THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



would be five cents per pound. Upon this 

 basis let me venture an estimate : 



30,000 pounds sugar at 5c % 1500 



This amount of sugar sliould make 

 40.000 pounds of syrup of the weight of 

 gi)otl lioucy from which there would be 

 pnuliioed 20.000 of comb honey. 



Cost of :io,(iuo pounds of honey, outside of 

 sugar, at 5c 1000 



Total cost % 2500 



If this amount of syrup were fed to aOO 

 coh)nies we find that each colony has 

 made away with 100 pounds of syrup in 

 wax making, food for bees and brood 

 and for surplus stores. If this feeding 

 be done at a time when the extra bees 

 produced by reason of the feeding are 

 valuable their value with that of the 

 extra stores should be figured out of 

 the cost. I think wo may safely say 

 tlie advantage to each colony has been 

 five pounds of bees aud ten pounds of 

 stores. Say the bees are wortij $2.50 

 and the stores 50c. we have $3.00 per 



each of 200 colonies $ 600 



20,000 lbs. comb honey at 15c 3t00 



$3600 



Net profit $ 1100 



There are $1100 profit to him who can keep 

 down the cost and make use of all the re- 

 sults. But this is not a large class. Many 

 claim comb honey costs them 12 or 13 cents 

 per pound to produce. Very many others 

 we know sell their honey at 10 and 12 cents 

 per pound. Of course tor neither of these 

 classes can there be any profit. 



SUGAK FOE BBOOD AND WINTEE STOEBS. 



At the best, the sure percentage of profit 

 in feeding sugar for comb honey is not very 

 large. The extra amount of bees produced 

 may prove of no value or even worse. [It is 

 not necessary to produce bees unless one 

 wishes, and the fewer bees produced the bet- 

 ter the results in honey production. — Ei>.] 

 And the price of honey, and especially of 

 sugar honey, may go down so as to cut off all 

 profit. The average bee-keeper, therefore, 

 should be wary of the temptation to under- 

 take the business. At least, let him make a 

 safe use of sugar first. I suspect there is a 

 much greater profit in feeding it for winter 

 stores and spring brood. Colonies that win- 

 ter well and are induced to rear a large 

 amount of brood in May and early June sel- 

 dom fail even in poor years to yield a large 

 amount of surplus. So, at all events, before 

 attempting anything more hazardous, keep 

 the bees booming from corn planting till 

 clover blossoms, using plenty of sugar when 

 necessary. If that should fail to be remu- 

 nerative I should have little hope of the 

 other. 



Lapeek, Mich. Nov. 11, 1892. 



Sealed Covers and Cushions Keep in the 



Moisture.— Quilts are Better but Strsw- 



board is the Best— Hasty Conclusions. 



B. TAVLOE. 



y OR TEN YEARS 

 P previous to 1880 

 I covered my hives 

 in winter, in the cel- 

 lar, with board cov- 

 ers, raised slightly 

 from the hives. I 

 did this by inserting 

 a thin piece of wood 

 (l-l(jth of an inch 

 thick) between the 

 cover and the hive. 

 I thought this neces- 

 sary to let the surplus moisture escape. Dur- 

 ing those years I wintered my bees with lit- 

 tle loss and the combs came out in the spring 

 bright and free from mold. 



About 1880 I began reading books that 

 strongly recommended cushions three or 

 four inches thick and filled with chaff. It 

 was said that these cushions would prevent 

 the escape of the heat and keep the bees nice 

 and warm. I made some cushions in this 

 way and gave them a fair trial, but they be- 

 came wet and cold and proved expensive and 

 unsatisfactory. 



Thinking the retention of all the heat of 

 the bees a desirable thing, I tried common 

 straw board building paper for covering 

 hives, using only one thickness, and that 

 fastened down on top of the hives by mak- 

 ing a frame of 7-8 square pieces of wood, the 

 size of the top of the hive and fastening it 

 on top of the paper with two screws. A 

 piece of sheeting or burlap was placed under 

 the paper to prevent the bees from gnawing 

 the paper, and a thing similar to a Hill's 

 device was put under all. My idea was that 

 the paper would absorb all the moisture, and 

 being so thin would dry out from the out 

 side which was in contact with the air. Inch 

 strips were laid between each hive as they 

 were piled on top of each other. I was not 

 disappointed, and after twelve year's use I 

 can say truly that this is the cheapest as well 

 as the best cover that I have ever used to 

 keep the hives dry and warm. 



I tried 75 quilts about as thick as a bed 

 quilt, made with cotton sheeting and cotton 

 batting laid between, stitched around the 



