[13] A much greater quantity of food will have to be administered than the actual weight required to be furnished, because there is a very considerable decrease after it is taken by the bees.
A little food in the spring stimulates the queen to lay more abundantly, for bees are provident and do not rear the young so rapidly when the supplies are short. In this particular, the intelligence of bees is very striking; they have needed no Malthus to teach them that the means of subsistence must regulate the increase of a prosperous population:—
"The prescient female rears the tender brood
In strict proportion to the hoarded food."
Evans.
Judgment has, however, to be exercised by the apiarian in giving food, for it is quite possible to do mischief by over-feeding. The bees, when over-fed, will fill so many of the combs with honey, that the queen, in the early spring, cannot find empty cells in which to deposit her eggs, and, by this means, the progress of the hive is much retarded,—a result that should be guarded against. The following directions will show how the bottle-feeder is to be used:—Fill the bottle with liquid food; apply the net, affixed by an india-rubber band, over the mouth; place the block over the hole of the stock-hive, invert the bottle, the neck resting within the hole in the block; the bees will put their tongues through the perforations and imbibe the food, thus causing the bottle to act on the principle of a fountain. The bottle being glass, it is easy to see when the food is consumed. The piece of perforated zinc is for the purpose of preventing the bees from clinging to the net, or escaping from the hive when the bottle is taken away for the purpose of refilling. A very good syrup for bees may be made by boiling 6 lbs. of honey with 2 lbs. of water, for a few minutes; or loaf sugar, in the proportion of 3 lbs. to 2 lbs. of water, answers very well when honey is not to be obtained.
ROUND BEE-FEEDER.
Round bee-feeders are made of zinc and earthenware, eight inches across, three inches deep. The projection outside is a receptacle for pouring in the food; the bees gain access to the feeder through a round hole, which is placed either at the centre or nearer one side, whichever may best suit the openings on the top of the stock-hive. The feeder occupies a similar position to that of the glasses or cap hives in the gathering season. A circular piece of glass, cut so as to fit into a groove, prevents the bees escaping, and retains the warmth within the hive, whilst it affords opportunity for inspecting the bees when feeding.
The feeders were originally only made of zinc; but some bee-keepers advised the use of earthenware, and a few have been made to meet the wishes of those who give the preference to that material.