1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



817 



Mr. Salisbury, to look at the samples In glass 

 jars that were placed outside in the bright 

 light of the suu so that any undissolved gran- 

 ules could be seen. Sure enough, the half-and- 

 half mixture was as clear as crystal. 



" But the other jar looks cloudy," I said. 



" The half-and-half jar,"' he explained, " look- 

 ed the same way. but, as you see, is now clear. 

 The cloudy appearance is due, not to undissolv- 

 ed particles of sugar, but to air- bubbles. You 

 see, the cloudiness is more dense at the top, 

 showing that the air-bubbles are rising. If they 

 were granules they would be settling, and the 

 clearing would be at the top first, instead of at 

 the bottom. 



Even while we stood there it was plainly evi- 

 dent that friend S. was right; for the thicker 

 syrup was also clearing up rapidly, and, shortly 

 after, it was indeed as clear as the other jar. 



•'That explains," 1 said, *' why I condemned 

 the plan as a failure. I saw that peculiar 

 cloudiness of the syrup after the stirring, and 

 concluded that the sugar was not all dissolved, 

 when in fact it probably was; but tell me," I 

 continued, "just how you made the syrup in 

 ten minutes." 



" In the tirst place we till the extractor half 

 full of water; and then as we revolve the reel 

 we put in the sugar by the pailful until the can 

 is tilled, or nearly so. The object of putting in 

 the sugar after the water, is in order to get the 

 granules thoroughly dissolved while the ex- 

 tractor-basket is revolving. If the sugar is put 

 in first it will make a sodden mass when the 

 water is added, and require much more stir- 

 ring." 



" You prefer to make the syrup thin — half 

 and half," I said. 



" Yes, because I feed early, and then I am 

 sure the bees can thicken it far better than we 

 can." 



'• But," said I, ■' we often have to feed late, 

 owing to the uniting of nuclei after the queens 

 are sold in the fall." 



"The syrup can be made thicker for late 

 feeding, as we demonstrated this morning, only 

 it may take a little longer." 



IS SYKUP MADE BY THE COLD PKOCESS MORE 

 LIABLE TO GKANULATE ? 



" It has been said that the percolated syrup, 

 Mr. Salisbury, is less liable to granulate. Do 

 you think this cold-process feed will be as free 

 from such trouble, or will it be as good as the 

 syrup maae over the stove ? " 



"I never have any trouble with granulation 

 in the combs, and I liavu used this plan a num- 

 ber of years pow. The fact is, when the syrup 

 is made over the stove the heat in itself lias a 

 tendency to make the water take up more 

 sugar thati it can hold in solution when cold." 



"That's so," said I; " and when the water is 

 cold in the first place it will take up no more 

 sugar than at any other time." 



In corroboration of this I may say that none 

 of the cold-process syrup we fed last fall show- 

 ed at any time granules of sugar, while we 

 have noticed in times past that syrup prepared 

 by the aid of artificial heat often did show such 

 granules. As Mr. S. says, the heat enabled the 

 water to hold more sugar in solution than it 

 could when cold. 



I have thus gone carefully into the details of 

 the conversation, as it explains hvw to make 

 good syrup by the cold process, and how I was 

 misled in thinking that the air-bubbles, by the 

 extractor plan, were granules of sugar in my 

 first tests, when they were only nir-bubbles. 



Of course, making syrup by means of mixing 

 sugar and water together is not entirely new; 

 but the possibility of doing it so expeditiously, 

 and making it as clear and as good as that 

 made by artificial heat, is new, I think. I am 

 aware that there is a general impression that a 

 mixture of cold water and sugar will be more 

 liable to granulate in the combs; but after the 

 reader has thoroughly considered the matter in 

 the light of the paragraphs just given, he will 

 acknowledge it must be even better— at least 

 from a theoretical standpoint. So far as tried 

 by Mr. Salisbury and ourselves, it is just as 

 good in actual practice. 



HOW TO USE THE ENTERPKISE MEAT-GRINDER; 

 HOW TO COOK THE MEAT AFTER 

 IT IS GROUND, ETC. 



As we have many questions in regard to the 

 meat diet, one of our women -folks was request- 

 ed to answer in full, and here is what she has 

 to say in regard to the matter: 



We had trouble iu griading- tlie meat when a mem- 

 ber of our family was dieting- a couple of years ago. 

 It seemed impossible to get the meat through more 

 than once, and the plate had lo come off every few 

 minutes and be cleaned out. But we have found a 

 way out of the trouble. If you will screw the plate 

 on very tight, take a hammer, and pound it down 

 after you have screwed it as far as you can with 

 your hand, you will have no further trouble. The 

 meat will be forced through iu a continuous stream, 

 and you can put it through three limes without 

 taking the plate off once to clean it, and you can do 

 it in less time thau it took you to do it once. 



In regard to broiling the chopped beef, you will 

 probably have to learn somewhat by experience. 

 Make the chopped beef into a loose cake— as loose 

 as you can without having it fall apart in broiling, 

 and lay it on a common wire broiler, and hold it 

 over a gasoline or gas Uame, turning it often till it 

 is done. If you do not have access to a gasoline 

 stove, very hot coals will do nearly as well. Have 

 a hot plate near at hand to catch the juice which 

 may ruu out when the meat is turned. If you have 

 trouble in getting it done through in this waj', just 

 sear it over on both sides and turn it on a hot plate 

 and set it over water until it is done. Be sure to 

 cover it if you put it over hot water, so that it will 

 not dry out. Baking it in the oven is not a good 

 waj', as it tends to dry out the juices of the meat 

 and make it indigestible. 



