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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



to a boil, after which set from the fire 

 and stir in 5 pounds of honey, gives 50 

 pounds of as good food for bees to win- 

 ter on as anything I know of. Would 

 you call this "sugar-cane syrup?" If 

 not, what would it be ?— G. M. Doolit- 



TLE. 



Pure cane-sugar syrup is the best food 

 for bees in the winter, in-doors or out. 

 If you mean unrefined sorghum syrup, 

 it is entirely unfit for winter food, 

 though it would do very well for spring 

 feeding- 



-James A'. Gkeen. 



1. I should prefer to transpose the 

 words "sugar cane," for I know " cane 

 sugar" is to be relied upon. 2. Almost 

 anything saccharine will do for spring 

 feeding, provided it is wholesome and 

 acceptable to the bees. — J. H. Larra- 



BEE. 



Sugar-cane syrup is all right for 

 spring feeding, but in my own experi- 

 ence, both in cellar and out-door winter- 

 ing, the natural stores are better. The 

 principal reason was that earlier breed- 

 ing was promoted by the natural stores, 

 and hence stronger colonies for the 

 harvest. — G. L. Tinker. 



Sugar syrup fed to bees and trans- 

 formed is super-excellent for winter 

 stores. I should prefer to feed it in the 

 fall so as to have it transformed into 

 honey. Fed in the winter might not be 

 as safe. I do not know. In case of 

 necessity I should not hesitate to try it. 

 It is certainly all right in the spring. — 

 A. J. Cook. 



The sugar-cane syrup that we used 

 here, many years ago, when re-boiled 

 and prepared, would winter bees safely 

 in this climate (Kentucky). But the 

 stuff I see under this name now-a-days 

 ought to kill any living thing that would 

 venture to swallow it. The best sugar 

 Is nearly as cheap, and is quite safe as 

 a winter and spring food when honey is 

 scarce. — G. W. Demaree. 



Please Don't send to us for bee- 

 keepers' supplies. We do not deal in 

 them. If in need of anything for the 

 apiary except a good bee paper or book, 

 just send for the catalogues of some of 

 our advertisers. They will be glad to 

 fit you out, and do it well. 



Have You Read that wonderful book 

 Premium offer on page 133 ? 



CONDUCTED BY 



Greenville, Texas. 



Busy Bees and Spring Birds in Texas. 



We are dipping cells and starting 

 queens to-day. The weather is fine, with 

 bright sunshine every day. Garden 

 making is the order of the day. Bees 

 are working nicely, and spring birds 

 singing sweetly. Oh, how happy we 

 ought to be ! Jennie Atchley. 



Greenville, Tex., Jan. 24, 1893. 



The "Nameless Bee-Disease.' 



Is it not possible that we have two dis- 

 eases compounded in one, in the so- 

 called " nameless bee-disease ?" I think 

 we have, from the fact that most of the 

 writers, in speaking of the disease, say 

 that the workers become slick and shiny 

 from the loss of hair on their bodies, 

 and that they have a nervous or tremu- 

 lous movement of the wings, etc. But 

 with the disease we have here, none of 

 the slick, shiny, hairless bees are to be 

 seen, and they do not have the tremulous 

 motions spoken of above. In the first 

 case spoken of, they are usually affected 

 more in early spring, and late in the 

 fall than at other times ; but in the lat- 

 ter case, they never show it until hot, 

 dry weather begins. In the first case 

 they seem to dwindle along and die off 

 about as fast as the young bees hatch. 

 But in the latter they just die by the 

 wholesale — a strong colony dying out in 

 a few days. They seem to have their 

 natural size and appearance in every 

 way except a few that seem to have 

 their abdomens somewhat swollen. 



When a colony first becomes affected 

 its bees will almost stop work and hang 

 in a cluster on the front of the hive, 

 with only now and then a bee attempt- 

 ing to leave the cluster apparently to 

 work ; but being unable to fly they crawl 

 off and soon die in the hot sun. At this 

 stage of the disease, the brood and 



