and its Economic Management. 179 



Messrs. Abbott have long had something similar, though 

 more simple and less expensive ; but there is one great dis- 

 advantage with all bottle-feeders, in that they are subject to 

 atmospheric pressure, and with a sudden rise of teniperature 

 the expansion causes much waste of syrup. The syrup has 

 usually been boiled when prepared for this class of feeder, but 

 for .my own use I have large cylinders on the self-acting feeder 

 principle which reduce about 2 cwt. of loaf sugar at a time, 

 the syrup being drawn off by a treacle valve at the bottom. 

 The syrup-can illustrated (Fig. 52) will also be found very 

 suitable for smaller quantities, saving much time and trouble 

 in cooking : the self-acting principle being the great feature in 

 this, as in my Champion Feeders. 



A very simple feeder is one adopted by myself some years 

 since when using frames 16 inches by 10 inches. Good sound 

 wood is selected, and plain boards fastened on each side of a 

 frame of any desired width. Put the nails in rather close 

 together and paint all joints with white lead before making up. 

 The top bar is f -inch thick with projections reduced to f -inch. 

 This is secured by fouir screws so that it can be removed for 

 cleaning. The syrup is poured in at the circular hole, after 

 turning back the quilt, and the bees go-in by a slot on the 

 : side ; no float is needed ; Fig. 54. 



In many apiaries feeding is seldom resorted to, but there 

 are times of dearth when valuable colonies would be utterly 

 ruined were it not for the timely assistance rendered by the 

 owner — assistance that sooner or later is repaid a hundredfold. 



Of course, if feeding is absolutely necessary after the sur- 

 plus receptacles liave once been occupied, it must be simply 

 from "hand to mouth," that nothing be stored in supers; 

 -while it may even be desirable to remove such entirely, 

 replacing them when better times put in an appearance. 



Feeding without Feeders 



is something that needs our attention before closing this 

 chapter. Of the various methods offered for filling stock 



