OCTOBER 1, 1916 



simply invert the jars and place them with 

 the caps in the opening in the center of the 

 feeder, and the sides of the jar rest on the 

 board so that they will not turn over. This 

 brings the caps directly over the bees in the 

 most convenient position for them to carry 

 down the syrup. By this means I can feed 

 at different times during winter, as the bees 

 can carry down the syrup when it is almost 

 freezing cold. Of course it is always better 

 to feed before the weather becomes very 

 cold, but sometimes we are prevented by 

 having other work, and are compelled to 

 feed later than it .should be done. For my 

 use this method is far superior to any other, 

 altho, of course, others might not appreciate 

 it. I generally set an empty hive over the 

 jars and replace the hive-cover to keep out 

 dampness, and in this way there is no hurry 

 about removing them. 



Some of the advantages of this method 

 are: It is possible to feed a considerable 

 number of colonies in a short time. If the 



931 



syrup is not cai'ried down at once it can 

 remain until the bees find the weather suit- 

 able; also you can see at once just how 

 fast the bees are carrying the syrup down; 

 and it is possible to regulate the amount by 

 stopping up some of the holes in the cap. 



By using jars holding half a gallon, 

 filling is r.ecessarj' only once or twice. The 

 bees can carry down about half a gallon per 

 day when the weather is warm, and this 

 makes it a short job to finish all the feeding 

 for the .^season. This method makes it possi- 

 ble to feed wtihout causing robbing. Also 

 by feeding over the cluster it does not tend 

 to cause the bees of the other colonies to 

 become excited. I fii'st learned this method 

 from a neighbor, AVra. Damron, and so I 

 call it the Damron method. 



Stonecoal, W. Va. 



[IVIr. LeMay, p. 724, describes a plan 

 very similar to this except that he bores 

 smaller holes and more of them. — En.] 



APHORISMS, SUNDRY AND OTHERWISE 



What about Feeding Sugar and Requeening in August? 



BY ARTHUR C. MILLER 



[The following article, as will be noted, was written some time ago; but because of the crowded condition 

 of our columns during the publication of the summer special numbers it has been h^Id over. The reader will 

 not properly understand what it is all about without turning back to Mr. Crane's interesting article on feeding 

 sugar syrup, etc., page 145 of our Feb. 15th issue. — Ed.] 



The editor is to blame — as usual. If he 

 hadn't put the Greek into my title I would 

 not have got in Dutch with Mr. Crane. At 

 first reading of his come-back (February 15, 

 page 145) I was inclined to think my notes 

 were at fault ; but now I see it is a matter 

 of the difference between the Crane and the 

 Miller policies. 



When I have said requeening in August, 

 I have usually taken pains to borrow Dr. 

 Miller's saving phrase, and add " in this 

 locality." Midsummer — July — is when our 

 main surplus flow comes, and sometimes it 

 runs well into Au,gust, so we do vei'y little 

 dividing then. When we divide after that, 

 as well as at other times, it is a process of 

 taking from more or less of the colonies one 

 or two combs of brood each and making 

 good colonies from them and giving each a 

 queen. That keeps all in the "strong class." 

 Thereby I gain over Mr. Crane's way. Did 

 you ask if I never have any weak colonies? 

 Certainly I do; and, furthermore, you will 

 be pretty sure to find some of them being 

 wintered, or attempted. But you can count 

 them on your fingers, and generally on 

 those of one hand. They are experiments. 



Bees usually get abundant stores in 

 August, September, or early October (or in 



all three montlis) if the colonies are strong; 

 hence I say, " keep them strong." When 

 Mr. Langstroth first wrote that, he was a 

 southern New England beekeeper. 



As to feeding, much recent advice has been 

 toAvard feeding thin syrup so the bees would 

 " invert " the sugar. Others said feed, late 

 and quickly, a thick syrup. Now the poor 

 bewildered novice is in a nice state of mind; 

 and, oh how often I find feeding put off 

 until bees are slow to take the feed and then 

 cannot properly store it! Unfortunately in 

 our climate if we feed early — say about 

 September 20 — we may find so much brood 

 that there is not much room for food. If we 

 wait until a little later we may run into an 

 early cold spell and find it almost impossi- 

 ble to get satisfactory storing. So in this 

 locality we try to keep our colonies strong, 

 then they will force down brood-rearing if 

 the fall flow is good, and seldom need feed- 

 ing; and if we have to feed, the colonies are 

 big enough to handle it, even if we have 

 a cool spell. But for five years pi'ior to 

 1015 the late flow failed and a lot of feeding 

 had to be done. In 1915 there was a fine 

 fall flow, and the strong colonies forced 

 down brood-rearing, packed everything, and 

 went into winter quarters in ideal shape. 



