742 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1. 



"With the idea of obtaining an opinion of the value 

 of sweet clover as a silage plant an alcohol-barrel 

 was filled with the cut stalks, solidly packed, and 

 sealed air-light. This was done on July 14, just as 

 the clover was getting fairly into bloom, and while 

 the stalks were yet tender and nutritious. On Sep- 

 tember 23 the barrel was opened and the ensilage 

 was fed. A horse tliat had previously eaten corn 

 silage ate it very readily, bxit another horse and a 

 cow that had never eaten silage would not touch it. 

 Several experts on the subject pronounced it excel- 

 lent. There is no doubt but that it would be a very 

 desirable plant for the purpose if the feeding value 

 per acre could be made equal to that of corn. An 

 estimate from the amount tut for silage gave be- 

 tween 6 and 7 tons per acre. Although its feeding 

 value maybe much higher than that of corn, it is 

 still doubtful if it will pay to use it for this purpose 

 alone, from the above estimate. 



In concluding these experiments in planting for 

 honey carried on by Prof. Cook, and now concluded 

 for the present, 1 desire to saj' that no results have 

 been obtained with any plant sown or planted for 

 lioney alone that will wairant the bee-keeper in ex- 

 pending money and labor in this direction. Bee- 

 keepers have in the past spent much time and mon- 

 ey in the effort to cultivate some plant for the hon- 

 ey the bees may obtain from its flowers. In no 

 case coming under my observation have these 

 efforts been a success, and the practice has never 

 been continued at a profit. Therefore let me cau- 

 tion all apiarists ngainst spending money in the 

 attempt to cultivate at a profit any flower for honey 



sure method to assist the bees in this work. For 

 tliis pnriiose there were constructed a series of six 

 shallow iians, 19 by 28 inches in size, with partitions 

 3 inches in height, open on alternate ends, similar 

 to the partitions in a maple-syrup evaporator. 

 These were arranged in a cabinet, one above the 

 other, so that honey entering at the top was obliged 

 to flow some 75 feet before passing out at the bot- 

 tom. An oil-stove was placed beneatli the whole, 

 and a pipe at the top caused a current of heated air 

 to pass upward over the honey. The fumes of the 

 stove were carried off by means of a second pipe, in 

 order to avoid all danger of their injuring tlie flavor 

 of the honey. Honey of average body, with 10 per 

 cent by weight of water added, was reduced again 

 to the normal condition by passing twice through 

 the pans at a temperature of 12ti°, and about 100 

 pounds per day was evaporated at that tempera- 

 ture. Thin nectar, extracted from the hives very 

 soon after being gathered, was evaporated to the 

 thickness of good honey at about tlie same rate. 

 This apparatus was kept in oi>eiation aboutten days 

 upon honey of various thickness and upon clear 

 water with the above definite results. Iheflavorof 

 the first honey was injured— probably by the first 

 acid action of the honey upon the outer coating of 

 the tin. Afterward this was not as apparent. The 

 color was also somewhat affected. The heat of the 

 sun was also tried for purposes of evaporation. 

 A shallow pan 28 by .54 inches in size was filled 3 

 inches deep with thin honey. This \va§ covered 

 with glass 8 inches above the honey, and left in the 

 sun for four days, when about a per cent of mois- 



Wax Secretion. 



Weight of bees 



Gross weight, Aug. 3, with bees 



Gross weight, Aug. 13, with bees 



Gross gain in weigiit 10 days 



Feed given 



Minus honey extracted 



Leaves honey consumed 



Honey consumed by No. 1 in excess of No. 3: 13-4=8 pounds 



Wax secreted by No. 1 



Pollen in combs at close 



Honey, wax, and pollen removed i8 pounds honey consumed in 

 secreting 15^ ounces of wax) 



Colony No. 1. 



Lbs. Oz. 

 7 6 



154 



8 



Lbs. Oz. 



27 

 43 



Colonv No. 3. 



Lbs 



7 



Lbs. Oz. 



34 

 56 



alone. Bee-keepers should cease these useless 

 efforts and turn their attention more persistenly to 

 extending the area of all wild honey-producing 

 plants, and urging upon all the superiority of alsike 

 clover and Japanese buckwheat as farm crops and 

 the linden as a shade-tree. 



EVAPORATION OF HONEY. 



Nectar of flowers taken into the stomach of the 

 bee undergoes certain chemical changes before it is 

 finally deposited as honey in the cells of the honey- 

 comb. The recent analyses, by direction of the 

 United States Government chemist and tiiose insti- 

 tuted at the Michigan State Experiment Station, 

 prove that there is no' chemical change made in the 

 honey by the bee after it is deposited in the comb. 

 There remains, however, much water in this honey 

 that must be evaporated by the heat of the hive 

 and the current of air through the hive caused by 

 the fanning of the bees. It is well known that this 

 labor of evaporation and the room occupied by this 

 thin honey interferes greatly with the rapid gather- 

 ing of nectar. In this opinion I am confirmed by a 

 study of many records of colonies placed upon 

 scales during tie honey flow. It is often desirable 

 to extract all of the honey gathered from one 

 species of honey-plant before the flow from other 

 sources begins and before the former has ripened 

 to the usual consistency of good honey. The prop- 

 erty of granulation in honey is so troublesome that 

 its prevention would be very desirable. The ex- 

 periments in this line have plainly indicated that 

 the "water of crystallization " can be easily expelled 

 by a proper artificial heat and the product sealed, 

 so as to preserve it in a liquid state for an indefinite 

 time. For tliese reasons it was thought best to ex- 

 periment in this direction with various forms of 

 artificial heat in the effort to devise some cheap and 



ture was evaporated. As the lioney lies at rest, the 

 water rises to the top, somewhat aiding evapora- 

 tion. The flavor and color :ire not affected as much 

 as by the method of running through pans. In this 

 way honey with 30 per cent, and even 40 per cent, of 

 water added was evaporated to the consistency of 

 very thick honey in three weeks' time, so thick that 

 it has not at this date showed any signs of granula- 

 tion. During favorable periods of sunshine a tem- 

 perature of 165° was reached. By this method a 

 tank 4 by 6 feet, with 6 inches of honey, and weigh- 

 ing 1300 pounds, should be evaporated 10 per cent, 

 or from the consistency of fresiily gathered honey 

 to that of average body, during about two weeks 

 in July or August. 



The common method of exposing to the air in 

 open vessels in the warm upper story of a building 

 was also tested with honey to which 10, 30. 30, and 40 

 per cent of water had been added. That having 40 

 per cent added became strongly fermented in a 

 week's time, while only a slight change had taken 

 place in the 30 per cent dilution, and at the end of a 

 month it tasted like a very poor qualitj' of commer- 

 cial extracted honey or like honey-dew. The 30 per 

 cent dilution was not nearly as bad, and the honey 

 with only 10 per cent of water added was, during 

 the month, returned to the consistency of very fair 

 hones*. 



Nectar extracted two or three days after the 

 combs were placed in the hives contained, during 

 the drj' weather of Julj' and Augu.st, from 10 to 15 

 per cent of water above the amount always found 

 in honey that has been sealed in the comb by the 

 bees. This was determined by evaporating in test- 

 tubes in hot water. 



Swnmaiy.—il) The method at present promising 

 best results for artificial evaporation is that by 

 solar heat under glass well ventilated. A small 



