon as the hoiney 

 in the feeders is gone. Sugar syrup does 

 not cause robberies as much as honey; but 

 honey may be fed outside to flfty or more 

 colonies, and no robberies take place, it you 

 contract the entrances to the hives ot your 

 weak colonies, as soon as the bees have 

 carried in the last of the feed, so that but 

 one or two bees can pass in and out at the 

 same time. If the robbing has commenced, 

 all you can do is to contract the entrance 

 immediately; or you may close them en- 

 tirely, giving ventilation by raising the hive 

 a little, and slipping in thin wedges at tlie 

 corners. Keep the hive closed an hotir, 

 then open it, and rap on it to cause tne 

 robbers imprisoned to go out, then close 

 again till after sundown, tlien open it long 

 enough to let out any remaining robbers, 

 and to let in the outside bees that belong to 

 the hive, then close again, and so leave the 

 hive till all robbers cease to try to enter, 

 which will be in 48 hours, then open again 

 with the passage-way contracted, and your 

 bees will be safe, if the hive contains 

 enough to be of any value. . 



An important consideration in out-door 

 feeding is, whose bees you are feeding. \ou 

 may be feeding your neighbors' bees, as 

 well as your own; consequently you should 

 ftH'd on a warm sunny day, give your bees 

 a c'oi)ious supply, and not rei)eat the teeu- 

 ingfor some davs. By so doing, the oper- 

 ation will be over perhaps betore your 

 neighbors' bi'es have scented the honey. 



But ail this kind of feeding can be dis- 

 pensed with, if you have movable frame 

 hives, a few to be fed, and as many colonies 

 that have more honey than they need. \ou 

 merely exchange the empty combs in hives. 



