The question of “feeding back” honey to bees was discussed at the Michigan State Convention at Flint. W. Z. Hutchinson had had a poor season; but as he had mentioned incidentally that he had practiced “feeding back,” it brought down upon him a shower of questions. In feeding back 1,000 pounds of extracted honey, he had received 800 pounds of comb honey. Had tiered up the cases of sections until they were three or four cases high. Had fed the honey as fast as they would take it. Looked the sections over about once a week, and removed the full ones. Some colonies did much better work than others. After the first trial, selected the best. No honey was coming in at the time of the feeding; did not weigh the hives; weighed only the sections and the amount. He had a friend who had fed back upon exactly the same plan, but his friend had not found it profitable. He thought that to know just how to feed back, at a profit, was not yet positively known.
D. A. Jones: The question of feeding back has but few advocates, for the reason that the majority have failed to make it profitable. To be successful in feeding back there must be no place in the hive in which the bees can store honey, except in the sections. Those hives must be selected that contain the most honey, or else those having but few combs. My plan of feeding is to elevate the hives in front and pour the feed in upon the bottom-board. The bees do not carry the honey out of the hives; they must store it somewhere. Bee-keepers fail to make it pay, because the bees had an empty brood-chamber. Section boxes filled with foundation had been given a colony at 9 A. M.; feeding commenced, and the next day, at evening, the bees had commenced capping some of the sections. Fifty-two pounds of honey was fed, and forty-four pounds of comb honey obtained. To get unfinished sections filled, and at the same time have the honey removed from some other unfinished sections, I put the sections that I wish emptied, over the hive, and the ones that I wish finished, in the main body of the hive, keeping the queen out of them by using perforated zinc.
W. Z. Hutchinson: Will not pouring in honey at the entrances excite robbing?
D. A. Jones: I do not pour it in at the entrance. I pour it down inside the hive at the back.
W. Z. Hutchinson: You speak of using perforated zinc. I should like to know something about that. Do the bees work through it freely? Is there any objection to its use, except its cost? And where is the expense? Is it in the material, or in the preparations?
D. A. Jones: It is in no way detrimental. The bees work through it freely. I see no objection to its use except its cost, and its cost is the preparations. Tin would be no cheaper, for the reason that it comes in smaller sheets, and the waste would be greater.
W. Z. Hutchinson: I have used honey boards the past season made of wood, the slats of which were 5-32 of an inch apart, and they answered every purpose; and are cheaper than zinc.
S. T. Pettitt: I can hardly think the wooden boards would be better than the zinc. It would take some time to make them, while the zinc is all ready, and so lasting.
W. Z. Hutchinson: The wood boards cost only a third as much as the zinc and I prefer them.