86 BEE-KEEPING FOR PROFIT 
it to drip from a small barrel on to a sloping 
board. 
When to Stop Spring Feeding.—Attificial 
feeding must be stopped as soon as the bees 
are able to collect their natural supplies of 
nectar and pollen. This is usually about the 
time when the sycamore blooms, but in dis- 
tricts where crocuses or willows are plentiful 
it will be earlier. 
Autumn Feeding.—It is when the honey- 
flow is ended, and there is no more natural 
nectar available for the bees, that feeding must 
again be resorted to if the bees are to be 
saved through the winter. The old method 
of allowing the bees to fend for themselves 
and stand the risk of starvation in the winter 
is now looked upon not only as unneces- 
sarily cruel but absolutely wasteful. The 
slight cost of feeding them is amply repaid 
by the strength of the stock when spring once 
more atrives. 
When the bee-keepers are working up an 
apiary from swarms, or driven bees, autumn 
feeding is essential, for it is very seldom that 
late swarms or driven bees are capable of 
securing sufficient winter stores without the 
assistance of the bee-keeper. 
Food given in autumn should contain less 
