244 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



enough to send any colony into the cel- 

 lar in prime condition. This sugar syrup, 

 however, unless skillfully made, is liable 

 to two serious faults — fermenting and 

 granulating, either of which is fatal to 

 success. I had learned to avoid these 

 difficulties, but at the cost of consider- 

 able trouble, and I hailed any simple 

 and certain means of making the syrup 

 as a great boon : and I know that thou- 

 sands feel as I do ; hence, the question 

 is one of great importance to bee-keep- 

 ers in general. 



When I read Mr. Tatman's article I 

 decided to go to town at once and get 

 the necessary material for a machine ; 

 but no team being immediately at com- 

 mand, I was compelled to delay. Alice 

 Carey says, in one of her sweet poems — 



" We cannot make harffains for blisses, 

 Nor catch them like fishes in net; 



And ofttimes the things life misses 

 Help more than that which we g-et." 



Being disappointed, I lay dov/n for a 

 restful nap. Here is the time and place 

 where I do my thinking and dreaming. 

 A vision presented itself to my mind. I 

 had one of Bro. Root's uncapping-cans. 

 Why would not this make a capital 

 leach for making syrup ? Here is the 

 12-gallon can below, for holding the 

 syrup when made, with molasses gate 

 all ready to draw it oS. The top can 

 will hold at least 150 pounds of sugar, 

 with room for water. But this great 

 weight will be too much, for the wire- 

 cloth bottom will sag and spoil it. I 

 will go at once and plan to overcome 

 this difficulty. Oh, happy day ! Bro. 

 Root has anticipated this very need. He 

 has put this large tin cone in the lower 

 can for this very purpose. I had for- 

 gotten it was there. I had often won- 

 dered why it was made, as the cappings 

 from combs, when extracting, are very 

 light, and do not need it. It is now 

 plain why it is there. Bro. Root truly 

 sees things from afar off. 



Yes, the thing is all ready for a per- 

 fect syrup factory, without a cent of ex- 

 pense, or a moment's delay. The flannel 

 filter is the only thing needed. The can 

 is 20 inches in diameter, and a circle 

 was struck on a piece of stiff paper 22 

 inches in diameter, 2 inches larger than 

 the can. This is to turn up one inch all 

 around against the edge of the can, so 

 the sugar can be pressed tightly against 

 it, and a leak be prevented, and the 

 syrup be compelled to leach through the 

 cloth, for in this lies the secret of per- 

 fect syrup. 



The paper was laid upon a sound piece 

 of clean old bed-blanket, and three 



pieces cut out ; and as we were quite 

 certain that we had found the "prom- 

 ised land," and that the thing was not 

 an experiment, we located the can under 

 the shop stairs, upon a neat platform 

 high enough to get a suitable vessel 

 under the honey-gate, to catch the 

 syrup. 



The flannels were spread upon the 

 wire bottom, and carefully adjusted 

 around the edge. Then 70 pounds of 

 sugar was scooped from the barrel of 

 granulated, sitting alongside. Two pails 

 of water was poured on, and I lay down 

 for a night of happy dreams. 



Was I disappointed in the quality of 

 the syrup ? I should say not; and I am 

 happy. 



Thousands have these uncapping- 

 cans, or others similar, and I need not 

 add another word to this rather long 

 story. 



Forestville, Minn. 



Bees ffloTins E^s— More Proof. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY EMERSON T. ABBOTT. 



Mr. W. S. Mitchell, of Farmington, 

 New Mexico, writes me as follows: 



"I am not only satisfied that you are 

 correct about bees moving eggs from one 

 comb to another (page 49), but I am 

 further convinced that they will move 

 them from one hive to another. I once 

 put a clean comb between two combs 

 that were filled with brood and eggs, 

 knowing that they had no queen, and 

 thinking to put in a young queen by 

 placing one or two capped queen-cells 

 on the new comb. I neglected to put 

 them in for several days, and when I 

 went to fix them I found they had done 

 the work, and had some three or four 

 cells on each side of the comb, which I 

 know had no eggs nor honey in it when 

 set in the hive. I let them alone, and 

 they went into winter quarters as good 

 a colony as any one could wish." 



Here is more testimony in the same 

 line of that which I gave in the columns 

 of the Bek Journal not long ago. I 

 am quite sure that bees do move eggs, 

 and very frequently, at that ; but I am 

 not so sure that they go to other hives 

 for eggs, as my friend Mitchell suggests. 



St. Joseph, Mo., Aug. 4. 



^^ " I could not do without the Bee 

 JouKNAL unless positively compelled to do 

 so."— Mrs. Sarah E. Dawson, of Colorado, 

 July 24, 1894. 



