266 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



answered by 

 Marengo, III. 



In this department will be answered those 

 questions needing immediate attention, and 

 such as are not of sufficient special interest to 

 require replies from the 20 or more apiarists 

 who help to malie " Queries and Replies " so 

 interesting on another page. In the main, it 

 will contain questions and answers upon mat- 

 ters that particularly interest beginners.— Ed. 



To Prevent Crystallizing of Syrup. 



Will you please give a method where- 

 by I can make sugar syrup with granu- 

 lated sugar that won't crystallize ? I 

 have tried time and again, but it would 

 always crystallize. The last time I put 

 two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar in 

 three gallons of syrup, and that crystal- 

 lized also. I see by your book, "A Year 

 Among the Bees," that you use cream of 

 tartar, but do not say how much per 

 gallon. L. S. 



Aurora, 111. 



Answer. — If you will turn to page 83 

 of the book mentioned, you will find, 

 "An even teaspoonful of tartaric acid 

 for every 20 pounds of sugar is stirred 

 into the syrup about the time the sugar 

 is dissolved." As I use tartaric acid, it 

 would take a good deal more cream of 

 tartar. I think this syrup will granu- 

 late if it stands long enough out of the 

 hive, but I've never been troubled to 

 amount to anything after the bees put 

 it in the combs. 



A. I. Root insists that no acid is 

 needed, and he succeeds without it. On 

 the other hand, Mr. Burrell reported 

 that his syrup became solid in the combs 

 in spite of his using acid. I don't know 

 what makes the difference unless it be 

 the sugar. Perhaps slower feeding 

 might make a little difference, although 

 I've generally fed as fast as the bees 

 would take it. 



A Queen Question — Drones. 



1. What became of my queen ? I 

 went to look in tlie hive and found 

 queen-cells with larvic (or queens) 4 to 



6 days old, showing the queens had been 

 started 3 or 4 days. I also found work- 

 er-eggs 1 to 3 days old, showing the 

 queen laid the worker-eggs after the 

 bees had started the queen-cells. The 

 queen was a very fine, large, dark yel- 

 low 5-bander, and very prolific, so I 

 could not see why she should be super- 

 seded ; that is, if she was. I bought 

 her in May as an untested queen. Her 

 workers were very good and well 

 marked, so it is a conundrum to me 

 what became of her. She was clipped, 

 on one wing. 



2. If we allow only worker-comb in a 

 hive, what will the bees do for drones — 

 will they be satisfied with no drones, or 

 will the queen lay drone-eggs in worker- 

 cells ? and would such drones be good 

 to mate queens ? 



My crop is 2,250 pounds of comb 

 honey, from 38 colonies, spring count, 

 increased to 76 colonies. G. D. L. 



Tacoraa, Wash., Aug. 7. 



Answers. — 1. You don't give any 

 date. If it was at the proper season for 

 it, there is nothing in the circumstances 

 against the belief that the bees swarmed 

 and returned, the clipped queen being 

 lost. She may have been superseded, 

 for sometimes a queen fails all at once 

 and the bees seem to have an instinctive 

 knowledge of it. 



2. They'll do pretty much without, 

 building a few drone-cells in any space 

 that is unfilled. No drones will be 

 reared in worker-cells if the queen is all 

 right. 



Feeding' Bees — Building Comb. 



1. When bees swarm late, and are 

 rather weak, what time is the best to 

 feed them, that they may have plenty to 

 winter on ? and how ? 



2. Is it a good idea to feed in the 

 spring to make them swarm early ? 



3. Do they make comb through "dog 

 days" — that is, in August and part of 

 September ? G. S. 



Tigart's Valley, N. Y. 



Answers. — 1. That depends upon cir- 

 cumstances. In some places there is a 

 good fall flow and no feeding is needed. 

 In other places there is nothing to be 

 had after the middle of August. If they 

 are to ha fed, I should prefer feeding 

 Just as soon as I felt it was settled that 

 they wouldn't get enough themselves for 

 winter. This year I commenced feeding 

 some of mine before the middle of 

 August. 



As to the how, there are a good many 



