Vince Coppola wrote:
Several years ago there was a product advertised as "The hive
>Fountain". I remember seeing a barrel of syrup with plastic tubing
>connected to each hive. Does anyone out there have any experience with
>this system, or what the pricipal of operation was? I'm wondering what
>kept the syrup from just running into the hive.
 
Probably just air pressure.  Was the barrel on top?
On a variation, one of our club members has fed his colonies with a
tube feeder made from one of the new plastic containers with a flexible
plastic straw (maybe 1/4 - 5/16" diameter),like a large plastic glass
for soft drinks, with Washington Redskin logos, etc.  He places
it above the inner cover, with the tube going through the oblong hole,
between the frames, right into the cluster.  It works like a hampster
watering device, and has the advantage that the bees don't have to
break the cluster to get the syrup. He was pleased with how it worked.
 I haven't tried it myself.
Wayne Esaias
Highland (Howard Co.) Maryland