CHAPTER XXI.
FEEDING.
Troughs—Dangers of this Method—Bottle Feeders—Cheshire's Feeding Stage—Neighbour's Can Feeder—The "Round Feeder"—Autumn Feeding—Spring Feeding—Uses of Precautions—Summer Feeding of Swarms—Flour-cake—Barley-sugar or Sugar-cake—Mr. Hunter's Recipe.
We have already spoken of the advantages consequent on feeding swarms for a few days after they emerge, especially if the weather should be wet, cold, or dull. It is even more important to see that in spring and autumn, if the stocks require food, it is given to them. With the old-fashioned skep there are difficulties in the successful supply of nourishment. The ordinary plan used to be to take a piece of elder-wood, and having cut it down the middle, and having removed the pith, to stop the open ends, or manage to have a knot at each, and then, having filled these long narrow troughs with syrup, to insert them into the hive by the entrance hole. Several disadvantages attend this plan. Firstly, there is the danger of spilling some of the liquid, and so inducing visits of bees from near hives, and setting up "robbing," with its disasters. Next, it is almost impossible, without constant attention, to give a proper amount of food thus. Thirdly, the bees being attracted to the floor of the hive, often become numbed in cold weather, and perish. Fourthly, where considerable feeding is necessary, and has to be rapidly done, it is impossible to accomplish it by this method, except at the cost of immense trouble.
Skeps which have a flat or broad top, with a hole fitted with a cork, can be supplied in a much better manner by one of the various kinds of apparatus we shall now describe.
First, the "bottle feeder" consists of a glass jar (such as pickles, French plums, jams, marmalade, &c., are sold in), resting on a block, square or round, as may be convenient, and having a hole cut to receive the neck of the bottle. Over the hole is fastened a piece of perforated zinc with very fine meshes. Over the mouth of the battle a piece of fine net or muslin should be secured by a band round the neck, after the syrup has been poured In. Then the block having been put over the hole in the top of the hive, the bottle of syrup may be inverted and stood in the hollow prepared for it. The bees will soon become aware of the fact that food is within their reach, and poking their tongues through the zinc and muslin, they will draw what supplies they need. As no air can get through the syrup, the liquid will run only as fast as it is imbibed by the bees, unless, through sun-heat, the bottle should become so warmed as to cause the air inside to expand, and thrust out the food faster than it can be drunk. It is easy to avoid this danger by properly covering the bottle. Another, and still more important, reason for protecting it is to prevent any bees from another hive getting at it; for should they do so, robbing is very likely to ensue, stolen sweets having a most demoralising effect on bees, as well as on human beings; and this trouble once started, it is difficult to stop it before all the weak stocks have been plundered and destroyed by their stronger neighbours.
In order to regulate precisely the quantity of food it may be desirable to give to a stock, Mr. Cheshire has devised, instead of the muslin cover, a piece of vulcanite pierced with holes in a particular pattern, and rotating round a screw in such a way that one, two, three, or any required number of holes may be open at the same time. He also uses, and recommends, a small shovel, in which the bottle of syrup is first inverted. Then, when placed just over the vulcanite plate, the shovel is quickly withdrawn without the loss of any of the liquid.
This matter of carefully controlling the quantity of food allowed, is very important in the spring, when it is desired not only to save impoverished stocks from dying of hunger, but to stimulate well-doing stocks to early breeding. For, if too abundant supplies of syrup are given, the bees, in their determination not to miss any opportunity of storing at a time when there is no honey to be got out of doors, will fill the middle cells which are nearest the bottle, instead of leaving them for the queen to deposit eggs in, as she would naturally do, to secure them the full warmth of the cluster of her subjects.
Another method of supplying food is by means of a tin bottle or can. Mr. Neighbour describes the one invented by him for continuous supply, as "six inches wide by six high, with five small holes at the bottom, and closed by a sliding valve and a screw-top. The can is filled from the top, with the valve closed, and when the screw-top is made firm, this valve is drawn back by moving the pin in front. The can is placed over the feeding-hole at the top of the stock hive, and the bees have access to it by small holes. The can is on the principle of a fountain; the screw-top rendering it air-tight, the liquid only escapes as drawn down by the probosces of the bees. A glass side is let in, to show when the feeder is empty. It need not be removed for refilling. The capacity of the vessel is over a quart." The advantages of this apparatus are, its security against robber-bees; the fact that it can be filled in situ, thus avoiding all escape of warm air in cold weather, and chilling of the brood; and the facility with which its condition can be inspected and its store replenished. In addition, it is strong and not likely to get out of order.
The "round feeder" is made of zinc or earthen-ware, eight inches across, and three deep. It is filled by a sloping aperture from the outside. The bees come up through an opening in the crown of the hives on to a piece of wood, under a close-fitting tin cap, which keeps in the heat, and the bees are able to feed without the possibility of being drowned. The outer lid has to be raised; the liquid food is then poured into the trough, and is gradually drawn in and consumed. There is a danger in open troughs or pans, especially of zinc, which must not be overlooked, and that is the turning acid of the food by great exposure to the air, and the difficulty of thorough cleanliness without the waste of a good deal of food.
Of these various plans, the bottle is by far the cheapest, and, with a little care, it is quite effectual. Various makers of bee-apparatus have introduced slight modifications in their method, tending to convenience and safety.
The two special seasons when it may be advisable to give supplies, are the spring and autumn. When, at the end of February or early in March, some warm days have promoted activity in the hive, and its inhabitants are coming forth for flight after their long winter imprisonment, and are going in search of pollen and other food, it is desirable to examine the internal condition of affairs, so as to ascertain whether unwonted activity means scantiness of stores, and the need of searching outside for food. Should the supply of sealed honey be almost exhausted, it will be necessary to give a moderate, but continuous, quantity of syrup to avert starvation. For the reason previously mentioned, it is well not to err on the side of too great liberality. Let the bees have little more than enough for their probable daily wants—say, for a strong stock, about three ounces a day.
It is also important not to fill large bottles with syrup, otherwise there will be danger of the liquid running too freely, if a very warm day succeed a cold night, as the air in the bottle will expand too rapidly from the heat, and force out the syrup, to the imminent danger of the bees.
But, it is not only starving or much impoverished stocks which may be advantageously supplied with food early in the spring. If left to themselves, the wise insects will not promote breeding, till they can see their way to a constant in-flow of new nourishment for the rearing of the young. If, then, the queen is encouraged to lay, by an artificial supply, she will begin depositing her eggs much earlier than she otherwise would. Moreover, if the mass of the population are induced to remain at home, instead of going out for honey and pollen, the warmth of the hive will be better maintained, and the developing young will have more attendants about them. The most experienced apiarians, therefore, strongly recommend careful spring feeding; and one point in the carefulness is the constancy of the supply once begun, unless there is plenty of honey in the hive. In cases where this precaution is overlooked, the hungry workers will consume hundreds of newly-laid eggs, and will drag the young larvæ from the cells, thinking that their coming to maturity would involve a general starvation. On the other hand, it is necessary to see that no storage is going on in the brood part of the combs, through too liberal feeding. In points of this kind experience is the best teacher, and here the skilfulness of the bee-master is shown.
Another matter of great importance in spring feeding, is to see that the syrup supplied is not too thin, otherwise there will be danger of dysentery. Again, it must be well boiled and properly prepared, or what happens to be deposited in the cells will crystallise, and become worse than useless, as the bees can only with great difficulty consume or remove it in that state. The following is the proper method of preparation: Take of loaf sugar 31/2 lbs., and boil in a quart of water. While boiling, add a table-spoonful of vinegar, and continue the boiling for ten minutes more. Strain the liquid, and it is ready for use. It may, with advantage, be supplied to the bees while it is lukewarm. The addition of the vinegar is an important point, as it converts the cane-sugar into glucose, or grape-sugar, which is much less liable to crystallisation.
In bad weather throughout the spring, the watchful apiarian will give his bees some artificial food, unless they have abundant stores in their hives.
Nor must it be forgotten that, if the production of brood is to be stimulated, some nitrogenous food will be necessary. When crocuses and willow-blossom are plentiful in the early spring, the bees will collect sufficient pollen from these sources, to provide for their wants in the above respect. But, failing a natural supply of such azotised material, pea-meal forms a good substitute, and is readily made use of by the workers.
In summer, it is only swarms or casts, as a rule, that ought to be in any need of this kind of help; but, as autumn comes on, especially if the bees have been seriously deprived of their hardly-earned supplies, it will be necessary to make up to them some of that of which they have been denuded. With skeps, the only guide as to the condition of food stores is the weighing-machine. If this indicates a less total than from twenty-five to thirty pounds, it will be advisable to supply syrup till the requisite weight is attained. With bar-frame hives an examination of the state of affairs is perfectly easy, and there is no difficulty in removing combs which are quite empty, and are not needed for the clustering of the bees. Those which are left should each contain six or seven inches square of sealed honey, some two square feet, as a total, being considered about the proper quantity for a fairly strong stock to winter on.
For ascertaining the state of the hives in autumn, there should be an inspection of them about the middle of September; and, if necessary, the feeding should then be begun. It may be continued through October, but not later; otherwise there are dangers to be incurred. The first is, lest the evaporation of a certain amount of water from the stored syrup should not take place, and consequently, being left unsealed in the cells, it should ferment, and produce dysentery among the bees. The second is, lest there should not be sufficient warmth in the hive for the elaboration of the wax needed for sealing the filled cells; in which case, also, dysentery is likely to occur, when the immatured syrup is consumed.
Syrup given in autumn must be thicker than that supplied in spring, and should be made of five pounds of sugar to one quart of water, a table-spoonful of vinegar being added, and the mixture well, but carefully, boiled.
Sometimes, when bee-keepers have neglected the feeding of their stocks till late in autumn, they try to atone for their remissness by giving a supply of flour-cake—a baked mixture of sugar and pea-meal—on the top of the frames. This practice is not advisable, as the nitrogenous food is almost certain to stimulate breeding; and if this happens when the temperature is too low for the development of eggs and larvæ, great mischief may be done. The danger from this source will be very much in proportion to the weakness of the stock.
If proper attention has been given to the bees in autumn, they should be left quite undisturbed during the winter; for each time of excitement causes a considerable consumption of honey, to make up for the exertion to which the insects have been aroused. There is, also, the risk of chilling the hive, and lowering the temperature to a point fatal to many of its inhabitants. If, however, it becomes known to the bee-keeper that any stock is in a starving condition, no liquid food must be given, but barley-sugar, or sugar-cake, may be laid on the frames. One evil of the former of these is, that it is apt to deliquesce faster than the bees can consume it, and running down the combs, makes a mess; while, if supplied too sparingly, it will not afford enough nourishment to the whole population to avert their starving. To obviate these dangers, it has been recommended to let it liquefy to a condition of toughness, and then, having put it into a bottle tied over the mouth with close canvas, to supply it in the same way as syrup.
Mr. Hunter gives the following directions for making sugar-cake, of a kind superior to barley-sugar of the shops for bee-feeding purposes:—
"Break up three pounds of loaf-sugar, place it in a saucepan or preserving-pan and pour half a pint of cold water upon it and half a wine-glass of vinegar. These are all the ingredients required. Prepare a fire in a grate, the top bar of which will let down in a similar way to that in an ordinary kitchen grate, taking care, however, that, at the commencement of the operation, the bar is up in its place, and the grate full to the top with glowing cinders or wood embers, so that a great heat may be obtained without any flame. Place upon the fire the saucepan containing the sugar, and stir it without ceasing. In a few minutes it will begin to assume the character of dirty broth, which will have anything but a nice appearance, but presently a thick scum will rise, and the mass will try to boil over. As soon as this is observed the saucepan should be removed from the fire, until the ingredients have cooled a little, when it should be set on the grate again, in such a way that only a small part of it is over the fire. The boiling will then go on on the exposed side, and as the ebullition takes place the scum will be forced to the side not over the fire, whence it may easily be removed with a spoon. Thus, the saucepan is held in the left hand, the spoon in the right, and the saucepan being on the left-hand side of the grate, with its right side exposed to the action of the fire, the scum will retreat to the left or cooler side, and will be in the handiest position for removal, as will be evident in a few minutes to any one trying it. After a quarter of an hour of this treatment the mixture will have become in a great degree clarified, when it should be removed from the fire while the top bar of the grate is let down, so as to permit of its nearer approach to a greater heat. Should there be any irregularity of the fire, it should now be corrected, but flame should be prevented, as the mixture, having parted with its water, will be liable to take fire if brought into contact with flame. It will be well here to remark that so long as the scum remains on the syrup there was a tendency in the whole to boil over, since the water evolved in the form of steam while the boiling was going on, accumulating in a body, would lift the scum above the saucepan to enable it to escape, but when the scum was gone the water would be evolved in bubbles of steam, which would crackle but not boil over unless a very intense heat were applied. The duration of the boiling of the clarified syrup, before it becomes liquid barley-sugar, will depend upon the amount of heat and the consequent evolution of water to which it is subjected; but trials may from time to time be made by dropping a little on some cold surfaces, to see if it becomes brittle, and when that state is arrived at it is done. Pour it into a tin dish, set it in a dry cool place until it becomes hard, and then', by striking the tin on its under side, the whole of the barley-sugar will be splintered into fragments, when it may be placed in bottles and corked up for use as required."
We have thought it advisable to quote these directions in extenso, as the feeding material thus made is cheaper—by about half the cost—than what is bought in shops, and being, moreover, not twisted like ordinary barley-sugar, it can more conveniently be placed on the top of frames, or over the feeding-hole of a skep.
The deliquescence of solid sugar-food is a source of some trouble. It may, in part, be obviated by laying the cake on coarse canvas, which will keep pieces from falling between the combs, and will help to delay liquid drops till the bees can consume them. But the most effectual plan to be rid of all these inconveniences, is to see to the proper amount of food being stored in the hives by the end of October.