1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



711 



MRS. HARRISON'S NON-SWARMING BEES. 



WHY THEY DON T SWARM, ETC. 



Mr. Root: — Perhaps some of your readers 

 would like to know "thai I've a strain of non- 

 swarming bees, and I've had them on trial for 

 four years. Previous to this time I had to get 

 around lively during swarming time, but of 

 late years I've had it easy — plenty of time to 

 swing in the hammock and read about what 

 other bee-keepers are doing. 



LIGHT HONEY-CASES FOR WOMEN. 



I've lots of 'em. A child can lift them, and 

 they do not need a bee- escape either. Lay 

 them down on the grass; they will not get 

 damp, for it is brown and sear. 



WOMEN AS BEE-KEEPERS. 



Any woman can keep bees like mine. Let 

 them have their own way; that is the way I 

 have done this summer. I furnished a recepta- 

 cle, and asked them if they would please to 

 give down a little extracted honey after bass- 

 wood passed by. They gave me a three-gallon 

 jar full, which I prize highly for cakes, compa- 

 ny, and coughs. 



I've been resting upon my honors as a bee- 

 keeper for the fourth season, and there is an- 

 other in prospect, for white clover can not stand 

 such severe drouth. I look out from my win- 

 dow upon a beautiful May cherry-tree. The 

 spray is fine; I can see ii distinctly, for the 

 leaves have nearly all fallen. The ground un- 

 der the green ash is covered with dry leaves. 

 How they rustle under my feet ! Very fine 

 dust can now be gathered for the fowls to dust 

 In during the coming winter. Every leaf and 

 twig is covered with it. 



COOKING WITH HONEY. 



What extravagance ! I'll be satisfied if I can 

 get honey for the outside of my cakes, and not 

 the inside. Cooking with it is one of the lost 

 arts. Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Peoria, 111. 



CHOCOLATE CREAMS, 



CARPENTER BEES. 



Take one pound of granulated sugar and one 

 teacupful of water. Stir together until the 

 sugar is thoroughly moistened; then place over 

 a hot fire, and boil without stirring until a few 

 drops dropped into cold water will retain their 

 shape and not mix with the water. If it gets 

 crisp in the water, it is overboiled and must 

 liave a little water added and be tried again. 

 If it mixes with the water it has not boiled 

 enough. By a little practice you will learn the 

 exact degree; and when this is reached, the 

 sauce-pan must be immediately taken from the 

 fire and set in ice, snow, or very cold water, 

 that the candy may chill quickly, as the candy 

 changes rapidly. When the candy is cool 

 enough to bear your hand in it. begin to beat it 

 with a spoon; then, as it stiffens, with the 

 hands, working it as if it were bread dough. 

 Work about 10 minutes or until it is smooth 

 and shining. Flavor with a teaspoonful of 

 vanilla as you work it; tiien form it into balls, 

 and dip into chocolate prepared as follows: 



Take a piece of unsweetened chocolate and 

 melt it in a cup. Soften it by adding a tea- 

 spoonful of water, and then add of the cream 

 until it is fairly sweetened. Set the cup con- 

 taining the chocolate mixture into a bowl of 

 hot water, and dip tlie balls into the mixture 

 one by one. The sugar and water should be 

 boiled in a thick sauce-pan, and should not be 



stirred once while boiling, as that would make 

 it coarse-grained. 



The above recipe and directions were given 

 me several years ago by a confectioner whose 

 candy-kitchen was located in a building at the 

 rear of our hardware store. His stove had a 

 habit of " balking," and on such occasions he 

 would bring his candy over to our store and 

 finish it on a gasoline-stove which we kept 

 filled for exhibition purposes. As the stove 

 stood beside my desk I had a good opportunity 

 to observe him while at work. I do not think 

 that he ever boiled over three pounds of sugar 

 atone time, as he said a larger quantity would 

 not chill quickly enough to prevent the candy 

 from changing. In testing it he disturbed it as 

 little as possible, merely dipping the spoon 

 into the top of the boiling mass. 



While preparing some candy for the holidays 

 last year we were interrupted by callers, and the 

 candy was taken from the fire too soon. It was 

 so soft that it could not be worked with the 

 hands; yet after hard and continual stirring 

 with a spoon it became smooth and shining, 

 but it was of the consistency of very thick 

 molasses. As it was entirely too soft to mold 

 into balls we planned to make cocoanut creams 

 of it by stirring in shredded cocoanut; but be- 

 ing interrupted again, the candy was placed on 

 a shelf of an unused cupboard, there to repose, 

 forgotten, for a couple of months. When final- 

 ly it was remembered, and the dish containing 

 it brought forth, it was found to be soft and 

 moist, with a thin glaze or film of hardened 

 candy over the top. Beneath the film the 

 candy had thickened somewhat; for, on turn- 

 ing the dish sidewise, it would not run out, but 

 just tremble, as thick jelly does when the dish 

 containing it is turned. It is said that choco- 

 late creams improve with age, and this candy 

 certainly did, for it had a fine flavor not possess- 

 ed by fresh candy. 



I believe that those insects which Mrs. Ax- 

 tell inquires about, page 499, July 1, 1893, were 

 bees. As this is a timberless country, abscond- 

 ing swarms take possession of abandoned 

 cayote- holes and such other holes as are found 

 among the bluffs and in the tablelands. There 

 is a sort of bee here which resembles a bumble- 

 bee in every respect, except that it is smaller, 

 probably not more than one-fourth as large. 

 It makes the same " hum " as a bumble-bee. 

 It works in holes in old sod houses. The holes 

 are just large enough for it to pass through. 

 It appears to work singly and not in swarms. 

 I mean by that, that I have at different times 

 watched holes from which a bee had passed 

 out. but no other bee passed out; and after 

 a time a bee returning would pass in; and. 

 after remaining in some little time, it would 

 pass out again. While it remained in the 

 hole, no other bee passed in. The holes are 

 usually situated just under the eaves. They 

 are not cross. Not one has ever offered to 

 sting me. and I have dug into their holes 

 quite a little way; but I never reached the 

 end of the passageway, therefore I am not 

 able to say whether they store honey or not. 

 There an' but, few bumble-bees here. There is 

 also another variety of wild bees here. They 

 are small and woolly, and are called black bees. 

 We have never had the conimon black bee in 

 our apiary, nor have I ever visitcid one in which 

 they were kept, therefore I do not know wheth- 

 er they are th(> same or not. When transferred 

 to a hive, the wild black bees are said to store 

 more honey than the Italians in the same api- 

 ary. Lona H. Bohrer. 



North Loup. Neb., Aug. 7. 



[Bees described in your last paragraph are 

 evidently carpenter bees.] 



