IHE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



373 



goes into bee-keeping as a business, 

 he follows business methods in the 

 selling as well as in the producing, 

 which is not often the case with the 

 ordinary farmer-bee-keeper, who is in- 

 clined to come to town with his crop 

 and take what is ofi'ered, or send it to 

 the city commission man, and so much 

 accumulates in the great centers that 

 down go the prices. When there is a 

 big crop in California, such men as 

 Mr. Mclntyre hold their honey until 

 there is a short crop. In Michigan 

 Mr. E. D. Townsend advertises and 

 sends out samples, and builds up a 

 trade that is usually reached only by 

 jobbers. By systematic methods, Mr. 

 France and Mr. Ahlers of Wisconsin 

 sell tons and tons direct to consumers. 

 And so I might go on. The business 

 bee-keeper studies marketing as well 

 as production — the ordinary bee-keeper 

 has not enough intere t at stake and is 

 inclined to "dump" his honey in almost 

 any manner upon any market that will 

 take it. 



So, while it may seem a paradox to 

 speak of the blessing (?) of a short 

 crop, in that it puts up prices, and at 

 the same time urge bee-keepers to 

 "keep more bees," it will be seen that, 

 when all the conditions are considered, 

 it is not unreasonable. One thing is 

 certain at present, and it is likely to 

 remain so for all time, and that is that 

 the man who produces in large quanti- 

 ties will come out ahead of the one who 

 produces in small quantities, and 

 divides up his energies among several 

 pursuits 



ii»>t" .^^^-^wt^ 



Care of Bees in Winter. 

 If they are properly prepared for 

 winter the preceding autumn, given 

 plenty of good stores, properly pro- 

 tected out of doors, or placed in a cel- 

 lar or other repository having the 

 proper temperature, and precautions 

 taken against depredation by mice, 

 bees require almost no care in winter. 

 No bee-keeper worthy the name will 



allow his bees to go into winter quar- 

 ters short of stores. They ought, at 

 least, to hive enough to last them until 

 the first warm days of spring, when 

 they may be handled upon their sum- 

 mer stands, and fed if necessary. 



However, if by an}' hook, or crook, bees 

 /lave gone into winter quarters short of 

 stores, and there are fears that some 

 of them may be starving, it is better 

 that they be examined and fed if needed, 

 even though the task be unpleasant. 

 There need be no hesitancy in thus 

 disturbing the bees for fear that it may 

 do them some injury, for, as a rule, it 

 will not. 



Probably the best method of feeding 

 a colony of bees in wintei% is to give 

 them a frame of honey. If no hone^' is 

 available, and some of the colonies 

 jjiasf be fed, the best substitute is candy 

 made from granulated sugar. Put in 

 sufficient water to dissolve the sugar, 

 then boil the syrup until it will harden 

 in cooling. To learn when to remove 

 the candy from the stove, take out a 

 spoonful every few minutes, and allow 

 it to cool. As soon as it begins to 

 show signs of hardening, draw the 

 vessel containing it to the back of the 

 stove, where the heat is less. Watch 

 it carefully and try it frequently. As 

 soon as it is sufficiently hard, remove 

 it from the stove, and pour it into shal- 

 low dishes to cool. Be careful not to 

 get it too hard. If it is hard enough to 

 retain its form when placed over a col- 

 ony of bees, that is sufficient. A thin 

 cake of such candy laid directly upon 

 the frames over a colony of bees and 

 then the whole top of the hive covered 

 with a piece of enameled cloth, andtwo 

 or three thicknesses of old carpet over 

 that, will enable the bees to "hold the 

 fort" as long as the candy lasts. If, 

 for any reason, it is impossible, or un- 

 desirable, to place the candy in this 

 manner upon the tops of the frames, 

 the candy may be "run" directly into 

 empty brood frames, and the frames 

 hung in the hives adjoining the bees. 



