Your Feeder is now finished. Set it over the brood section on the top, at the rear, the wood cover next to the back of the hive, the glass toward the front. Cover that portion of the brood section of the hive, not covered with the feeder, with a honey board, so no bees can get up into the cap of the hive.
Now to feed, pour the feed in at the inch hole, in the cover. The bees pass from the hive up between the sides of the outer and inner dishes, in the half-inch space, over the sides of the inner dish, in the half-inch space between the cover of the outer dish and the edges of the slats that are placed edgewise in the inner dish, and pass down between the slats, after feed in the inner dish. The hole in the cover should be kept closed with a cork, to confine the heat to the hive, exclude insects, etc.
When first commencing to feed a stock, scatter some of the feed over the tops of the frames in the brood section; also on the sides of the dishes on each side of the half-inch space leading lo the feed, and on top of the slats of the feeder, so the bees may find the way to the feed. After they once learn the road, they will need no coaxing to induce them to take the feed given them. The first warm days in early spring, as soon as the bees can fly a few hours in the middle of the day, mix corn meal with rye meal, equal parts, and set out, in pans or other shoal dishes, near the hives. The bees will carry this to their hives in considerable quantities. It it used as a substitute for pollen or bee bread, and is very essential in forwarding the increase of bees in early spring. The meal should be fed very early in spring, for as soon as the bees can collect pollen from the natural sources—trees, shrubs, flowers, etc., they will not take this meal.
Feeding for Early Swarms.
If you wish early swarms, keep the bees confined in their labors to the brood section of the hive, or in other words, do not give them access to the boxes, and commence as early in the spring as the bees begin to fly in the middle of the day, and feed each stock at evening about one-half pound of the liquid feed. Continue this till your swarms issue, then discontinue feeding.
Feeding for Surplus Honey.
If you wish surplus honey instead of swarms, put on your side boxes as early in the spring as the bees commence brisk work on flowers,—as a general rule, say a few days before fruit blossoms appear. Feed as directed for swarms until about ten days before white clover blossoms, then put on the top boxes, leaving room only for feeder. Then for ten or twelve days feed them all they will take. Feed at evening. They will at first, perhaps, take from five to ten pounds every night. Crowd them hard, for the object is now to get every part of the brood section (not occupied by eggs and brood) filled with honey; and if possible, crowd the bees into the boxes to commence the work of comb building, so that during the yield of honey from flowers, you can get every ounce collected, stored in the boxes.
By early and judicious feeding, we have encouraged breeding so that now our hives are filled, almost to overflowing, with bees, ready to gather the harvest from the flowers as soon as they commence to yield honey.
Discontinue feeding, while the yield of honey continues in full supply from the flowers. At the close of the yield, if you have boxes half filled or more, feed all they will take up for a few days, or until your boxes are finished.