332 



GLEANINGS IN KEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15. 



a piece of drone comb 2 by 4 inches had been 

 built in the vacancy, and eggs and brood of 

 laying workers were present. A nucleus of 

 less than a pound of bees, having a good queen, 

 had been received three days previously from 

 Italy, and was added to the colony under treat- 

 ment, the queen being caged. The queen was 

 freed two days later, and the naphthaline con- 

 tinued. The colony prospered, with no trace of 

 foul brood, and October 18 it was one of the 

 best colonies in the apiary. C. C. Millek. 



Marengo, 111. 



MAKING SUGAR SYRUP BY THE COLD-WATER 

 PROCESS. 



Dr. J. T. Beall, March 15, page 236, hits the 

 nail squarely on the head when he tells how to 

 make syrup that will not sour or granulate. 

 My plan is exactly on the same principle, but I 

 do it in a little diiTerent way. I have had over 

 20 years' experience as a druggist, and had a 

 good deal of trouble at first in making syrups 

 for the various uses of the store in summer 

 time, when we used large quantities for the 

 soda-fountain. By the hot-water process we 

 could not always get a uniform quality. If too 

 thick it would crystallize: and if too thin, if not 

 used soon, it would sour. Many years ago we 

 commenced the cold-water process, and ever 

 since we can make a uniform quality that will 

 keep, I don't know now long— probably indefi- 

 nitely, without souring or crystallizing. Our 

 plan is to take a 10-gallon keg (a barrel could 

 be used if necessary in the same way), knock 

 out the head, and with it make a false bottom 

 that will fit inside of the keg, boring the false 

 bottom full of small auger-holes, putting in 

 pegs to bold it up about (> inches from the bot- 

 tom of the keg; then take white flannel, about 

 three or four thickness, and put it over thp false 

 bottom, stuffing it in around the edges so it all 

 has to percolate; then we dump in granulated 

 sugar, about half full, then pour in cold water 

 and let it percolate in the cellar or some room, 

 and no kitchen or stove mussed up. The first 

 run we drawolT from the faucet below and dump 

 back; after that the syrup is fit for the queen's 

 taste, or the bees' either. All you have to do 

 afterward is to draw oflF the syrup and add more 

 sugar and water. We have always fed pur bees 

 with this, when they needed winter feeding; 

 with a barrel a large quantity could be made in 

 a short time. M. F. Tatman. 



Rossville, Kan., Mar. 17. 



[It begins to look now as if the cold-water 

 process was feasible and practicable for the 

 bee-keeper. We shall certainly try it in the 

 course of the season. — Ed.] 



HARPER S MAGAZINE ON BEES AS FERTILIZERS; 

 SWEET CLOVER FOR STOCK. 



I take the liberty of calling your attention to 

 an illustrated article by W. Hamilton Gibson, 

 the naturalist, in the current number for March, 

 1894, of Harper's Magazine, on " Welcomes of 



the Flowers," which is very pertinent to youi 

 side of the discussion on bees and blossoms. 

 Please read it. 



I can also indorse, from personal observation, 

 what your contributor, Mr. Boardman, says ol 

 sweet clover. It is all a popular mistake that 

 stock will not eat it, and I believe that, where 

 alfalfa will not succeed, sweet clover is a valu 

 able addition to farm crops. Stock have also to 

 learn to eat alfalfa before they will take to it 

 readily. I raised a patch about 15 years ago, 

 and turned the family horse on it. He did not 

 touch it, but ate the grass and weeds; but in 

 the fall, when light frosts killed the grass and 

 weeds, he grazed the alfalfa; and ever after, if 

 he was put on that patch, he took the alfalfa 

 first. It is also true that alsike clover will do 

 well on sod. I have a good catch of alsike on 

 Wild Creek bottom land, sown the last of Au- 

 gust. 



A SUGGESTION. 



In behalf of the beginners and amateurs in 

 bee-keeping I respectfully make this suggestion: 

 That you have a series of articles on manipulat- 

 ing bees and hives, copiously illustrated with 

 reproductions from photos of an expert apiarist 

 in the act of making such actual manipula- 

 tions. As to a novice, a little of the sliow lioiv 

 is worth a great deal of the tell how to do such 

 things, the illustrations to be accompanied with 

 brief and clear printed directions. This, I be- 

 lieve, would make a new departure in bee-jour- 

 nalism that would help to give Gleanings a 

 boom among beginners and persons interested in 

 bees, and you have the apparatus at hand— bees, 

 hives, Kodak, and apiarist. Perhaps, as the 

 Dovetailed hive is in pretty general use, it 

 would be a good idea to employ it in these ob- 

 ject-lessons. Wm. D ALTON. 



St. George, Kansas, Mar. 21. 



[Thanks for the suggestion on the "show 

 how." We will try to carry it into effect this 

 summer. We shall be glad to refer to the arti- 

 cle in Harper's.— Ed.] 



DISGUSTED WITH YELLOW BEES. 



I am disgusted with yellow bees; no good for 

 comb honey. I have tried the five-banded, and 

 would not take more of them as a gift. I intend 

 to get rid of what I have. I purchased from 

 the best breeders. I could give names if re- 

 quired. Hurrah for the dark Italians for honey 

 — thafs money. Will Ellis. 



St. Davids, Out., Mar. 14. 



Can you tell me some way to destroy the lit- 

 tle short-tailed mice? They are so small that 

 they can squeeze into the entrance of the hives,, 

 and are making themselves very troublesome. 



Carp(>nter, III. Edw. E. Smith. 



[Use " Rough on Rats." Put inside of boxes 

 perforated with holes large enough to admit 

 the varmints. This arrangement will keep the 

 poison away from domestic animals, and yet 

 let the mice feast until they die. — Ed.] 



