APRIL 15. 1913 



General Correspondence 



SUGAR SYRUP VS. HONEY 



Mr. Byer Makes his Position Clear, and at the Same 



Time Shows that he is in Harmony with the 



Rest of the Beekeeping World 



BY J. L. BYER 



Gleanings for March 1 is just at hand; 

 and as I read the editorial comment re- 

 garding that note of mine concerning the 

 value of syrup as compared to good honey 

 as to lasting qualities, I rubbed my eyes 

 and hastily turned to ''Notes from Canada" 

 to see what foolish things I had been writ- 

 ing to put me " practically in opposition to 

 all the rest of the fraternity." N"ow, while 

 I would rather enjoy being in such a 

 unique position as that, if sure that I was 

 right and all the other fellows wrong, in 

 this case I have not the slightest idea that 

 such is the case, as I personally know that 

 a large number of extensive beekeepers who 

 have to feed lots of sugar every fall are 

 right in line with me on this question. In 

 the first place, I want to say that, all things 

 considered, I do not think there is any thing 

 quite so good for bees — certainly nothing 

 better — than first-class honey sealed in the 

 combs. Secondly, I believe that for our 

 cold climate there is nothing in general 

 practice that we can depend upon for safe 

 wintering so good as thick syrup made from 

 the best quality of sugar; and I am and 

 have been right along an advocate of heavy 

 feeding for winter if we wish to be sure of 

 wintering successfully in our cold climate. 

 Why this apparent contradiction"? Simply 

 because, under modern methods of extract- 

 ed-honey production, we can not have any 

 great quantity of first-class honey in the 

 brood-nests after the supers are off. In- 

 deed, in most cases there will be little hon- 

 ey of any kind; and what there is will be 

 of late gathering, which is usually inferior 

 to clover or basswood honey for wintering 

 purposes. The saving of combs of clover 

 honey for winter is not practical, and is not 

 economical when colonies are kept by the 

 hundred; as, for the winter months alone, 

 good well-ripened syrup is equal to or 

 better than the best honey. For spring I 

 prefer the honey by all means, especially 

 if the weather is too bad to allow free gath- 

 ering of pollen. 



Kow, while I am right with the editor as 

 regards the advisability of feeding sugar 

 syrup for winter stores, the point of differ- 

 ence is the comparative values of a pound 

 of syrup in a feeder versus a pound of good 

 honey already sealed in the combs. I say 



that it takes a pound of sugar in a feeder 

 to equal a pound of sealed honey, while he 

 contends that a pound of syrup has this 

 value. The word " syrup " is very indefi- 

 nite unless density of the same is mentioned ; 

 and whatever he may have had in view, I 

 am referring to a syrup made of two parts 

 of sugar to one of water, that being the 

 proportion I always use for fall feeding. 



While I have no figures to back up my 

 contention in this matter, a lot of actual ex- 

 perience, often with a lean poeketbook to 

 make me very careful in the matter, has 

 convinced me thoroughly that it takes a 

 pound of sugar when made into synxp, and 

 fed, to equal a pound of sealed honey; 

 and I now always figure on that basis when 

 preparing for winter. If any one wishes 

 to try the experiment in a simple way he 

 can try the following, as I did more than 

 once when at different times I had bees giv- 

 en to me in the fall, the owners not wishing 

 to feed up colonies practically destitute of 

 stores. Tliis was when I was getting bees 

 wherever I could, and at a time when they 

 were more easy to get than is now the ease. 

 Strong colonies of bees were shaken on 

 empty combs, and brought home to be fed 

 up for winter. In some eases, when I had 

 combs of honey on hand, they would be 

 given these; but generally I had to feed 

 them sugar syrup for wintering. At that 

 time I believed that two-to-one syrup was 

 equal, pound for pound, with sealed honey; 

 but I soon got my eyes opened on the ques- 

 tion. I would feed these destitute bees the 

 30 lbs. of syrup made by the two-to-one 

 plan; and every time I would have to look 

 after those colonies in the early spring to 

 prevent starvation, while the colonies wi^h 

 30 pounds of sealed honey would have 

 enough to cany them through. After a few 

 experiences of this kind I began to investi- 

 gate; and while I believe that a pound of 

 syrup sealed in the comb will equal at least 

 a pound of honey, that is an altogether 

 different proposition from saying that a 

 pound of syrup in a feeder equals a poimd 

 of sealed honey, as we all know that 30 

 pounds of syrup will not weigh nearly that 

 much three weeks after it has been given 

 to a colony. This shrinkage is very heavy 

 — just why, I can not say definitely; but I 

 suspect that quite a bit is lost in wax secre- 

 tion, as whenever bees are fed they seem to 

 secrete wax scales, whether comb-building 

 is necessary or not. So as a matter of fact 

 a colony fed a given amount of syrup is not 

 as heavy to start out with as is the colony 

 with sealed honey in the hive equal in 



