loo FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



a ring or eye, and sharpen the lower end. Twelve inches from 

 the point or lower end bend the rod at right angles. Two inches 

 higher up bend again at right angles, leaving the rod straight 

 except that knee of two inches, upon which you can set your 

 foot and drive it into the ground as when spading. 



The cloth used for the shade is about as large as an ordi- 

 nary bed sheet, and is usually the linen lap-robe, which is al- 

 ways at hand, and on which a string is kept tied on each comer 

 so as to be always ready to set up in a twinkling. The string 

 has both ends tied around the cloth at the corner, leaving the 

 string in the form of a loop. The loop is thrust through the 

 eye of the standard, looped back over the eye, and there you 

 are. 



When the sun is not far from the horizon, only two stand- 

 ards are used, from which the lap-robe hangs as a wall between 

 the opei'ator and the sun. 



FEEDING MEAL. 



I used to read about feeding meal in the spring. I tried 

 it, put out rye-meal, and not a bee would touch it ; baited them 

 with honey, and if they took the honey they left the meal. 

 Finally, one day, I saw a bee alight on a dish of flour set in a 

 sunny place. It went at it ina rollicking manner as if delight- 

 ed. I was more delighted. At last I had in some way got the 

 thing right, and my bees would take meal. The bee loaded up, 

 and- lugged off its load, and I waited for it and others to come 

 for more. They didn't come, and that was the first and last 

 load taken that year. I cannot tell now exactly when the 

 change came about, neither do I know that I have done any- 

 thing different, but I have no trouble now in getting the bees 

 to take bushels of meal. I suppose the simple explanation is 

 that there was plenty of natural pollen for the few bees I had 

 in the first years, but not enough for the larger number of 

 colonies I had later. 



About as soon as the bees are set out in the spring, I begin 

 feeding, them meal, although some years I do not offer them 

 any substitute for pollen. For this purpose I like shallow boxes, 

 and generally use old hive-covers 4 inches deep. These are 

 placed in a sunny spot about a foot apart, one end raised three 



