238 



THE AMERICAN APICULTUEIST. 



ANSWERS BY E. E. HASTY. 



1. I am under the impression that 

 the proporlion of wax to honey varies 

 greatly, but liave made few experi- 

 ments. Two years ago I melted up a 

 lot of poor section lioney Cbuilt ou 

 narrow starters of foundation) and the 

 lot yielded 30 lbs. of honey and U lbs. 

 of wax. 



2. Do not tliink profitable is the word 

 for forced comb-buildiug. Probably 

 the honey would be a little less un- 

 profitable. 



3. Think not. 



4. Quite a few dissent, I think, my- 

 self among them. I might perhaps 

 agree if in a different location. 



5. Think not. 



6. Liquefy candied honey if for stim- 

 ulating purposes ; but leave it solid 

 if preventing starvation is the only 

 object. It will be better than dry su- 

 gar. Very weak or torpid bees must 

 not be trusted with solid stores. 



7. Am not posted as to the amounts 

 produced by the largest apiarists. 



Bichards, 0. 



ANSWEUS BY A. J. COOK. 



1. The amount of wax is slight and 

 varies with the depth of cell. Some- 

 times nearly double as much honey is 

 put into a cell that will be put in at an- 

 other time. 



2. I think the granulated sugar would 

 pay the best, as it has less water than 

 the honey. 



3. Not yet; the frame is new and 

 new things, even when good, come into 

 use slowly. It is a good thing and 

 must grow rapidly in favor. 



4. I can not answer; but know one 

 who thinks so. 



5. I think not. 



6. I should never feed either sugar 

 or honey in the crystallized state. 



7. I presume Mr. Muth could give a 

 good answer to this question. 



Lansing, Mich. 



ANSWEKS BY' H. ALLEY. 



1. It is said that it requires twenty 

 lbs. of htiney to produce one pound of 

 wax. I think this may be correct. 

 But who can tell without guessing? 



2. Neither sugar nor honey is profi- 

 table to feed for any' such purpose. 



The experienced beekeeper never 

 gives thick honey to his bees. Itslioukl 

 be diluted with water, so tiiat the bees 

 can "work" it. 



3. We guess not. 



4. So far as my experience goes the 

 V-shaped starter is better than a "full 



sheet" for surplus boxes. Years ago, 

 when we put boxes on the hives hav- 

 ing combs in them, made the previous 

 year, we noticed that the bees hesitated 

 a long time before working in those 

 boxes which were full of comb; while 

 those having but a small piece in the 

 box were filled and "work-down" first. 



5. Don't think it is. It would pay 

 well, but is not practised. 



6. Candied honey will do to feed in 

 the spring for stimulating and brood 

 rearing purposes, and it is better than 

 dry sugar. Bees cannot use the latter 

 unless water is supplied at same time. 



7. I think we shall have to read the 

 l)ack numbers of the bee journals be- 

 fore we can make a correct reply to 

 this question. 



Wenham, Mass. 



ANSWEKS BY L. C. ROOT. 



1. About one lb. of wax and fifty 

 lbs. of liouey. 



2. Honey. I would be glad if sugar 

 had never been mentioned in connec- 

 tion with bees in any way. 



Many people look upon us with sus- 

 picion if we use it in any way. 



3. No. 



4. Yes, especially if honey is to be 

 shipped long distances, and sold in 

 markets wliere the appearance is a 

 prime condition. 



For home use I would say use no 

 foundation at all. 

 6. No. 



6. I would liquefy both sugar and 

 lionej', and consider it far preferable. 



7. J. K. and J. Hetherington of 

 Cherry Valley, N. Y., are the"" largest 

 })roducers of fine comb honey in best 

 market sliape in the world. 1 think I 

 am correct in this statement. I am 

 not certain who is the largest producer 

 of extracted. 



MohawJc, X. Y. 



ANSWEHS BY G. W. DEMAREE. 



1. It is a difficult matter to answer 

 this question accurately, because bees 

 build their combs thicker and heavier 

 at one time than they do at another, 

 and for this cause any experiments we 

 may make are liable to vary in results. 

 From the tests I have made I would 

 say that the proportion of wax and 

 honey, as to weight, is one pound of the 

 former to fourteen of the latter. 



2. Honey gives the best results. 



3. No, sir, not "generally" so, by a 

 great deal. 



4. It is not accepted by all honey 

 producers that full sheets of fouuda- 



