174 



A Modern Bee-Farm 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



FEEDING AND FEEDERS. 



WHEN and how to feed are questions of considerable 

 importance to bee-keepers genStally. In the apiary 

 where bees and queens are raised for sale, feeding has often to 

 be resorted to, as nothing is so exhaustive as the production of 

 bees and queens on a large scale. Many colonies are reduced 

 to such an extent that the remaining bees are occupied entirely 

 in brood rearing, forced on to the utmost by the master. 

 Honey is quite a secondary object ; bees must be had. Con- 

 sequently, honey cannot always be obtained even when the 

 average colony is storing, and the forcing process must there- 

 fore be kept up by some substitute. 



Dry Sugar Feeding. 



For spring feeding generally, and for use with nuclei, I have 

 found nothing so stimulative as my plan of dry sugar feeding. 

 The feeder consists of a hollow dummy with one side hinged 

 on simple wire nails and held by the same above ; or by staples 

 turned at right angles to project over the margin below and a 

 turned wire inserted at either corner at the top, which can be - 

 moved out of the way to allow of easily removing the side. 

 The space between the sides should not be more than one 

 inch, or comb will frequently be built therein. 



Sugar known as Porto Rico, a soft, moist article, is used, 

 being pressed in tightly, and the bees, entering above the 

 movable side, which does not reach the top bar by J-inch, 

 are soon busily engaged in reducing the food to syrup. 



