22 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 14, 1904- 



food law that will kill the whole nefarious traffic in com- 

 mercial glucose. Nearly all the articles into the composi- 

 tion of which it enters are fraudulent, and one dislikes even 

 to think of it. There is, however, so much money involved 

 in its manufacture, and so much profit in its production, 

 that its demise will come only through the united and per- 

 sistant efforts of all consumers. 



CANK-SUGAR — FROM BEETS AND FROM SUGAR-CANE- 



A word about cane-sugar while I am on this topic : It 

 is often suggested that cane-sugar produced from beets is 

 quite different from that produced by sugar-cane. It is also 

 stoutly affirmed that the former is far inferior to the latter 

 for fruit-canning purpose. This is not true at all. The 

 sugars are precisely the same, and contain 11 atoms of car- 

 bon, 22 of hydrogen and 11 of oxygen. Of course, if either 

 product is not perfectly refined it would not be pure, and 

 would differ from other products perfectly refined, 

 whether from the same or the other source. I think 

 now that the sugars either from the cane or beet factories 

 are very pure, and that there is little preference. When I 

 first came to California, the use of beet-sugar — there is a 

 large factory within sight of us — was generally denounced, 

 as not fit for preserving fruit. I secured some and made a 

 thorough trial, and we never had better success in keeping 

 our canned fruit than we did that year. It only remains to 

 be said that if our fruit fails to keep it is either because it 

 was not heated sufficiently, or sufficiently long, or else that 

 the can was not perfectly sealed. 



We all remember that fermentation, like putrefaction, 

 is the result of bacterial affection. We heat the fruit to kill 

 the bacteria ; we seal the can that no more may gain access. 

 As has been frequently pointed out in the bee-papers, most 

 bacteria are killed at less than boiling temperature, but 

 many, if not all, of these minute vegetables (bacteria) have 

 what is called a resting stage in which a sort of germ more 

 tenacious of life, and far more difficult to kill, is formed, 

 usually in one end of the bacterium. If these are present, 

 even boiling will not always kill the germ. It may take 

 several minutes. 



I once had some maple syrup of very fine quality that 

 showed the presence of germs. I boiled it, but the unpleas- 

 ant flavor did not disappear. I then added quite a quantity 

 of water and boiled for quite a long time, after which the 

 unpleasant flavor seemed entirely absent, and the quality 

 of the syrup was quite restored. 



Los Angeles Co., Calif. 



Report for 1903— Feeding to Stop Robbing. 



BY WM. STOLLEY. 



MY bees wintered without loss in the winter of 1902 and 

 1903, and the spring opened up very favorable for 

 them. During the month of March they were out 15 

 days, gathering pollen and a little honey, but the month of 

 April was much less favorable, and we had more or less 

 freezing weather from the 13th to the 2Sth, followed by a 

 severe freeze of 18 degrees Fahr. in the night of April 29th 

 and 30th, which destroyed all bloom, and even injured trees 

 permanently. 



It took from ,S to 6 weeks after that before my bees re- 

 covered fully from the shock they received, notwithstand- 

 ing the copious and frequent feeding " in the open " that I 

 resorted to right in front of my bee-shed, which worked 

 very satisfactorily, and caused no trouble about robbing. In 

 all, I thus fed 485 pounds of honey, diluted with about 400 

 pounds of water, to 34 colonies of bees. Thus I got my bees 

 in fair condition, and ready to take advantage of the sweet 

 clover and alfalfa honey-flow, which commenced the later 

 days of June. But the entire season proved to be abnormal, 

 wet and cool, and closed with an early but light freeze in 

 the night of Sept. 16th and 17th, so that bees could find but 

 very little to gather after that. 



All these unfavorable conditions tended to curtail my 

 honey crop greatly, and all the surplus in extracted honey I 

 got from 30 colonies was 2750 pounds ; and from 4 colonies 

 in Heddon hives run for section honey, 297 well-capped sec- 

 tions, while 72 sections were but partly filled, and the bees 

 were allowed to clean them up for next spring's starters. 



My best colony run for extracted honey gave 175 pounds, 

 while the best colony run for comb honey gave 105 sections 

 capped ; but on an average I got about 90 pounds per colony. 



By reading the " Old Reliable " I noticed that many 

 apiarists complain that their bees swarmed excessively last 



season, and my bees are no exception in this respect, since 

 I had 17 swarms from 34 colonies. The last part of August 

 I allowed myself an outing to the Hot Springs in South 

 Dakota, where I remained about three weeks. On my re- 

 turn home I found that 2 more swarms had issued and had 

 decamped, and that the entire apiary was in a fearful up- 

 roar, and robbing — caused by carelessly allowing the bees 

 to get at some extracting-combs. Such wholesale robbing 

 I never saw before in all the 24 years that I have been keep- 

 ing bees 



Now, the question with me was. How is this fearful 

 robbing to be stopped quickest ? I reasoned thus : When 

 bees get all they want they do not rob. During a good flow 

 of honey they never rob. Ergo, if 1 cause a deluge of honey 

 within their own hives they will quit robbing. Acting upon 

 this theory I set to work, and hurriedly inspected all colo- 

 nies, thus ascertaining approximately the amount of stores 

 on hand in each brood-chamber, which I noted down. Next 

 I made a calculation as to the amount of stores required, so 

 as to give each colony about 30 pounds of winter stores. 

 This done, I prepared 300 pounds of dark, fall honey by 

 warming it properly, mixing in suS5cient hot water to make 

 it of proper condition for fall feeding — and now for the 

 attempted cure : 



With the approach of the setting sun I tipped all hives 

 backward, and, according to my prepared memorandum I 

 proceeded, and poured the quite warm liquid out of a gallon 

 measure right into each hive. Thus some colonies got but 

 '2 gallon, others one gallon, and a few l^'i gallons. 



The next morning, quite early, I let all hives down and 

 put on entrance-blocks, regulating the size of the entrances. 

 I am glad to say that this procedure stopped all robbing, and 

 my bees, at the same time, were properly supplied with suf- 

 ficient stores for wintering in quick order. 



A week later (working only towards evening, and under 

 suitable conditions), I once more inspected each colony very 

 minutely as to their queens, and at the same time equalized 

 stores where needed, and thus every colony was ready to be 

 packed for out-door wintering in the open bee-shed, which 

 was accomplished by Oct. 20. I now have 36 colonies win- 

 ter-packed in double-walled hives, in the bee-shed ; 3 nuclei 

 with fine, young, extra queens, in single-walled hives, in 

 the cellar, which holds the temperature at 50 degrees F. in 

 the coldest zero weather ; and 5 colonies in Heddon hives in 

 a specially prepared winter vault — lAe best of all for winter- 

 ing bees. Hall Co., Nebr., Nov. 22. 



[ Convention Proceedings ] 



THE COLORADO CONVENTION. 



Report of the Proceeding's of the Colorado State 

 Bee-Keepers' Convention, Held in Den- 

 ver, Nov. 23. 24, and 25, 1903. 



BY H. C. MOREHOUSE, SEC. 



(Continued from page 8.) 

 H. C. Morehouse then read the following paper on, 



HOW CAN THE STATE ASSOCIATION BE MADE TO 



BETTER SERVE THE INTERESTS OF ITS 



MEMBERS? 



In choosing this subject for discussion, I do not wish it 

 to be inferred that I underrate, or do not appreciate, the mag- 

 nificent work that the Colorado State Bee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion has accomplished for its members in the past. I have 

 chosen it because I believe that the sphere of its usefulness 

 and influence can be enlarged, and because I have some 

 recommendations to make to the members along that line. 



The record of the Association, during its 15 years of 

 corporate existence, is one that may well cause our hearts 

 to dilate with honest pride and enthusiasm. Numerically 

 we have the largest State organization of bee-keepers in the 

 United States. It has taught us the power and value of 

 organization, and to-day we are better organized than any 

 other rural industry, and there are several subsidiary or- 

 ganizations in the State that are directly or indirectly off- 



