APRIL 1, 1913 



bloom. Could I use full sheets of foundation? and 

 what would be my chances for success by using it? 



Sometimes fruit bloom does not yield much nectar 

 with us. Would it help matters to feed thin syrup, 

 as per the Alexander plan ? or do you consider the 

 "millions of honey at our house" sufficient? Any 

 other suggestions you will give would be thankfully 

 received. 



Auburn, Ind. W. J. Carnahan. 



[The Doolittle system of producing comb honey is 

 more practicable in a locality where there is a late 

 honey-flow. If you do not have such a flow you 

 could not very well use it to advantage. It would 

 not be practical to feed as you suggest, because a 

 good deal of the honey in these combs that are held 

 over from the previous season would go up into the 

 sections ; and, of course, ordinary syrup could not 

 be used in that way without getting the producer in 

 trouble with the State and national pure-food in- 

 spectors. You can, however, carry out the general 

 principle by feeding the colonies up very strong the 

 year previous, so that they have plenty of stores; 

 but the plan of putting an extra set of combs filled 

 with syrup over the top of the colony to make them 

 " rich in stores " will not work, provided it is sugar 

 syrup for the reason already mentioned. — Ed.] 



Feeding Soft A Sugar on Plates Made of Wire 

 Cloth 



Why so much discussion about feeding soft A 

 sugar to bees in the cellar? If the colony is small 

 the paper pie-plate can be used without fear that 

 the condensed moisture will do any great harm. I 

 take the covers off my hives when I put them in the 

 cellar, and place a burlap sack over the hive. Now, 

 I believe I can feed the bees by placing the sugar 

 in plates made of window-screen (wire), and plac- 

 ing the dish over the tops of the frames and covering 

 all with one or two sacks according to the strength 

 of the colony. The bees can cluster under the sugar, 

 and take it up without exposing themselves in any 

 way. 



Interlaken, N. Y., Feb. 17. John T. Geeene. 



[We believe it to be perfectly feasible to feed soft 

 A sugar on wire-cloth trays or plates ; but we wish 

 to make the suggestion that the black wire cloth be 

 used rather than that painted with green paint, as 

 the latter would be poisonous. Where it is not prac- 

 tical to use the wire cloth the paper pie-plates can 

 be used. The sugar should be placed in the plates, 

 and then there should be a couple of cross-cleats 

 placed over the top of the plates, so that, when the 

 packing material is placed down over, the bees will 

 be able to get at the food. 



Mr. A. C. Miller expressed the fear in our col- 

 umns recently that a paper pie-plate would become 

 soaked with moisture and be utterly useless. We do 

 not find this to be the case. Notwithstanding that, 

 in some of our colonies, there is considerable damp- 

 ness, the plates hold their shape perfectly. — Ed.] 



Feeding Soft Sugar in Paper Pie-plates to Bees 



I went over my bees yesterday, and faund two 

 swarms low in stores. I took a paper pie-plate and 

 cut slits in the bottom and set this on top of the 

 frames. I cut slits in the bottom to allow the bees 

 free access to the same. I then filled this pie-plate 

 with soft A sugar, and pressed another pie-plate 

 down over it, bottom side up of course. Over this 

 I put a newspaper and then the chaflf-bag. I treated 

 two colonies in this way. I believe this sugar pack- 

 ed in this way will stay in shape as well as candy 

 will. Certainly it will after absorbing moisture from 

 the bees. If this moisture soaks up the plate so as 

 to make it soft and pulpy, it will be all the better 



233 



for the bees. The plate will then have served its 

 purpose, and will be easily gnawed away by the 

 bees. When this sugar is gone I will repeat the 

 operation with new plates. Two plates put together 

 this way will hold one pound of sugar. If you 

 would like to know how this scheme works out I 

 shall take pleasure in giving you an accurate ac- 

 count of it. 



Stillwater, N. Y., Feb. 9. Rob't W. Scott. 



[We believe the plan of using paper pie-plates as 

 outlined here by our correspondent to be a good 

 one, although if there is a slit or slits in the bottom 

 of the plate it might be better to use something like 

 ordinary queen-cage candy, made by mixing pow- 

 dered sugar and honey into a stiff dough. We shall 

 be glad to have our correspondent tell us of the 

 success of this method of feeding this coming spring. 

 — Ed.] 



Feeding Soft Moist Sugar Direct; who First Used it? 



Referring to Gleanings, Feb. 1, p. 81, Mr. A. 

 C. Miller says he thinks that the credit of feeding 

 sugar to colonies of bees should be given to Samuel 

 Simmins. I may say that I was visiting an uncle 

 at Withersfield, Suffolk, England, in 1852 or '3, 

 and he had bees in straw skeps. I remember seeing 

 him feed them sugar (then called brown or moist 

 sugar). He fed them in a tube made of the common 

 alder wood with the pith removed and the top split 

 out so it was in the shape of an inverted horseshoe, 

 and inserted it in the entrance at the back of the 

 hives. I do not know, but would suppose that feed- 

 ing moist sugar to bees was a common practice in 

 England 60 years back, as at that time I was 10 

 years old; and if all is well I shall be 70 next April; 

 but I remember this circumstance. 



St. Louis, Mo., Feb. 10. Chas. W. Collett. 



[The feeding of brown sugar or moist sugar to 

 bees is a very old idea ; but whether any one, how- 

 ever, has ever fed a coffee A sugar before that rec- 

 ommended by Mr. Simmins we do not know. — Ed.] 



Wiring, and Alfalfa in Ontario; Timber for Hives 



1. Is it practicable to do the wiring when nailing 

 frames together in winter, and put in the foundation 

 as needed? 



2. Is alfalfa considered of any value as a honey- 

 yielder in Old Ontario ? It is no good in New On- 

 tario. 



3. What is the objection to spruce and poplar 

 lumber for hives ? 



Slate River, Ont., Can., Jan. 22. J. M. Muneo. 



[1. It is the usual custom to nail or put together 

 frames during the winter time, wire them, and put 

 in the foundation at the same time. We see no rea- 

 son why you should put in the foundation only as 

 fast as you need it. If you have it in stock it should 

 all be put in at one time. During the busy rush of 

 the season you can not afford to take the time to 

 put foundation on the wires. 



2. In most of the territory east of the Mississippi 

 River, alfalfa does not yield honey to any consider- 

 able extent. We are not able to give you any opinion 

 concerning its relative honey value in Old and New 

 Ontario. 



3. Spruce is a very good lumber, but rather nar- 

 row, and rather too tough and hard for the purpose 

 of making hives. Poplar is too much inclined to 

 warp and twist. There is no timber in the world 

 that is altogether the equal of ordinary white pine, 

 such as is found in Michigan and Canada. The 

 redwood of California makes a very excellent substi- 

 tute, however ; hut it has the objection that it splits 

 very readily, and is not suitable for making the in- 

 side fixttires ; but it will stand the weather much 

 better than pine. — Ed.] 



