1921 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



175 



packing may be kept from sifting 

 down between the frames by cover- 

 ing the top of the hive with a burlap 

 or cloth before replacing the packing. 

 Receipts are also available for mak- 

 ing fondants, which are useful for 

 feeding in this manner and which do 

 not require the use of honey. 



Preparing the Syrup 



When using syrup it is most prac- 

 tical to make, at one time, amounts 

 sufficient to care for all the colonies 

 that may need help. The sugar and 

 water may be mixed and heated in a 

 large container until the sugar is en- 

 tirely melted. To carry the feed to 

 outapiaries, five-gallon cans are con- 

 venient. We use five-gallon oil cans 

 for this purpose, since it is easy to 

 pour the feed from them, and they 

 are stout enough to stand consider- 

 able handling. Fig. 3. Of all the 

 feeders used, we find the inverted or 

 atmospheric feeder to be by far the 

 most useful. Two of these, holding 

 five pounds each, are inverted at the 

 edge of the hive with the oil 

 cloths, which we use, turned back 

 just enough to let the bees get to the 

 feed. In settled warm weather this 

 is not of importance. Shallow pans 

 of feed placed on the frames and 

 covered with grass to serve as floats 

 will do very well, but they are not 

 satisfactory unless the weather is 

 warm, since the bees may not take 

 the feed readily. Outside feeders 

 are not satisfactory, since they not 

 only create considerable disturbance 

 but usually colonies already well 

 supplied with stores, being the 

 stronger, get most of the feed, and 

 the object of the work is thus partly 

 defeated. 



It is better to be beforehand than 

 behindhand when colonies are in dan- 

 ger of becoming short of stores, and 

 in a country where the roads to out- 

 apiaries quickly become impassable 

 to machines after rains or thaws, it 

 is important to watch the chances 

 for visits to the yards. Each yard 

 should be supplied with sufficient 

 cans of feed and with feeders enough 

 to care for later emergencies. 



GARDEN PLANTS WHICH AT- 

 TRACT THE BEES 



An Iowa reader asks for an arti- 

 cle on flowers and ornamental plants 

 which are at the same time good for 

 the bees. There is a long list of such 

 plants, although it seldom happens 

 that a sufficient quantity is planted 

 to help out much as a source of 

 honey. Sometimes in the cities a 

 particular plant becomes so popular 

 that a large number of persons plant 

 it in the gardens. In such cases the 

 bees sometimes get surplus from 

 these garden flowers. 



In our grandmothers' gardens a 

 number of flowering plants were 

 common which are seldom seen now- 

 a-days, except as they have escaped 

 and established themselves as weeds 

 in waste places. 



Garden Flowers 



Bee balm (Melissa officinallis) is 

 still listed in the flower seed catalogs. 



Catnip has established itself quite 

 generally, although it is no longer 

 commonly cultivated. Bachelor's but- 

 ton (Centaurea Cyanis) is still gen- 

 erally cultivated. Cosmos is also a 

 common garden flower which at- 

 tracts the bees in large numbers. 

 Hollyhock was formerly included in 

 almost every garden and is very 

 easily grown. Apparently it is the 

 source of much nectar and the bees 

 fairly revel in its blossoms. 



Heliotropes, Marjoram, Horehound 

 and Lavender are all good. Laven- 

 der has been mentioned frequently 

 in recent issues of this Journal. In 

 Europe it is an important source of 

 surplus honey. There are several 

 species, but apparently all are good 

 for honey. Which is most desirable 

 will probably depend upon the soil 

 and climate where it is to be grown. 

 Mignonette has attracted much atten- 

 tion from the beekeepers in the past, 

 some thinking that it might be profit- 

 able to grow it extensively for honey 

 alone. Rosemary in Europe is an- 

 other important source of surplus 

 honey, which is found in this country 

 only in gardens. 



The Siberian squill (Scilla si- 

 berica) is a hardy little flower that 

 can be naturalized in the grass on 

 northern lawns. All that is neces- 

 sary is to plant the bulbs about two 

 inches below the surface in the fall 

 of the year. The blossoms apnear 

 very early in spring, when the bees 

 are most eager for nectar. Often 

 snow will cover the blossoms which 

 come out so early. Usually they will 

 be gone and the top will die down be- 

 fore it becomes necessary to cut the 

 grass with a lawn mower. Every 

 beekeeper who is a flower lover will 

 do well to buy these bulbs by the 

 hundreds and plant them on the lawn. 

 At my old home, at Atlantic, Iowa, 

 there are many of these little flower' 

 which were planted years ago and 

 which have never received any fur- 

 ther attention. 



The yucca is a very attractive 



flower which thrives with little atten- 

 tion and which yields some nectar, 

 also. 



Vegetables 



Among the vegetables there are 

 several which yield nectar freely 

 and are important to the beekeeper 

 where they are grown for seed ex- 

 tensively. Among these may be men- 

 tioned the onion. When the country 

 was new the wild onions on the 

 prairies were visited freely by the 

 bees. Where large seed plantations 

 are grown, surplus honey may be 

 gathered from this plant. Turnips 

 yield so freely that the late J. S. 

 Harbison stated that it would be 

 profitable to grow them for the honey 

 which might be gathered from them. 

 Cabbage, celery, carrots and parsnips 

 are all important, and beekeepers in 

 the vicinity of seed gardens are for- 

 tunate. 



Small Fruits 



The blossoms of nearly all the 

 fruits commonly grown are valuable 

 as sources of nectar. In addition to 

 the tree fruits, there are severa' va- 

 rieties of bush fruits or small fruit 

 which may easily be grown in the 

 garden, thus furnishing attractions 

 for the bees as well as table delica- 

 cies. Those most commonly grown 

 are strawberries, raspberries, black- 

 berries, currants and goosetfrries. 

 Shrubs and Vines 



There is a good variety of shrubs 

 suitable for ornamental purposes 

 whif-h furnish the bees with soc" 

 provender. White clematis, wild cu- 

 cumber and Virginia creeper are 

 among the best of the vines. Bush 

 honeysuckle and snowberry, or wax- 

 berry, are good shrubs. 



The above meager list does not by 

 any means exhaust the list, but it of- 

 fers suggestions. The flowers that 

 attract the bees give double pleasure 

 to the beekeeper, even though he 

 had so few of them that he cannot 

 detect the honey which they yield. — 

 F. C. P. 



Fig. 3. — Loading feed in 5-gallon cans for use at the outyard. 



