800 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



nature furnishes. Bees do not need cold, 

 but they need the oxygen that is in cold air. 

 If Mr. Platz will take another hive, like the 

 ones he referred to last winter, and pack 

 as he did, either with sealed covers or ab- 

 sorbents, and give them lots of air, they 

 will winter well. The absorbents he refers 

 to gave his bees more air, hence the better 

 results. A colony of bees with a large en- 

 trance, and well protected from outside 

 dampness, will never have any accumula- 

 tion of moisture on the outside. 

 Langnan, Ky. 



LAW ON SELLING HONEY FROM DISEASED 

 APIARY 



Feeding Syrup in the Cellar 



BY J. D. ROBINSON 



1. The Michigan foul-brood law as it 

 stands at present (see Sec. 4 of Article 66 

 of the Acts of 1901) reads as follows: " If 

 the owner of a diseased apiary, honey, or 

 appliances, shall knowingly or willfully sell, 

 barter, or give away any bees, honey, or ap- 

 pliances, or expose other bees to the danger 

 of said disease * * * * said owner shall 

 * * * be liable to a fine of * * * * etc." 

 Question. Under such a law what can the 

 beekeepers of Michigan, who have foul 

 brood, do with their honey? 



2. This spring we piu'chased a large 

 number of Danzenbaker supers for plain 

 sections (4x5) with fences, etc., complete. 

 Our crop was too small to judge definitely ; 

 but from several hundred pounds produced 

 in these sections we anticipate difficulty in 

 getting them full enough to weigh 131/2 

 ounces. Supers would be well filled and 

 capped, but scarcely a section would reach 

 the 13y2-ounce mark, and none above that. 

 Now, as the honey in every other respect 

 would fill all the requirements for " Fancy 

 White" under the new Colorado grading 

 rules we should like to ask: (a) What per 

 cent of sections should reach this weight? 

 (b) Is the trouble with the honey (raspber- 

 ry and clover principally, gathered during 

 dry weather)? (c) Was the trouble pos- 

 sibly with the apparatus or the manipula- 

 tion? (d) Do others have the same dif- 

 ficulty to complain of? 



3. On account of a poor summer and fall 

 flow, some of our colonies had to be fed. 

 The weather turned cool, and much of the 

 syrup fed is not capped. Will this unseal- 

 ed syrup in the combs spoil? We may say 

 our cellar is dry and well ventilated, which 

 we assume is in favor of keeping stores. 



4. In spite of precautions and feeding 

 geveial colonies, probably n dozen or so 



have not to exceed ten or fifteen pounds of 

 stores. Can they be fed syrup in the cel- 

 lar? 



As a note to question one, I might say 

 we are thankful that as yet no foul brood 

 exists in this county. 



Pellston, Mich., Nov. 25. 



[1. If we are correct, the intent of the 

 law is to prohibit the selling of honey from 

 foul-broody hives to beekeepers to whose 

 bees the disease might be transmitted. We 

 know it has been customary to sell such 

 honey to honey merchants for human con- 

 sumption, for it is, indeed, as good as any. 

 If such selling is prohibited under the law, 

 it will be difficult to prove violation. If 

 the law does prohibit all selling of honey 

 from infected apiaries it might nearly 

 bankrupt the beekeeper who has 50,000 lbs. 

 of honey to sell. If he boiled it to kill the 

 germs of foul brood he would cut down the 

 selling value of it from a fourth to a third. 

 The reduction in price might represent his 

 actual profit. We do not know of any case 

 in the United States where any beekeeper 

 has been prosecuted for selling honey from 

 an infected apiary to a honey merchant. 

 Any beekeeper to-day who buys any honey 

 to feed his bees is running a great risk un- 

 less he knows the exact source of it. Honey 

 that goes into the hands of a commission 

 man oi' honey merchant is intended for hu- 

 man consumption. If it goes to the baker 

 or confectioner the vei'y process of cocking 

 would render it immune. 



2. Sections that do not weigh 13^/2 

 ounces would, according to a literal con- 

 struction of the Colorado grading rules, be 

 barred from the " Fancy " white and No. 

 1 ; for these grades clearly call for a section 

 weighing not less than ISYz ounces. A 

 " choice " grade would permit of a 12- 

 ounce section. .Veeording to the Eastern 

 rules, the honey described might be sold as 

 " A Fancy." The consignee should then 

 be advised that the grade is according to 

 the Eastern rules. See page 2 of our ad- 

 vertising section, a. No section under 13^/2 

 ounces is allowed, b. The light weight was 

 probably due to a premature shuttii. T-off' 

 of the nectar supply, c. It may or may 

 not, but probably njot. d. If the season is 

 fair, no. 



3. It is better to have syrup fed early 

 enough to be capped over. In most cases 

 colonies will winter on such syrup, provid- 

 ing, when it is given, it has the consistency 

 of not less than two parts of sugar to one 

 of water. Such unsealed syrup probably 

 wdll not spoil. 



4. We would not advise feeding syrup in 

 the cellar. Give the bees rock candv. or 



