1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



855 



HOW TO MAKE AN OUTDOOR FEEDER. 



Elsewhere in this department the advan- 

 tages of outdoor feeding are explained; but 

 no description is given as to how these feed- 

 ers are made. Fortunately their construc- 

 tion is very simple. A two or five gallon 

 crock may be inverted on a board having 

 saw-cuts parallel with and across the grain 

 of the board, said cuts being | inch deep, 

 and terminating within an inch of each side 

 and end. But a far better and cheaper ar- 

 rangement is a common second-hand 60-lb. 

 square can. Scald it out with boiling water 

 to make sure that no traces of foul brood 

 remain, then punch the top of it full of 

 small holes from i to § inch apart. The 

 perforations may be made with a common 

 wire nail and should be about sV in diameter. 

 Fill this can with syrup, put on the screw 

 cap, and invert it over a pair of blocks in 

 such a way that the bees can get free access 

 to the perforated top, now the bottom. 



If the apiary is a large one, it may require 

 two or three of these cans set out at a time. 

 The plan that we are at present using is to 

 have three cans inverted over two horizontal 

 bars resting on two hives. These bars 

 should be spaced to a distance of a little less 

 than the width of the can top, and be long 

 enough to accommodate two or three cans 

 at a time. A little loose hay or grass should 

 then be strewn under the cans, and over 

 this a piece of cheese-cloth. The bees will 

 cluster in festoons under the bottom side of 

 the feeder, every now and then dropping 

 down in bunches. The object of this loose 

 hay or grass and cheese-cloth is to cushion 

 the fall. While this may seem like going to 

 extremes, yet when bees are doing this all 

 day it is advisable to save them as much of 

 a shock as possible. 



The objection to the grooved board and the 

 crock is that the bees struggle and scramble 

 to such an extent they wear the fuzz-rings 

 all off their bodies, and in the scramble also 

 they mutilate and tear each other's wings to 

 a greater or less extent. The inverted 

 square can with its perforations, because of 

 its smooth slippery surface does not give the 

 bees a chance to struggle against each oth- 

 er. A bee will no more than get its tongue 

 into one of the openings than perhaps half a 

 dozen will suck at the same hole. In a few 

 seconds a bunch will be formed that will 

 drop down. Of course, they will fly back 

 and repeat the operation. 



Now, right here some may think the 

 grooved board is better because a bee could 

 stick its tongue into the syrup and suck to 

 its fill. In order to bring about the condi- 

 tions of an artificial honey-flow the bees 

 should not be allowed to fill up too fast. For 

 that reason the inverted can brings about a 

 condition that requires the bees to spend 

 considerable time in filling up, with the re- 

 sult that a small amount of syrup, compara- 

 tively, will keep a big horde busy all day. 



Some one else, I do not remember who, 

 recommended taking an ordinary extractor- 

 can and filling it full of syrup. The top, of 

 course, should be covered. Under the hon- 



ey-gate is put one end of a V-shaped trough, 

 made of two rough 12-foot boards about 4 

 inches wide. One end of this trough is a 

 little lower than the one next to the honey- 

 gate. The honey-gate is now opened just- 

 enough to allow a fine stream to reach the 

 further end of the trough when it is covered- 

 with bees. But this arrangement would 

 have to be watched almost constantly to 

 prevent syrup running too fast and wasting, 

 .or going too slow, resulting in that elbow 

 struggle which should be avoided. Although- 

 not having tried it, my impression is that- 

 there would not be much chance for the bees 

 to struggle. But don't you see the bees 

 would get the feed too fast, and in one day's 

 time would take up a big canful of syrup? 



OUTDOOR feeding; an effectual remedy 



FOR PREVENTING ROBBERS OR PILFER- 

 ERS WHILE ONE IS WORKING OVER 

 THE HIVES. 



A YEAR ago we conducted some experi- 

 ments in outdoor feeding, and established 

 the fact that, so far as we were concerned, 

 we could produce the conditions of an arti- 

 ficial honey-flow so that ordinary queen-rear- 

 ing operations could go on as successfully, 

 almost, as during a natural honey-flow. It 

 is a well-known fact to the queen-breeders 

 that getting cells accepted, virgins mated, 

 etc., come almost to a standstill as soon as 

 the honey-flow stops. The bees, so far from 

 feeling the condition of prosperity, are 

 seized with a sort of panic, kill off the 

 drones, destroy cells, refuse to build out 

 others, and for a few days, at least, there is 

 a lull. They will recover somewhat, it is 

 true; but the queens reared during a dearth 

 of honey are inferior in every way to the 

 queens reared during a honey-flow; and, 

 what is more, they cost the breeder two or 

 three times as much to produce. Nor is this 

 all. Brood-rearing is curtailed, and the bees 

 pursue a policy of severe retrenchment in 

 order that they may save such stores as they 

 have obtained. 



A year ago we began feeding outdoors — 

 cautiously at first; and then as we saw that 

 it stopped robbing rather than inducing it, 

 we went at it boldly. This year a honey- 

 flow from red and peavine clover has hung 

 on so that we have not had to feed as early 

 as formerly; but when robbers began to 

 bother, then we start the outdoor feeder, 

 when, presto! all is serene. 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF OUTDOOR FEEDING. 



As not every one has made the outdoor 

 method a success, it is, perhaps, not amiss to 

 explain the philosophy of it. By under- 

 standing the principles involved the reader 

 may discover the cause or causes of failure. 

 The average bee-keeper feels very cautious 

 about exposing sweets to bees, as he knows 

 that, when the honey-house door is left open, 

 perchance exposing a lot of combs, that 

 there will be a fearful uproar, cross bees 

 following one even around into the streets. 

 Well, then, if this be so how can one possi- 



