it can be killed any time before it blossoms 

 by mowing or plowing it under. It grows 

 to such a height before it blooms, it would, 

 in our opinion, be a good plant to sow the 

 first year for the bees, and then as the 

 plants come up the next year to plow them 

 under for green manure. Besides the honey 

 produced by the bees, the value derived in 

 the shape of green manure and as a weed 

 exterminator, there is a remuneration 

 arising from the sale of the seed. 



I only recommend it to the careful man, 

 who will not find it a pest ; but to the care- 

 less farmer or bee-keeper the simple word 

 beivare will suffice. 



North Lansing, Mich., Nov. 30, 1878. 



Read before the Michigan State Convention. 



Comb Foundation. 



BY J. H. NELLIS. 



Comb foundation has had a short and 

 rapid history in this country. Only three 

 years ago the amount used in the United 

 States was not as great as that appropriated 

 now in certain limited districts. Judging 

 from this, we may say foundation is a suc- 

 cess. Like all new things, it has had its 

 supporters and its enemies. Many tried it 

 with a desire to succeed, but from want of 

 knowledge of how to use it, tailed in first 

 attempts. The worst features of its early 

 history are that manufacturers adulterated 

 it, or with silly conception, expected to com- 

 pel the bees to accept cells of unnatural size. 

 The adulterated article sagged so as to be- 

 come worthless, or was unnoticed by the 

 bees. The queens objected to unnatural- 

 sized cells, as though they were at a loss to 

 know what their progeny would be, if they 

 put eggs in them. 



But these things are past; the cry is "on- 

 ward and upward" in matters of invention 

 and progress. The severe and long-contin- 

 ued hard times have made the price of hon- 

 ey so low that it cannot be classed among 

 the luxuries, and the questions arise, "Can 

 we produce honey in quantities?" Do 

 methods and appliances exist that make it 

 possible for us to produce honey at these 



E rices, and yet support our families and lay 

 y a competency against the time of old 

 age? 



I think that comb foundation is one of the 

 key-stones in this arch of inquiry. 



In the brood chamber it is useful in many 

 ways. It supplies all worker comb, thus 

 making the combs useful for breeding to 

 the fullest extent. The combs are regular 

 and therefore more rapidly handled and 

 more useful, as they contain more available 

 space for brood and honey. It saves the 

 bees the time and material used in building 

 natural comb, thus making in times of plen- 

 teous yield a large difference in the amount 

 of honey obtained. 



The worst complaints against its use in 

 the brood chamber, have been its sagging. 

 This is due to various causes : First, im- 

 pure or adulterated wax : Secondly, expos- 

 ure to severe heat and heavy clusters of 

 bees ; Thirdly, to the use of sheets too thin 

 for the use of brood chambers. These evils 

 are overcome by applying the remedies nat- 



urally suggested, and we are also glad to 

 say that comb foundation with wire incor- 

 porated has been recently introduced that 

 effectually defies all these obstacles. After 

 a large experience, we decide that foun- 

 dation for the brood chamber should con- 

 tain from five to six square feet of surface 

 to the pound. This weight is most profit- 

 able and successful, yet our time and space 

 will not permit us to give our reasons for 

 this conclusion in detail. 



For fastening foundation in frames, white 

 glue, kept in liquified state over a lamp, is 

 largely used by bee-keepers in this section. 

 This glue sets quickly and is reliable. We 

 have nothing that suits us better than bees- 

 wax one part, rosin two parts, melted to- 

 gether, for putting starters in boxes. Take 

 a veneer a little longer than the dish and 

 crowd it in, so that the middle is just below 

 the surface of the mixture, touch the starter 

 on this veneer and at once set in its place. 

 A little practice will demonstrate that the 

 mixture must be of proper temperature, 

 neither too hot nor too cold. 



Canajoharie, N. Y. 



Bead before the Michigan State Convention. 



The Grape Sugar Controversy. 



BY PROP. R. C. KEDZIE. 



Shall we feed grape sugar to bees ? is one 

 of the most important questions that now 

 demand an answer from the apiarist. This 

 question has been argued in the bee papers 

 for some time. Some regard glucose as an 

 excellent food for bees, free from all impu- 

 rities, and much cheaper than cane sugar, 

 while others consider it as very unsafe bee 

 food, adulterated with chalk, sulphate of 

 iron, etc., and more costly than cane sugar. 



I see that one of the bee papers makes a 

 distinction between grape sugar and glucose, 

 calling the first a solid and the last a liquid. 

 But this distinction is not a scientific one. 

 Both forms are called ulucose or grape sugar 

 in all works of any authority that treat on 

 the subject. The sugar of both has the same 

 composition, and is made from the same 

 materials. The only difference is that glu- 

 cose syrup contains more water than glucose 

 sugar. If the syrup is boiled down it forms 

 solid glucose. Still some persons claim that 

 solid glucose is not as sweet as the liquid, 

 and does not contain as much sugar. But if 

 liquid glucose contains more sugar, why 

 doesn't it crystalize out? Judging from 

 some of my recent experiences with grape 

 sugar,' I am not surprised at these state- 

 ments. But we have in the laboratory a 

 specimen of grape sugar, which, when made 

 into a syrup with water, is fully as sweet as 

 the glucose syrup of commerce. Probably 

 the only reason why grape sugar is received 

 with any favor at all is the fact that it is sup- 

 posed to be cheaper than cane sugar. But 

 is it in reality? Let us compare these sugars 

 on the basis of the carbon they con- 

 tain. There is enough hydrogen and 

 oxygen in in either kind. A pound of 

 Davenport glucose contains on an ave- 

 rage about nine and three-fifths ounces 

 of dry glucose, of which three and four- 

 fifths ounces is carbon. A pound of 



