HOW TO KEEP BEES. 



35 



FEEDING. 



The bee master rarely has to feed his bees, but sometimes drouth 

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

 alive 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 fine 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 warm, say 

 about 100° to 120°. Also use a thicker syrup, two parts of sugar to 

 one of water, either by measure or weight. Feeding is preferably 

 done near nightfall. For "winter stores" a colony needs about 

 thirty pounds of honey or syrup. As the bees consume more or less 

 of the syrup while moving it, it is usually necessary 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 

 abundance of stores, come out strong in the spring, and no "tinker- 

 ing" in the way of stimulative feeding in the spring A\ill help them. 

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

 being the division beard feeder. (Fig. 23.) The fruit jar will be 

 found to meet most needs, however. 



Fig. 23. — Division Board Feeder, 



