1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



99 



ture. With colonies so fed I would not give 

 five cents a hive as insurance against winter 

 losses. Under certain conditions, in excep- 

 tional cases, thick sugar syrup will granu- 

 late, but so will good clover honey. Can 

 either you or the good doctor make the pos- 

 itive assertion that, under like conditions, 

 syrup that was fed thin will never granulate? 



But, as has been pointed out, this granula- 

 tion in the rare ca^'es mentioned cuts no fig- 

 ure so far as actual results in wintering are 

 concerned. Aside from this the advantages 

 of feeding the thick syrup as compared with 

 the thin article are so great that 1 would not 

 think of feeding the latter, at least until bet- 

 ter proofs of its superiority are given me 

 than have so far been forthcoming. This 

 fall some 3000 lbs. of sugar were fed to three 

 apiaries in a little over two weeks. If thin 

 syrup had been used, two operations would 

 have been necessary instead of one to each 

 colony, and the feeding operations propor- 

 tionately prolonged Feeding when I did, 

 quite early, all the syrup was sealed over; 

 while if the thin syrup had been fed later a 

 large amount of it might have been left un- 

 sealed to ferment later on 



Referring to the fact that bees make chem- 

 ical changes upon the sugar syrup before it 

 is fit for food. Dr. Miller asks if I think they 

 can change my two pounds of sugar to one 

 of water as easily as they can syrup as thin 

 as nectar. For answer I would use the doc- 

 tor's own handy phrase, "I don't know," 

 and, what's more, I don't care how or how 

 much they change the chemical constituency 

 of the thick syrup so long as they winter 

 splendidly on the same. 



I am also asked if I can add the acid nec- 

 essary to keep this thick syrup from granu- 

 lating, as well as the bees can impart this 

 requisite when fed the thin syrup. In all 

 my feeding of bees I have never added an 

 ounce of acid in any form; and I believe the 

 addition of the same to any pure sugar syr- 

 up is entirely unnecessary. 



So good an authority as our friend W. Z. 

 Hutchinson comes out strongly on this point 

 in the November Review; and were it not for 

 such strong testimony from so well known 

 an apiarist, probably the writer would not 

 have dared to record such unorthodox state- 

 ments. For fear that some readers of Glean- 

 ings may not see the Bevieiv for November 

 I can not forbear making a short extract 

 from the editorial of Mr. Hutchinson's re- 

 ferred to: 



Sugar syrup for feeding bees does not need the ad- 

 dition of tartaric acid, vinegar, or honey, as recom- 

 mended by some, to prevent granulation: at least, that 

 has been my experience, and I have fed barrels and 

 barrels of sugar, beginning as early as Oct. 1, and con- 

 tinuing the work until nearly the middle of November. 



While the consistency of the syrup fed is 

 not mentioned, any bee-keener knows that a 

 thin syrup would not be fed" to bees by W. Z. 

 H. as late as on dates given. 



On the spur of the moment I could name 

 at least half a dozen successful apiarists who 

 feed the thick syrup extensively and exclu- 

 sively, and all with good results; so is it any 

 wonder that I continue to pay no attention 



when told that, unless acid is added where 

 such food is used, granulation will take place 

 and the bees will starve? Give me positive 

 results, doctor, as to the superiority of your 

 formula and I will fall into line instanter. 



Mount Joy, Ont., Can. 



[If we implied (we certainly didn't mean 

 to ) that our correspondent was teaching her- 

 esy we are glad that we did so, as otherwise 

 we should not have had this vigorous rejoin- 

 der. The editor may be wrong on the prop- 

 osition that a thin rather than a thick syrup 

 should be fed. At any rate, he is always 

 glad to have his views assailed by an oppo- 

 nent who is able to present an array of such 

 good argument as has been presented above 

 We are frank to confess that we may be 

 wrong; and that we ai'e open to conviction 

 will be apparent from our footnote given on 

 p. 32 of our last issue on this subject before 

 we saw Mr. Byer's point of view. And 

 right here it is proper to observe that he has, 

 in addition to the others mentioned, Mr. 

 Alexander on his side. 



We shall be glad to get more facts bearing 

 on this question of thick or thin syrup, and 

 in this connection we will say that thick syr- 

 up, so thick that the bees could not change 

 it, and fed all in one big feed, gave us uni- 

 formly good results, but not better than a 

 syrup fed thin. The question is open for 

 discussion; but let us have facts. 



But say, Mr. Byer, we never advocated 

 putting acid of any kind in any syrup. On 

 this we will join with you as against Dr. Mil- 

 ler et al. — Ed] 



»tt» 



MICHIGAN STATE CONVENTION. 



Honey-strainers in Extractors, Smokers, etc 



BY K. F. HOLTEBMANN. 



In a private conversation with Mr. L. A. 

 Aspinwall at the Michigan State convention, 

 Saginaw, he gave me one idea which, in my 

 estimation, will amply repay me for the ex- 

 pense and trouble of my trip. 



HOW TO GET RID OF MOISTURE IN A CELLAR. 



Mr. Aspinwall told me that, if I would 

 build a bee-cellar, I should make a portion 

 of the floor above of strips, with spaces be- 

 tween; upon this, put a thin muslin cloth, 

 and over this fairly fine planer-shavings or 

 chaff, say to the thickness of three inches. 

 In this way the moisture can escape from the 

 cellar through the shavings and yet the 

 warmth of the cellar be largely retained. 

 When I was home I made a frame of lumber 

 four inches wide, a little longer and wider 

 than the cellar trapdoor. Over this frame I 

 stretched a piece of cheese-cloth strengthen- 

 ed by bands of strong cloth. The cloth was 

 put on the under side, and the planer-shav- 

 ings into the tray until no light could be seen 

 from below through the shavings, when all 

 was placed over the trapdoor opening to the 

 cellar. If the temperature of the cellar gets 

 too low 1 will add to the thickness of the 

 shavings. In this way I feel sure I shall get 



