FEBRUARY 15, 1913 



131 



space for the comb honey to shake about. In moving 

 bees from place to place in wagons, I always use 

 hay, as it is much more resilient than straw. 



E. F. Robinson. 

 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Nov. 27. 



Would Albuminized Sugar as Feed and Substitute 

 for Pollen be Practical ? 



In reading the article, " The Physiological Effect 

 of Feeding Sugar," p. 817, Dec. 15, the thought 

 came to me, "Why not feed albumen?" If pollen, 

 which is so rich in albumen, is so essential to brood- 

 rearing, why not feed albumen in a concentrated 

 form? A substitute for pollen would be hard to find; 

 but the white of an egg is rich in albumen. To the 

 beaten whites of eggs add pulverized sugar until it 

 forms a soft mass about the consistency of dough, 

 and feed as you would hard candy or fondant, or 

 add the h eaten egg to sugar syrup previously cooled 

 80 as not to cook the egg, and feed in any of the 

 various feeders. Feed this albuminized sugar or 

 syrup in early spring to prevent spring dwindling, 

 and to encourage brood-rearing. 



Now I am only a novice at beekeeping, chickens 

 being my hobby. The laying hen must be supplied 

 with an abundance of protein and other foods essen- 

 tial to egg production. According to Dr. U. Kramer, 

 pollen (albumen) is essential to brood-rearing, and 

 the bees' welfare in general. 



I have never tried this albuminized sugar or syrup 

 feed. It is only a thought which came to me while 

 reading Dr. Kramer's article. Do you know of its 

 being tried? Do you think it practical? 



Kansas City, Mo. MRS. H. Millard. 



[Bees can usually obtain natural pollen as soon 

 as the weather is safe for extensive brood-rearing ; 

 but under conditions where the natural pollen is too 

 scarce we think the feeding of some such substitute 

 as rye meal out of doors would be much cheaper 

 and more satisfactory than the expensive white of 

 •ggs, even if the latter would supply all the elements 

 needed — a supposition which we doubt. — Ed.] 



How Much has Location to do with Success in 

 Working Bees for Honey ? 



Two years ago I sold some of my land in South 

 Carolina, and in casting about for an investment I 

 decided to move to Georgia, within eight miles of 

 Augusta, where I could engage in the trucking busi- 

 ness and also work my bees for honey. I practically 

 had to give up queen-breeding on account of not 

 having help at that time. I found the best roads 

 around and near Augusta that I had ever seen. The 

 land for six miles out is a black loam ; but after 

 passing these six miles we come to high dry sandy 

 soil, with a scrawny growth of oak and long-leaf 

 pine, identical with many lands in Florida. We 

 finally decided to locate on a hill about a mile long, 

 where the atmosphere is dry and pure. 



When I moved I brought 20 or 25 colonies of my 

 best strain of Italian bees, and some of these were 

 taken off the wagon and placed directly on the 

 ground without even a bottom-board. The bees have 

 not been harmed by ants or other insects. I have 

 never seen ants disturb a colony, notwithstanding 

 many are in this soil. I thought from aU appear- 

 ances the territory around would be good for bees ; 

 but I have been here now two seasons — one a very 

 dry year, and the other wet and i^pasonal.le through- 

 out the year, and a large portion of the time too 

 wet. Although there were many ideal days, both in 

 spring and summer, I have secured but little honey, 

 even extracted, for I do not work for comb honey. 

 The cotton failed to produce honey here this season, 

 and also the asters and goldenrod ; and yet there 

 were times when I thought conditions were ideal. 



I can not account for this, except by climatic in- 

 fluences. There are swamps and the Savannah River 

 within five or six miles. I w-rite to give my fellow 

 readers this experience, and to show that there must 

 be about as much in location as any thing else; and 

 it may be that some can account for the conditions 

 here by some other theory. 



I note that the shipping of bees by the pound from 

 the South is recommended in order to build up weak 

 colonies north. This is practical and profitable. Sev- 

 eral years ago, when I commenced shipping bees and 

 mailing queens, we shipped a good many bees by the 

 pound; but for some reason it was discontinued, 

 and the nucleus system took its place. Last year I 

 shipped a few cages of bees to Canada with perfect 

 success, and would have shipped a good many to the 

 party ; but in the mean time they sold out their bees 

 and ordered shipments discontinued. The cages man- 

 ufactured are well adapted to this purpose. While I 

 did not get much honey this year, my bees are in 

 fine condition for the coming spring. 



Augusta, Ga., Dec. 31. J. D. Fooshk. 



[Mr. J. D. Fooshe is one of the most experienced 

 queen-breeders in the country. Our older readers 

 will recognize him as the man who was able to raise 

 such fine stock in the days gone by. In the last few 

 J ears he has somewhat dropped out of sight, and 

 the letter above explains why. If there is any man 

 who can make a success of shipping bees in pound 

 lots. Mr. Fooshe would be the man to do it. — Ed.] 



" Bulk Comb Honey " or " Chunk Honey "? which 

 is the More Distinctive Expression? 



I note that your Texas correspondent is very anx- 

 ious that the term " chunk honey " be dropped, and 

 "bulk comb honey" be substituted. "Bulk comb 

 honey " is descriptive, but not more so than the less 

 cumbersome term " chunk honey," and is misleading 

 when applied to a mass of chunk honey with a quan- 

 tity of extracted honey to fill up the spaces. His 

 plea that the product originated in Texas would in- 

 dicate a greater antiquity for the honey industry in 

 that State than most of us were aware of. 



Before we heard much about Texas as bee terri- 

 tory I produced and sold considerable quantities of 

 chunk honey in Iowa; and about 1856, when I was 

 not more than four years of age, I ate chunk honey 

 in Illinois, and I distinctly remember the flavor of 

 sulphur, which proclaimed the process by which it 

 was commonly obtained in those days, viz., by smok- 

 ing the bees to death, "taking up a hive" and cut- 

 ting out the chunks. 



But the product is evidently older yet, for it must 

 have been chunk honey which Samson took from the 

 carcass of the lion, and that, if I remember correct- 

 ly, was several years before Texas was annexed to 

 the United States. Burdett Hassett. 



Alamogordo, New Mexico, Nov. 21. 



[There is considerable truth in what our corres- 

 pondent says, and ordinarily we prefer the shorter 

 term; yet, on the other hand, it is true, we think, 

 that there should be a distinction made between the 

 modern " comb honey in bulk " and the old-fashion- 

 ed " chunk honey " obtained by sulphuring the bees. 

 We ourselves are inclined to agree w-ith Mr. Scholl, 

 therefore, as we feel that bulk comb honey is really 

 the more distinctive and dignified term. — Ed.] 



Why Not Send Pound Packages of Bees by Parcel 

 Post? 



Referring to the editorial. Dec. 15. p. 787, regarding 

 pound packages of bees from the South to the North, 

 I wish to say that it is the greatest plan ever pro- 

 mulgated. One of the best things about this business 

 is that the packuacs of bees are young ones, and, 

 consequently, will live longer than the wintered bees, 



