182 



THE PRj\CTICAL BEE GUIDE. 



32!) be given, the bees will fill the frames with comb in an 

 incredibly short time. Care must be taken to withdravy the 

 new combs before the queen shall have begun to oviposit 

 there : or, failing- this, they may be left in their position for 

 brood rearing, and a corresponding number of broodless 

 combs, if any are there, may be withdrawn and packed up in a 

 dry place until required. Such combs will be of immense 

 service if given to swarms, and will, in other cases also, effect 

 a saving of valuable time in the height of the season. 



318. Feeding Bees in Skeps. — Stocks in skeps may be con- 

 sidered safe for winter if the skep, on being weighed, is found 

 to exceed 25 lbs. When syrup feeding in skeps is necessary, 

 it should be given overhead. An ordinary skep may have a 

 hole cut in the top sufficiently large to admit the mouth of an 

 Economic, or a Bottle Feeder (120-121). When the feeder is 

 placed in position, it should be wrapped round with warm 

 material, to prevent the escape of heat, and a cover, such as an 

 empty skep, or a large flower pot with the hole stopped, should 

 be put on, to shut out prowling, stranger bees. In autumn or 

 winter, a bar of candy may be pushed into the hole, and covered 

 up, A better plan is to cut two or three inches off the top of the 

 skep, and to put on, instead, a piece of board with a hole in the 

 centre, over which a bottle and stage feeder (121-122), or a 

 cake of candy may be placed. The board should be fastened 

 securely by nails passmg through it into the skep, and a safe 

 cover should be put on over the feeder. Flat-topped skejis 

 (271), made to take supers, can have feeders placed on them 

 in (he same manner as described above for modern hives. 



319. Water Bees cannot carry on their wonderful work 



without water (9). If they have not access to natural sources 

 close enough to Iheir hives, water should bo supplied to them. 

 It is neither necessary nor desirable to add salt. A vessel of 

 water, with corks floating in it on which the bees may alight : 

 a tumbler of water inverted on a plate : or, a bowl of water 

 with a sponge, or a piece of cotton wool in it, through which 

 the bees may suck up what they require, will serve the purpose. 

 The vessel should be placed in a sheltered, sunny spot. Bees 

 will often resort to dirty pools of stagnant water, rather than 

 take clean, but colder water from an artificial source. (Fig. 113.) 



320. Pollen — The necessity for supplying artificial pollen 

 when a natural supply is not available, has been referred to 

 elsewhere, and directions for supplying it have been given 

 under the heading — " Stimulating in Spring." (192). 



