1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



469 



feeding will be necessary until this fall bloom 

 is gone, often not till October. Then it would 

 be hardly safe to feed thin syrup, and depend 

 on the bees to ripen it into good winter stores. 

 The nights then are usually cool, and bees 

 work slowly ; and it is not best to stimulate 

 brood-rearing so late in the season. Very 

 young bees are apt to winter poorly. One 

 winter I had about 50 colonies starve after 

 they had been fed with sugar syrup, which 

 hardened in the combs. The thin syrup is 

 all right fed slowly in August ; but after Sept. 

 15th I would by all means feed a syrup of 

 nearly the consistency of good ripe honey. 

 About 10 lbs. of the best granulated sugar, 

 boiled with 4 lbs. of water, is about right in 

 my experience. To prevent granulation, mix 

 thoroughly in at least a fourth as much good 

 extracted honey, or, if that is not convenient, 

 for each 10 lbs. of sugar dissolve in a little 

 warm water one even teaspoon ful of tartaric 

 acid. Feed the syrup quite warm, and enough 

 at one feed if possible. 

 South Haven, Mich. 



[As to the matter of feeding where the food 

 is to be given late in the fall, I have and do 

 advocate making it thicker. But better — far 

 better — feed early, and make the syrup thin. 



Here is something further on the loading 

 question, from Mr. Greiner.--ED.] 



LENGTHWISE OR CROSSWISE. 



BY F. GREINER. 



In an article on moving bees, written for the 

 American Bee Keeper, I made no special men- 

 tion of how the hives should be placed on a 

 wagon. I thought it was well understood 

 that the combs should run crosswise of the 

 wagon. I am somewhat surprised that the 

 editor should think differently. The roads in 

 and around Medina may be so excellent, and 

 come so near the steel roads, that it is practi- 

 cal to carry the hives lengthwise, and he may, 

 therefore, have come to the conclusion that 

 that is the proper manner. Here with us, 

 even when the roads are the finest, the side 

 shake is more severe than the jerking end- 

 wise, and I would not think of loading comb 

 otherwise than across the wagon. Our land 

 here is not as level as that around Medina and 

 Marengo. Mr. W. F. Marks says the most of 

 it lies " up and down," and still I find it safer 

 to carry hives with their combs crosswise. 

 Half -story hives with loose hanging frames I 

 often carry without fastening the frames, 

 which I am sure I could not do with frames 

 running lengthwise. The moving on a sleigh 

 is a different thing. There is no side motion 

 worth noticing, but the jerk endwise is severe; 

 so I always load the hives with frames run- 

 ning lengthwise as we would load on railroad 

 cars. I believe it would be safe to lay down 

 a rule thus : 



For moving on sleigh or car, load with the 

 frames running lengthwise. For moving on 

 a wagon, load with frames running crosswise. 

 On a very smooth road it will do no harm to 



have combs run lengthwise with the wagon, 

 and I would load as most convenient. 



Naples, N. Y. 



[And here is something further. — Ed.] 



In regard to the instructions on your cau- 

 tion-cards, we might say that we have always 

 considered that the part which refers to load- 

 ing honey on to wagons was wrong. The side 

 bumps on our road to market are, we believe, 

 a thousand to one end bump, and consequent- 

 ly we have always loaded our honey with the 

 edge of the comb pointing toward the wheels. 

 This brings the crates crosswise of the wagon, 

 and also economizes room. How many crates 

 could you get in an ordinary wagon-box if 

 loaded as directed on the cards ? Mr. Byron 

 Walker's caution-cards have the instructions 

 right, as we consider it, and he evidently 

 thinks so too. 



Dr. Miller says, p. 908, that on good roads 

 the side shake is more ; and we want to add 

 that it is the same on bad roads. We have to 

 travel several miles to market, over the worst 

 broken corduroy road in the country. 



Sanilac Center, Mich. W. J. Manley. 



[This is quite in line with other evidence 

 that we have been having from time to time, 

 especially with the Stray Straw on this sub- 

 ject, page 326. I think we may set it down 

 now as a fact that comb honey should be load- 

 ed crosswise in a wagon, and lengthwise on a 

 car. Our printers have had instructions to 

 change our printed labels accordingly. — Ed.] 



INTERVIEW WITH HANS PRETZEL. 



BY CHAI,ON FOWLS. 



There is that scattereth and increaseth yet more ; 

 and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but 

 it tendeth only to want.— Prov. U : 24. 



My next call was on an old German back in 

 the country, whom I will call Hans Pretzel, 

 because that isn't his name. On approaching 

 the house I found my way barred by a big 

 bulldog ; but the owner soon appeared, say- 



ing- 



" Veil, veil, veil; vy don'd you come in, 

 Mr. Fowls ? Looks like you vas pashful." 



"Well, you see, Hans, your dog looks so 

 big that I feel small. Say — he looks as though 

 he could see clear through me. May be he 

 knows that I came after money." 



" Vy, mine goot gracious, Mr. Fowls; I 

 nefer taut as you would pe after my monish. 

 What have you now in your hedt ? " 



"Oh ! I want you to subscribe for Glean- 

 ings, and join the Bee-keepers' Association." 



" Nit ; my bees do netting dis year. I haf 

 notting to fool away on dem vellers." 



"Yes; but you have got the bees, and 

 ought to keep posted, so you can get a good 

 price when you do get a crop, and we may get 

 a good crop next season." 



" Nix ; I vill no more fool away good mon- 

 ish in handt for dat good-for-notting bird mit 

 de bush ; he vill prob'ly pe un old crow when 

 I get him." 



