GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



(lilucult to remove them, even when a good 

 tool or pry is used to break the propolis 

 connections. Poor spacing results in comb 

 attachments so that it is impossible for the 

 ordinary pair of hands to get a good grip 

 on a frame of comb. It is then that a pair 

 of frame-tongs with double jaws comes in 

 very handy. 



We have heretofore not thought much of 

 such a tool, but we are beginning to believe 

 that supply manufacturers ought to furnish 

 something' of this kind for the use of in- 

 spectors. 



On some jobs they should have a hatchet, 

 chisel, crowbar, frame-tongs, bee-gloves, 

 bee-veil, clothes more than sting thick, and 

 the patience of Job. We have gone with 

 foul-brood inspectors on various occasions, 

 and we know of the exasperations that one 

 meets in trying to go through some hives of 

 bees. Home-made hives and home-made 

 frames, neither of which fit the other, make 

 a combination which, if they have not been 

 tampered with for three or four years, will 

 exasperate even an angel. An old box hive 

 or a log glim could not be worse. 



The New Qeeeii=cage Candy; How to 

 Make it 



So far the tests are proving satisfactory 

 with the queen-cage candy made of invert 

 sugar and ordinary commercial powdered 

 sugar. The brand of the former that we 

 have been using is called nulomoline, made 

 by the Nulomoline Co., Ill Wall St., New 

 York. This product is used in exactly the 

 same way as honey. As there may be some 

 who are not familiar with how to make 

 Good or Scholz candy we will give our 

 method. 



The invert sugar, or nulomoline (or hon- 

 ey of best quality) is heated to a tempera- 

 ture of about 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This 

 is not to sterilize it, but to make it mix 

 better with the powdered sugar. The latter 

 is poured into the hot syi'up little by little, 

 and stirred until the mixture cannot be 

 stirred any more. It is then placed on a 

 board which is covered over with powdered 

 sugar-, and handled like bread dough and 

 flour. More sugar is kneaded in until a 

 stiff dough is formed. 



The success or failure in making this 

 candy all depends on whether just the right 

 amount of sugar is added to the honey or 

 invert sugar syrup. If too much is put in, 

 the dough will be too stiff and hard, and the 

 bees will starve on it ; if not enough, it will 

 " run," daub, and kill the bees. We make 

 our candy so that it will hold its shape and 

 position when the temperature of the candy 



and of the atmosphere around it is 90. 

 This is about as hot as summer weather 

 ordinarily becomes; and unless the candy 

 wiU stand that temperature it will flatten 

 out and " run " in very warm weather. 



Of course invert sugar or nulomoline 

 cannot transmit foul brood; and if it can 

 take the place of honey, other things being 

 equal, it is greatly to be preferred. So far 

 the new candy remains moist longer, and 

 has a better flavor than that made with 

 honey boiled for 20 minutes to sterilize it. 

 This long boiling we believe is what killed 

 so many bees and queens in the mails of 

 last year. 



Homey-crop Conditions ; Clover Pros- 

 pects and Prices 



During tlie last few days, according to 

 the Weather Bureau maps to which refer- 

 ence was made on page 349 of our last issue, 

 there have been general rains over the 

 greater part of the United States. All re- 

 ports show that the prospects are good 

 from what white clover there is in sight. 

 In some localities it is reported that there 

 is only about one-half the amount of clover 

 that there has been in former years; and 

 even if all other conditions are favorable 

 there will be only half a crop. In other 

 localities there seems to be the usual amount 

 of clover. The drouth of last fall, and the 

 winter-killing of last winter in some places, 

 have been responsible for the reduction in 

 the clover regions. 



There have been general rains in Texas, 

 and the prospects are good for a crop from 

 that section of the country. The early rains 

 in California gave mountain sage a good 

 start, and the prospects were excellent. A 

 partial drouth followed, but this was quick- 

 ly dispelled by frequent rains that began on 

 April 23d. These have continued with more 

 or less frequency ever since. These rains, 

 according to those same Government maps, 

 have been general over all California. There 

 will be a light crop of orange-honey, and a 

 fair crop of mountain sage. Had it not 

 been for an intervening drouth and the hot 

 winds in southern California the crop of 

 mountain sage would probably have been 

 record-breaking. 



Professor Baldwin reports a good yield 

 from orange at Deland, Fla. Whether oth- 

 ers in his state are as fortunate as he we 

 have not yet learned. 



In Colorado and some of the other moun- 

 tain states it has been reported that the 

 mountains contain less snow than usual. 

 This may curtail somewhat the yield from 

 alfalfa. There will be the usual good yield 

 of alfalfa in the Imperial Valley, 



