164 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



them, or whether they have enough stores. Under 

 the circumstances your best way would be to remove 

 both hives to a well-ventilated dark cellar where the 

 temperature will not go below forty degrees nor 

 above fifty for any length of time. Then, because 

 you are not sure, it would be best to feed warm su- 

 gar syrup, two parts of sugar to one of water. If 

 you can get the top off the hive, feed this syrup in 

 shallow dishes right next to the combs, and cover the 

 top up in such a way that the bees can get to the 

 syrup but can not get outside. Place the syrup in 

 the hive late in the afternoon, so that by morning 

 the bees will have quieted down somewhat. We rec- 

 ommend this, owing to the fact that the syrup stim- 

 ulates the bees and stirs them up considerably, and 

 in the day time they would be likely to fly out and 

 die on the cellar floor. Candy would be safer. — Ed. ] 



Minimum Yield of $10.00 Per Colony 



I have been keeping bees for the past six years 

 with good results. My bees never average me less 

 than $10.00 a colony, even though we are " away 

 down by the sea." We have great bee feed in the 

 far-famed Bay of Fundy marshes that abound in 

 white clover of the finest quality. 



Mis.s Julia A. Corbett. 



Amherst Point, Nova Scotia. 



Extracting Unripened Honey; Proportion of Water 

 in Honey and Nectar; Where to Store 

 Extracted Honey 



Dear Sirs: — Will honey that is extracted when 

 bees are just beginning to seal it ripen in open 

 tanks? 



Wliat proportions of honey and water do you take 

 to make it the consistency of nectar ? 



Do you think it would be all right to store ex- 

 tracted honey after it is in cans, in a dry cement 

 cellar, with plenty of ventilation, and with a cistern 

 in it? Mrs. Alice BtrEROws. 



Oran, N. Y., Feb. 2 



[With proper facilities fof ripening the honey arti- 

 ficially it can undoubtedly be done ; but, at the same 

 time, we do not feel like recommending the practice 

 ordinarily. It is better, of course, if you wait until 

 the bees have begun to seal the honey ; but we think 

 it is still better, all things considered, if the honey 

 is nearly all sealed before it is extracted. 



For the purpose of feeding back, extracted honey 

 is usually thinned down so that the mixture is about 

 75 per cent of honey and 25 of water. However, 

 such a mixture is not as thin as nectar by any 

 means. Figures regarding the amount of water in 

 nectar vary so much that it is difficult to arrive at 

 definite conclusions. For instance, in the ABC and 

 X Y Z of Bee Culture the percentage of water in 

 foui- different kinds of nectar varies from 59 to 93 

 per cent. However, since three of the nectars con- 

 tain more than 80 per cent of water it may be safe 

 to consider 85 per cent as a safe average of the 

 amount of water in nectar. The average honey may 

 be said to consist of 80 per cent of solids and 20 

 per cent of water. Now, then, to find the amount of 

 water that must be added to honey to reduce it to 

 the consistency of nectar is a simple problem. 



Starting with honey we have a liquid which is 

 approximately 80 per cent solids. We wish to add 

 enough water so that we have a liquid which is only 

 15 per cent solids, since, as we have explained above, 

 we have selected 85 per cent as being an average 

 amount of water in nectar. Supposing we take ten 

 pounds of honey. Eight pounds of that amount is 

 solids. Now, eight pounds is 80 per cent of ten, and 

 15 per cent of 53. We must add enough water to 

 our ten pounds of honey, therefore, to bring the 

 weight up to 53. Approximately, therefore, we must 

 add 40 pounds of water — that is, four times the 

 weight of the honey in question. 



After honey is in cans, and the cans are sealed, 

 it does not make very much difference where it is 

 stored provided the atmosphere is dry so that the 

 tin will not rust badly. Other things being equal, we 

 should say that the warmer the room where honey 

 of any kind is stored the better. — Ed. ] 



Starting witli Three Colonies and Producing 2209 

 Pounds of Honey the Fourth Year 



We secured 2209 lbs. of extracted honey last year 

 from 19 colonies of bees, spring count, in spite of 

 the drouth. We have sold 1900 lbs. at 10 cts., and 

 kept 300 lbs. for our own use. 



Our bees seem to be wintering in good order on 

 their summer stands, although we lost a good many 

 during the last cold spell, when the mercury went 

 to six degrees below zero on the 8th of January. 

 We have now 32 colonies, and this is our fourth 

 year, with a start of three stands ; that is, we have 

 kept bees for four seasons. 



Altus, Okla., Jan. 15. James G. Reid. 



Rye Crop as a Substitute for Pollen 



I feed my bees rye chop as a substitute for pollen. 

 About the last of February or early in March we 

 have the alder here. It blooms very early, and fur- 

 nishes an abundance of pollen ; but my bees start 

 brood-rearing before the alder blooms, and search 

 everywhere for a bit of chop or meal. It is cool some 

 days; and if I did not feed them chop they would 

 hustle out in search of pollen, become chilled, and 

 die. When the weather begins to get warm, and I 

 notice my bees searching feed-troughs and such 

 places, I have some rye ground fine, and put it in 

 pails or pans, and on warm days set it out in some 

 sunny place. Thousands of bees will soon be work- 

 ing at it in a short time. Feeding rye chop has a 

 direct effect on brood-rearing, as the bees could not 

 do much without pollen or a substitute for it. 



About the first of March, if the weather is favor- 

 able, I also feed my bees a syrup made of equal 

 parts of granulated sugar and water, to stimulate 

 brood-rearing if the weather is favorable. I think 

 it pays to stimulate brood-rearing in the early spring, 

 so as to have every colony strong in bees, and ready 

 for the honey-flow. 



Ethelfelts, Va., Nov. 26. D. M. Bryant. 



SUMMER'S MUSIC 



BV ANNA M. CRAWFORD 



Some love the song of the babbling brook. 



As it ripples along on its way ; 

 Some love the songs of the merry birds 



That sing through the livelong day. 

 All this is the music of Nature's choir, 



That tells of a life so free;- 

 But give me the lull of the sighing wind 



And the drone of the honey-bee. 

 These are the sounds which bring to my heart 



The joys of a time to come — 

 Of buckwheat cakes on a winter's morn, 



And sweets that drip from the comb. 

 And they also bring, with their buzz and hum, 



The days of long ago, 

 When I wandei-ed in childhood's meadow land 



Tlirough the fields where wild flowers grow. 

 Then future and past blend all in one; 



And 'tis present joy that gleams 

 As I drowsily, lazily float away 



To a land of beautiful dreams. 

 And I'm sure all the labor of life I've done 



Is naught when compared with these. 

 For the greatest lesson of life is learned 



From the hum of the honey-bees. 

 Denver, Col. 



