152 HANDY BOOK OF BEES. 



of good ale themselves, like to give their tees ale-and- 

 sugar instead of water-and-sugar ; and some are so kind 

 as to give them wine mixed with sugar. Pure water 

 mixed with the sugar is much better for hees than either 

 ale or wine. The elephant grows strong on water, the 

 horse does its work on water, and bees want nothing 

 better. 



In mixing sugar and water for bees, it is desirable to 

 present it to them sweet enough, and yet not too thick 

 or sticky. We have mentioned one pint of water to one 

 pound weight of sugar, that is nearly weight for weight. 

 We wish to make ourselves well understood here, for the 

 English and Scotch pints are very different. The pint 

 measure of England holds four gilLs, the Scotch one holds 

 sixteen gills. The uneducated classes of Yorkshire and 

 Lancashire call half a pint " a gill." It is the EnglLsh or 

 imperial pint of water which we use vnth one pound of 

 sugar. One pound of sugar and one pint of water sL'ghtly 

 boiled, make about two pounds of excellent syrup for bees. 

 It is about the same thickness or substance as honey when 

 first gathered from flowers. 



There are many ways of feeding bees, not one of which 

 will we here attempt to vote down or lift our hand 

 against. In this, as in poking the fire, most people 

 think their own way the best. Many amateur bee-keepers 

 feed from the tops of their hives. It is a very good plan. 

 A kind of tin trough or cylinder, with a wooden float full 

 of holes, is used for this purpose. The lid on the top of 

 the hive is removed, and this cylinder filled with sugar is 

 placed there. The bees speedily find their way to the 

 syrup, and carry it down into their hive. This system 

 prevents strange bees from getting the syrup without first 

 going through the hive for it. 



