930 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



braces run from there up to the ceiling. 

 A single nail thru the lower end of one of 

 the bracts into the hole in the cap holds the 

 upper end of the pipe securely and makes 

 the fan run true. 



On cool days, or whenever the fan is not 



wanted, it is the work of but a moment to 

 loosen the set-screws at the lower end of 

 the pipe and lift the whole thing off. 



The next Ohio field meet will be held at 

 the apiary of Mr. Melville Hayes, Wilming- 

 ton, 0. 



MAKING COLONIES BY FEEDING SYRUP 



FY PAUL FUNK 



During 1915 the honey crop with us was 

 a complete failure, consequently we had no 

 natural increase of bees. Not wishing to 

 lose a whole year of the bee business, and 

 desiring more bees, I decided to make 

 increase by feeding. 



During the first week of July I started 

 my increase with two single-frame nuclei 

 of brood and bees taken from old colonies. 

 To these twa nuclei I introduced young 

 queens. The new colonies were fed syrup 

 made of 2 to 21/2 parts of granulated sugar 

 to one of warm water, stirred until thoroly 

 dissolved. These colonies went into winter 

 quarters with eight combs fully drawn out. 

 Some of the frames had contained full 

 sheets of foundation, and some only starters. 

 Each hive was heavy with honey (sugar), 

 full of young bees, and with a good portion 

 of brood. The colonies wintered outdoors 

 in good condition, coming out in the spring 

 with plenty of bees, and with feed enough 

 for spring breeding. There was no trace of 

 dysentery. About one-third of the other 

 colonies wintering on natural stores died, 

 and some were left very weak. 



As to the cost of these made colonies, the 

 sugar was bought just before the 1915 sen- 

 sational advance in price, for $5.65 per 100 

 pounds. An average of 22^2 lbs. was fed 

 each colony. Therefore, for building up 

 each nucleus to full strength and with suf- 

 ficient stores for wintering and spring 



breeding, the sugar cost $1.27. The queens 

 cost 65 cents, making $1.92 as the total cost 

 of sugar and queen for each. Surely this 

 is a most reasonable cost for a strong colony 

 of Italian bees with a young queen. 



Last year, about Aug. 1, a colony super- 

 seded its queen. This colony cast a swarm 

 which settled in two parts. The smaller 

 bunch had probably half a gallon of bees, 

 which were hived on full sheets of founda- 

 tion. They were given a young Caucasian 

 queen, fed 18 lbs. sugar, and this summer 

 the colony was one of my best. 



Some one will probably think that these 

 made colonies carried in some fall honey. 

 They got very little, for there was but little 

 honey to get, and until late in the fall the 

 colonies were not strong enough to do much 

 field work. The bees seemed to have de- 

 voted their every effort to increasing from 

 the sugar fed. 



Warsaw, 0. 



[We believe that these nuclei, in spite of 

 what our correspondent says, secured some 

 honey from natural soui'ces. If 22 pounds 

 of sugar was fed, that would mean 33 

 pounds of syrup — barely enough under 

 some conditions to winter a good colony, to 

 say nothing of making the increase in bees, 

 permitting the comb-building, etc. We fear 

 that the figures given are low. Then no 

 account is taken of the labor — an important 

 item, surely. — Ed.] 



FEEDING IN TWO-QUART JARS OVER THE BROOD-CHAMBER 



BY W. C. MOLLETT 



I have tried almost all the bee-feeders on 

 the market, and am not fully satisfied with 

 any of them in all respects, altho all of them 

 have some advantages. Lately, I have been 

 trying another method which is not quite 

 like any other, altho it is on the Boardman 

 principle. The first thing necessary is a 

 fiat cover the size of the hive, and about % 

 inch thick. With a brace having an expan- 

 sion bit I bore a hole in the center of the 

 cover just the right size to admit the cap 

 of a Mason jar, which is about three inches. 



These feeder-boards are best made of one 

 piece of lumber ; but they can be made of a 

 number of narrower pieces when necessary. 

 After the boards are ready I get some caps 

 for use in Boardman feeders, and then pre- 

 pare the syrup as usual. Then I fill the 

 jars with syrup and put a rubber ring on 

 the cans as they are used in canning fruit, 

 and i^ut the caps on them. I remove the 

 hive-cover and place the feeder-board upon 

 tlie hive, and then I am ready to feed. 

 I go around to each hive to be fed, and 



