28 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



FEEDING. 



The bee master rarcl}' has to feed his bees, but sometimes drouth 

 or storm make it necessary to supply the bees with food to keep them 

 ahve or for their winter stores. The feeding is preferably done 

 inside the hive. An empty body is placed on top of the brood 

 chamber, and a number of fruit jars filled with syrup and their tops 

 covered with cheese cloth are inverted on the frames and the hive 

 cover put on. The bees will take the food through the cloth. Be 

 sure the cloths are tied on securely. A syrup, half sugar and half 

 water, stirred together until the sugar is dissolved is right. If the 

 feeding is done in the fall when the weather is cool, have the syrup 



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Fig. 19. — Division Board Feeder. 



warm, say about 100° to 120° Feeding is preferably done near 

 nightfall. For " winter stores " a colony needs about thirty pounds of 

 honc}' or S3-rup. As the bees consume more or less of the syrup while 

 moving it, it is usually neccssarj- to feed about ten pounds more. 

 Feeding for winter should be finished before the middle of October, 

 preferably before the last of September. 



Normally strong colonies re-queened in August will, with an abund- 

 ance of stores, come out strong in the spring, and no "tinkering" in 

 the way of stimulative feeding in the spring will help them. Various 

 feeders are sold by the supply houses, the most convenient being the 

 division board feeder. (Fig. 19.) The fruit jar will be found to 

 meet most needs, however. 



