1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



927 



■would not take it up readily, nor so much at a 

 time that it would have time to sour before 

 they work it all. Sometimes, when I would 

 take a pailful down to replenish the feeder, it 

 would not all be gone then. If it is poured in 

 slowly in one spot, as the feed causes the feeder- 

 float to rise it carries the bees up with it. and the 

 bees back out as the syrup rises: and if the 

 weather is not too cold it will not hurt them if 

 a little syrup gets on them, if not too thick. 

 Last spring they seemed to get daubed, and 

 some would not get back to their hives when 

 the syrup was rich: but this fall we fed syrup 

 jtist as rich with no such ti'ouble. I think it 

 was because we gave them more room, and the 

 wind was not so chilly when we fed. This fall 

 we fed out of doors in a sunny place, the ground 

 covered with leaves, and with room for all to 

 work. After feeding up for winter (we fed 

 about 4Vj barrels to 22.t colonies, and some colo- 

 nies had enough to winter) there was about 

 half a barrel of sugar left: and as the bees were 

 short of feed we fed the half-barrel outdoors, 

 and also quite a large number of brood-combs 

 that had just a littlehoney in them, some more 

 and some less. They did not quarrel over the 

 honey in combs nor in the feeders. Because 

 there" was i-oom for all. I think, was the reason 

 there was scarcely any loss of bees. 



Those feeders make good watering-troughs 

 for bees when not needed for feeding. The 

 only objection is. they become foul when used 

 for watering, and are hardly clean enough un- 

 less they are thoroughly scraped and scalded. 

 If left dry they may leak: but I heated rosin 

 and lard (just enough lard so that the rosin 

 would not be too brittle, and not enough to 

 make the rosin soft. .>^o that the bees would 

 stick to it), then poured in the rosin, a little at 

 a time, very hot. and let it run down one side, 

 and a little more for the ends, holding up the 

 trough so that the rosin run along the cracks 

 only where joined together, being careful not 

 to miss any place. 



We had quite a number of supers with just a 

 little black honey in the sections. We tried 

 piling them up out of doors with just room 

 enough for half a dozen bees or so to get in at 

 a time: but they would kill each other so badly 

 that we carried them back to the honey-house. 

 "When we fed in feeders or brood-combs we 

 could take out those sections and set around on 

 top of hives, and there was no fighting: but 

 they soil the sections too much. If caps are 

 unsealed, and then removed just as quickly as 

 the honey is all gone, they are not injured 

 much. The cappings are wasted if not shaved 

 off or put on a broad board. 



Roseville, 111., Nov. 10. Mrs. L. C. Axtell. 



[We have read your article with considerable 

 interest. It would be a great saving of time if 

 we could manage to feed outdoors, and yet over- 

 come all the ditticulties. To many of us the 

 feeding of so many bees belonging to neighbors 

 would render the practice unprofitable: and 

 even if the neighbors were of the kind and gen- 

 tler sort, willing to pay their share, it would be 

 hard to decide what would be fair for all ijarties 

 concerned. One difficulty that we experienced 

 years ago was. that the stronger colonies would 

 get a good deal more than their proportionate 

 amount of feed, while the weaker ones would 

 have a great deal less than they ought to have. 

 In other words, it would cost us more to feed up 

 outdoors on account of the unequal distribution 

 of stores than it would to feed each colony the 

 exact amount it required in the hive. Outdoor 

 feeding is a splendid thing to keep the bees out 

 of mischief, during a dearth of honey. If we 

 could buy up all the neighbors' bees, and equal- 

 ize the strength of the colonies throughout the 



apiary, perhaps we could feed quite satisfacto- 

 rily outdoors for winter. But feeding is a very 

 small job with us. We have about two dozen 

 large Miller feeders. The amount required for 

 each hive is marked on each cover or each slate, 

 and the feeders are put on during the day. To- 

 ward evening, with our large feeding-cans we 

 go around and pour out by measui'e the amount 

 each colony will need, and the feeding with the 

 colony is done for the whole year. We do it all 

 at once. Two hours' time every day toward 

 evening for a week will feed up a hundred col- 

 onies. 



In regard to introducing queens in the fall, 

 there is a little more danger if vou leave the 

 colony to its own sweet will. We recommend 

 feeding the colony a little if it is during a hon- 

 ey-dearth, before introducing. The condition 

 of the hive then, although artificially brought 

 about, is nearly the same as during the honey- 

 flow. Mr. Hutchinson, in his " Advanced Bee 

 Culture."' makes this a strong point for success- 

 ful introducing.] 



ORDER IN THE APIARY. 



A PLACK FOR EVERY THING. AXD EVERY 

 THING IN ITS PLACE. 



I wonder if it troubles other bee-keepers as 

 much as it does us to keep things picked up 

 and put in place. Our out-apiaries are gener- 

 ally in good shape, for we think we must 

 straighten things up there before we leave. It 

 is the home apiary that suffers. It is -so easy 

 to think we must rest a little before putting 

 things straight, and we are too tired to do 

 another bit of work that night, and as it's at 

 home we can easily fix thinss up in the morn- 

 ingl In the moi'uing something else is very apt 

 to interfere with the cleaning-up. and it goes 

 until a more convenient time, and sometimes 

 things get pretty well stirred up before that 

 convenient time comes. 



I don't mean to say that we never pick things 

 up the same day. but that .sometimes they are 

 left, and I believe we are almost always sorry 

 for it. Jk)ioic I am. It doesn't take such a 

 great amount of time or strength either to do it 

 at once, and the amount of comfort it gives to 

 know that everv thing is in good shape more 

 than pavs. Aside from the comfort, there is a 

 great deal wasted by leaving things lying 

 around, and a great deal of time wasted in look- 

 ing for them. 



It is a great deal better to drive our work 

 than to let it drive us. If we once get behind 

 it is extremely hard to catch up. I know there 

 are times when a certain amount of work must 

 be done in a day. and by the time that is done 

 we are so utterly worn out that it would 

 scarcely be wise to attempt any thing else. In 

 that case the straightenins-up would better be 

 postponed — but that doesn't often happen. 



Perhaps some bee-keepers don't do any 

 stirring-up in their apiaries, consequently don't 

 need to do any straightening-up at night. But 

 ours often looks as though a cyclone had struck 

 it. only perhaps the cyclone would have swept 

 things cleaner. I have often looked around our 

 apiary at night, after a busy day. with genuine 

 dismay, and wondered if it ever would be re- 

 duced to any thing like order. But it always 

 came out all right in a short time, if we only 

 went to work at it right away. 



It's a good deal the same with our shop. We 

 have our ''clarin' up" times, as Dinah had. 

 and every thing is put in apple-pie order. Then 

 we firmly resolve that every thing shall be 

 kept so. For a time all goes on swimmingly. 

 Then some one gets in a hurry, drops a tool 

 where it doesn't belong, or perhaps a lot of stuflf 



