FEEDING AND FEEDERS 
351 
drowning. One objection to pans is that, 
after the feed is all taken, the cloth is 
likely to be stuck down by the dried crys¬ 
tals. Boiling water, however, will very soon 
clean them. 
Simplicity feeder 
A feeder that has been used very largely 
is the Simplicity trough feeder. It is an 
excellent feeder, cheap in price, and occu¬ 
pies very little room on top of the brood- 
frames; or it may be used in front of the 
entrance at night when the weather is 
warm. It should not, of course, be placed 
there during the day on account of the 
danger of robbing. 
Another feeder that has been used very 
largely consists of a common wooden but¬ 
ter-dish, or pie-plate, such as one gets at 
the grocery when he buys butter. A hun¬ 
dred of these can be nested together so as 
to take but very little room, and the price 
is insignificant. It is not necessary to use 
cheese cloth with the butter-dish. Set it 
on the top of the frames, and fill it with 
syrup. 
FEEDERS ON THE ATMOSPHERIC PRINCIPLE. 
The principle of giving chickens water 
on the atmospheric principle has been ap¬ 
plied to feeders for bees. A common 
Mason jar, for example, filled with syrup, 
and covered with a common saucer, when 
inverted will make a very good feeder for 
bees. But in order to provide for a proper 
flow, three or four toothpicks should be 
put between the jar and the saucer. At 
this time the saucer will be right side up, 
and the jar upside down. As fast as the 
bees take out the syrup air will enter the 
jar, and syrup will flow into a saucer. 
The device is rather crude and unhandy. 
A better atmospheric feeder may be made 
out of a Mason jar and cap in this way. 
Break or remove the porcelain in the top 
of the cap, and then punch two or three 
holes about the size of a common pin. Fill 
the jar full of syrup, screw on the cap, 
and invert. In that position it must be 
held by some contrivance where it will be 
secure from robbers and where the bees 
can go under and take the syrup thru the 
above-mentioned perforations. 
Manufacturers make a special Mason 
jar-cap with perforations; and with this 
cap they supply a block of wood bored to 
receive a Mason jar when inverted. This 
will hold the jar % of an inch above the 
bottom of the hole in the block. Thru the 
bottom is a mortise or slot that communi¬ 
cates with the entrance of the hive when 
the feeder is attached to the hive. • This is 
accomplished by inserting the projection 
into the entrance. 
Boardman entrance feeder. 
This does not require the opening of the 
hive, and, what is of some importance, per¬ 
mits the apiarist to see at a glance by look¬ 
ing down a row of hives what feeders are 
empty or nearly so. One can take a wheel¬ 
barrow load of filled cans, lift the empty 
ones out of the blocks, and substitute filled 
ones. It is the work of but a few minutes 
to supply every colony in the apiary with 
a filled can of syrup. This is especially 
convenient during a dearth of honey when 
it is desired to keep up brood-rearing for 
increase. For further particulars regard¬ 
ing this feeder see Feeding to Stimulate 
farther on. 
Pepper-box feeder. 
The pepper-box feeder is another form 
of atmospheric feeder that has been adver¬ 
tised quite extensively. While this can be 
inserted into an entrance block like the 
Boardman, it is not so easy to determine 
when it is empty. Ordinarily it is used in 
