134 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOLRWAL. 



Mar. 10, 1904. 



common plan givea by L,angstroth SO years ago, that of 

 sprinkling- a thin sugar syrup over the top of the brood- 

 frames. In either case you must be very careful not to 

 start robbing, and there is a good deal less danger of rob- 

 bing when the sugar is used than with the honey. A little 

 honey outside the hive after the honey-flow has ceased, 

 where the bees can get at it, seems to set them crazy after 

 more, and they will act like so many little demons. 



You would better watch pretty sharp that none of 

 the honey or syrup leaks out, either through the bottom- 

 board or out of the front of the hive. You can't be too care- 

 ful about robbing. 



2. Unless good queens can be given them, better unite 

 with a colony having a good queen. 



3. I think you can get them from the South, but not 

 from the North at that time. 



4. Yes, they will work down into the foundation as soon 

 as they need the room, but not so promptly as into drawn 

 combs. 



5. With so much drawn-comb as that, there would not 

 be much likelihood of their building more ; but full sheets 

 of worker foundation will make a sure thing. 



Recipe for Honey-Cakes. 



Three pounds of honey, 3 pounds of flour, 1 ounce of 

 powdered ammonia, a small teaspoonful of ground cloves, 6 

 ounces orange peel cut very small, 4 ounces of sweet 

 almonds cut small. 



Directions.— Pour the honey in a copper or enamelled 

 pan, and set on a stove or quick fire. When it boils, draw 

 it aside and remove the scum (as honey boils up very 

 quickly, great care must be taken not to let it boil over). 

 Then pour the honey into the vessel in which the paste is to 

 be made; leave it to cool ; then add flour and other ingre- 

 dients except the ammonia, which latter must not be added 

 till the flour and honey has been mixed up, and the paste 

 has become quite cold. In preparing for use, place the 

 ammonia in a cup, pour on a few drops of cold water and 

 stir it well so as to form a thick paste, then mix it up with 

 the rest. Then take a piece of the paste, roll it out into a 

 cake not over "4 -inch thick, and cut up into convenient 

 sizes as desired. This done, put cakes on a flat tin (which 

 must be greased beforehand), and bake from 12 to IS min- 

 utes in a hot oven. — British Bee Journal. 



I Hasty's Aftcrthou^lits | 



The " Old Reliable " seen through New and Unreliable Glasses. 

 By E. E. Hasty, Sta. B Rural, Toledo. Ohio. 



RECORDING HIVB-MATTHRS— WINTBRING. 



I see Mr. Holekamp records hive-matters on a slip of 

 paper and puts it under a brick a-top the hive. Why not 

 use section-sides instead of slips of paper ? Then rainy 

 weather can not muss up the record. 



His lath gridiron to put over the frames under the win- 

 ter cushion seems to be an excellent form of the Hill device, 

 and more easily made than the " wooden spider." 



Apparently he makes his winter-cases so small as to 

 leave no room for stuffing for the definite purpose of being 

 able to lift them off sunshiny days. That's a very decided 

 advantage ; but the question is. Doesn't he pay too much 

 for it ? Most of us, if we were to forego the stuffing and 

 packing, would forego making the cases also, and the whole 

 thing would be lost. Page 40. 



BEST STYLE OF SECTION. 



Not easy to get the answers to the section-question into 

 statistical form. Two dodge ; two more are not in shape to 

 make their meaning clear ; and five more either straddle, 

 or at least do not take a definite position for any one thing. 

 Few, or none, seem to think it very important what section 

 is used. The established style of square section has a 

 younger brother that differs only in being thinner. Two 

 or more. want this, and 10 out of 18 wish the 4'+ x4 "4 sec- 

 tion— and thick enough to hold about a pound. Most of the 

 remaining 6 are for 4x5 section. The questions of plain 



versus insetted, and one-piece versus four-piece, are not 

 very fully taken up. Page 41. 



THAT PURPLB-COLORED HONBY. 



I'll guess that the purple honey, page 42, was white 

 clover slightly mixed with something else, which, if pure, 

 would be very dark, almost black — only enough of it to 

 make a slight impression on the general flavor. 



HATCHING HBN'S EGGS OVER BEES. 



So eggs put under a hen felt warm to the hand in about 

 an hour, while over a powerful colony of bees (July) they 

 persisted in feeling cool — not only for one hour, but for 24 

 hours. 'Pears like the bee-hive-hen idea has got a pretty 

 heavy thump, if not a total knock-out. For such an experi- 

 ment 25 eggs were far too many. And I guess the burlap 

 and wire gave too much upward (and downward) ventilation. 

 And a colony with the maximum of brood I guess would be 

 much better than a recent swarm. To demonstrate whether 

 or not certain good folks have been fibbing to us a bit, some 

 one in July start some eggs for a week under a hen, and 

 then put three of them over a powerful old colony with cot- 

 ton batting both under and over them — and the usual top- 

 surface of the brood-chamber either not cut into at all or 

 open only for a few square inches. 



In spring, when our hands are cold the undersides of 

 cushions feel very warm ; but that (we know when we think 

 a moment) is largely an illusion. Quite likely the actual 

 degrees of temperature are too few by ten or more to start 

 eggs to hatching. If we can't say, "A new way to hatch 

 chickens," let's have it, " A new way to keep eggs fresh." 

 Pages 43-46. 



TESTING BOILED HONEY FOR BEE CANDY. 



The testing of honey boiled for bee-candy I have always 

 thought to be an awkward thing. Mr. Dadant, on page 53, 

 simplifies it nicely. Touch cold water with your finger and 

 immediately touch the hot candy. When the thin film that 

 adheres is brittle the candy is done. I could do that myself 

 without getting things into a muss. 



OBSERVATORY-HIVE BEE-KEEPING. 



Interesting to see how an observatory hive can be made 

 to build a new all-worker comb each 24 days. The journal 

 of the observatory hive is interesting also. Wintering 3000, 

 bees on a single comb right in the window — most of us 

 would have predicted failure at that. Also putting a little 

 lamp below them to help out as to warmth in very cold 

 weather, is a " ticklish " operation of which the best said is, 

 " All's well that ends well." And it swarmed twice (not 

 the lamp, but the bees next summer). One would expect an 

 observatory hive to have to have young bees given to it 

 from time to time rather than to be sending out young bees 

 as a swarm. And the feed required for the season was 

 some 20 pounds of sugar. Wish he had explained a little 

 why he is so very urgent in favor of a north window rather 

 than some other facing. Allen Latham, page S3. 





Dr. Miller's Answers 





Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal, 

 or to Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111. 



Hlves'in Pairs— Early ttueen-Rearlng- Moving Bees 

 Several Rods. 



1. In setting hives in pairs, two on one stand, with only a small 

 spacing between them, do you turn the entrances in opposite direc- 

 tions! And in your experience do you think it makes much difference 

 whether a hive faces east or west, north or south? 



2. I sometimes want to rear a few queens early in the season, be- 

 fore drones are flying in this latitude, and would also like to suppress 

 drones as much as possible, in my own apiarv, which is largely hybrid, 

 and have my young queens mated with other drones. Would it pay to 

 get a 2 or 3 frame-nucleus of sealed drone-brood from the South? 



3. How long would such drones live and be serviceable? 



4. I ought to move a part of ray apiary several rods, to give the 

 " gude wife " a little more room for her young chickens. Could I do 

 it in the spring? and how would I best proceed so as to lose as few 

 bees as possible ? Indiana. 



Answers. — 1. The entrances of a pair of hives on the same stand 

 both face the same way. In an apiary well sheltered from the winds. 



