THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



729 



meiuls the packing of llie liives at each 

 end anil at the top, with al)Sorbents, 

 siK'h as wheat-chaff or leaves ; and 

 ventihition from the entrance only, 

 with room above the honeylioard for 

 the bees to pass over the combs, and 

 for shelter, only covering siitlicient to 

 keep them dry and from the direct 

 blasts of the storms. 



A vote of thanks was tendered the 

 La Porte Bee-Keepers" Association, 

 for the kind invitation extended to 

 our Association, to be with them on 

 Oct. 122, and a delegate was ordered to 

 be sent to represent our Association 

 at that time. 



The executive committee was direct- 

 ed to procure Mr. James Ileddon, of 

 Michigan, and Mr. Newman, of Chi- 

 cago, 111., as speakers for our next 

 meeting. 



Adjourned to meet on the tirst Fri- 

 day of April, 188-5, at 10 a. m., in the 

 same room. F. L. Putt, M. I)., Sec. 

 A. Blunt, Pres. 



For tbe American Bee Journal. 



How to Feed Sugar Syrup to Bees. 



C. THEILMANN.O, 



This fall I have fed my bees for 

 winter stores 9()0 pounds of granu- 

 lated stigar syrup in two days. I fed 

 it as described last year by one of the 

 correspondents in the Bee Journal ; 

 I. e., by raising the front of the hive 

 high enough so that the syrup, which 

 is poured in on top of the back end of 

 the frames, does not run out. When 

 I read the article, last year, I did not 

 think much of that way of feeding 

 bees, as I feared that the bees might 

 bedaub themselves too much ; but I 

 And by actual trial that the bees take 

 up the syrup in a shorter time than in 

 any other way that I have ever tried 

 to feed them ; but very few daubed 

 bees can be seen at the entrance, and 

 it is otherwise all right, no excitement 

 for robbing has appeared. 



Theilmanton, Minn., Oct. 30, 1S84. 



Read at the Wabash Co.. Ind.. Convention. 



Feeding Bees. 



A. SINGER. 



The first question which I will no- 

 tice is, "Why do we feed bees?" 

 There are several reasons why the 

 progressive bee-keeper will feed his 

 bees. 1. In the spring, when no nec- 

 tar is to be fonnd, we should feed the 

 bees in order to stimulate breeding, 

 as it is of great importance to have 

 all colonies strong as early as possible 

 in the spring, so that they may be 

 prepared to improve the first honey- 

 flow. We are all aware that the 

 queen is stimulated to greater activity 

 in depositing eggs when the workers 

 are carrying in food (which we may 

 give by stimulative feeding), than 

 when they get nothing from the fields. 



2. When the flow of nectar has not 

 been sufficient to enable the bees to 

 store enough honey for a winter sup- 

 ply, then it becomes necessary to sup- 

 ply enough stores for them to feed on 

 during- the winter, whicli stores 



should be capped over before cold 

 weather sets in. 



f>. This fall, I intend to try an ex- 

 periment with something with which, 

 perhaps, some of you are annoyed. 

 My bees have access to a cider-mill 

 which is located within one-quarter of 

 a mile from my apiary. Daily the 

 bees make visits to the "mill in search 

 of food, and when there is no honey 

 coming in, as has been the case dur- 

 ing this fall, the bees will carry in 

 freat quantities of cider, which we all 

 now IS not fit for their winter stores. 

 Then the question arises, " What 

 shall we do to overcome this diffi- 

 culty ?" I am trying the plan of 

 feeding, as an experiment, and gladly 

 await a discussion of this point at 

 this meeting. 



I feed my bees in the morning, so 

 that they may have something else to 

 do during the day than going after 

 cider. I find that many bees are thus 

 deterred from going to tbe mill, as I 

 have furnished them work nearer 

 home. 



I believe that where no great 

 ainount of eider is in the hive, if we 

 mix a quantity of honey or syrup 

 with it, it will sweeten it so much 

 that when the water is properly evap- 

 orated from both, fermentation will 

 not take place ; at least not to any 

 great extent. I am not certain of 

 success, but I can report the result of 

 my experiments at our spring meet- 

 ing, and you can then be the judges. 



The advantages of feeding bees are 

 of some importance to any who have 

 either few or many bees. As to the 

 manner of feeding bees, I may say 

 that each has his own method. The 

 result desired should determine the 

 manner of feeding. If we desire to 

 stimulate breeding in the spring, we 

 need not feed a large amount; a piece 

 of old comb put into the cap of the 

 hive will serve to hold enough syrup 

 for the puspose. But when we desire 

 to feed for winter stores we would 

 need something more commodious. 

 I have used Shuck's bee-feeder, and 

 find it excellent for feeding small 

 quantities at night. It is used at the 

 entrance, and would, therefore, be 

 objectionable if it were desirable to 

 have the bees fly out during the day. 

 I am using tin cups for heavy feed- 

 ing. I make a little wheel out of a 

 shingle or thin board that will fit in- 

 side the cup, leaving a little space 

 around the edge where the bees may 

 sip. This may be bored full of small 

 gimlet holes, and serves as a float, 

 settling as the syrup is consumed. 

 This I find to be the cheapest feeder 

 that I have seen. I notice some ob- 

 jections to it. though, as the bees be- 

 come besmeared sometimes, and are 

 unable to help themselves for a short 

 time, but others come to their rescue, 

 and they are thus relieved. 



The question now arises, " What 

 shall I feed my bees i"' 1. Honey, if 

 it is fit for table use ; if not. Prof. 

 Cook says that it is not fit for bees. 



2. Sugar syrup made the consistency 

 of honey when first gathered. 



3. Coffee A sugar is considered the 

 best to use in making a svrup. I 

 would never use cheap sugar "for win- 

 ter feeding. 



For stimulative feeding in the 

 spring, before any pollen comes in, I 

 have used (iraham flour and also 

 bolted Hour. I put it on boards in 

 front of the hives. This serves as a 

 substitute for pollen, and I find that 

 the liees work at it with a will on 

 warm spring days. 



Now, as to the amount to feed : I 

 have nothing to offer ia particular, 

 but I would say, if you expect to ex- 

 tract from the brood-chamber, do not 

 feed more syrup than the bees will 

 be likely to use up before the honey- 

 flow comes, as the surplus of syrup 

 will spoil the sale of honey, and cus- 

 tomers will say that it is adulterated. 

 Great care must be exercised in 

 feeding syrup during a honey-drouth 

 when sections are in place for surplus 

 honey, as no syrup whatever should 

 be deposited in comb honey for mar- 

 ket. Let our motto be : " Build up 

 the market for pure goods only." 



I am often confronted with this 

 question from customers : '• What 

 makes your honey go to sugar. (They 

 mean graiuilate.) I always explain 

 to them that this is one of the tests of 

 its purity ; and I believe that it will 

 be a benefit to all if each will do the 

 same thing towards educating the 

 public so as to be able to recognize 

 pure honey. 



Some persons say that the honey 

 can all be extracted and sold in the 

 fall, and with that money enough 

 sugar can be bought to winter their 

 bees on, yet having a fair sum left to 

 pay them for their trouble. I am not 

 inclined to think that there would be 

 anything gained in doing this, as it 

 is considerable trouble to melt the 

 sugar and distribute the feed. 



Feeding late in the season should 

 not be done if possible to avoid it, as 

 it encourages breeding, and the cold 

 weather approaching, the bees are 

 driven to cluster, and the brood left 

 to chill. If the cold continues, the 

 bees cannot remove the dead brood, 

 and it is left in the hive all winter in 

 a decaying state, from which arise 

 odors and gasses which bring disease 

 and death to the rest of the colony. 



In feeding at any time, great pre- 

 caution should be exercised against 

 robbing, which, when once started, is 

 sometimes hard to stop. No syrup, 

 sugar or honey should be dropped 

 about the apiary, or exposed where 

 the bees will lind it, as these are great 

 incentives to robbing. If we feed at 

 night we need not have any fears of 

 robbing, if the above precautions are 

 well observed. Feeding at night can 

 only be done while the nights are 

 warm ; for when the nights become 

 cool, the bees will not carry the food 

 to their cells, as they are all needed in 

 the brood-chamber during cool nights, 

 therefore the necessity of early, fall 

 feeding for winter stores. Early in 

 the fall each colony should be exam- 

 ined to see whether it is lacking any- 

 thing, and then a remedy can be given 

 accordingly. 



In conclusion I will say this : Each 

 person who keeps bees either for 

 profit or for pleasure, should obtain 

 some reliable authority on the sub- 

 ject, and then read it carefully and 

 make as many observations as pos- 



