26 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15. 



NOTES OF BICYCLE TRAVEL. 



By Enuisit R. Root. 



For my bicycle-trip I adopted the ordinary 

 bicycle-suit— knee-pant.«, long stockings, and 

 sweater— in preference to the suit of the ordi- 

 nary civilian. While it made me look (or, 

 rather. /eef) a little odd in the presence of well- 

 dressed people, you say. wiih nie, that it was 

 simply the exercise of good sense lo dress for 

 comfort and easy action rather than for looks. 

 Well, in the writing of these notes I have felt 

 that, possibly, the conventional cloak designed 

 to cover up individuality, as well as a multitude 

 of sins, and sometimes called the "editorial 

 we." was awkward for easy action here. So, 

 in order to -'sling myself," or. rather, not feel 

 hampered, 1 have decided to adopt, under this 

 heading, the easy " bike suit," or. what may be 

 more properly termed here, the singular pro- 

 noun I. So much for preface. 



On the morning of the 15th of August I left 

 home for an extended bicycle-tour among the 

 bee-keepers of Western Ohio and Northern 

 Michigan, Northern Illinois and Southern Wis- 

 consin. After a run of an hour and a half I 

 found myself 20 miles on the way; and another 

 hour brought me to the home of H. R. Board- 

 man, some l;.' or 15 miles further. I had sent a 

 letter to friend B., at East Townsend, stating 

 that I would be there on the morning of the 

 15th, but it seems 1 got there before the letter. 

 However, I found him sitting in his hammock 

 beside his apiary, apparently waiting for "some- 

 thing to turn up:" and it did indeed in the 

 shape of a wheel-tramp, or crank-pusher, from 

 Rootviile. As usual, he was glad to see me, 

 and we walked into the house. We each re- 

 sumed easy seats, and then I explained that I 

 was out to find, if possible, the right size of t)ee- 

 hive— whether, indeed, the eight-frame capaci- 

 ty was sufficiently large for the average bee- 

 keeper in the average locality, or whether it 

 would be desirable to have a larger brood- 

 chamber divided into sections, a In Heddon. 

 Mr. Boardman smiled a little. Said he, "I 

 doubt whether you will get a satisfactory an- 

 swer to your question." 



"What do you think?" said I. Well, he 

 did not know; but the Boardman hive, con- 

 taining 9 frames, and a little larger than a foot 

 square, answered his requirements.* 



As if unable to settle this question for me, he 

 turned quickly to the subject of feeding bees, 

 along which he has experimented to a consider- 

 able extent. A year ago he had mentioned 

 some experiments that he contemplated mak- 

 ing; and now, twelve months having elapsed, 



*I forgot to say at tlie outset, t-liat T stopped a 

 few minul.i'S ubout four miles out, at the iipiary of 

 Vrriion Bint. I put these same qut'stioiis to liiiii. 

 Altliovifjli lie wiis using- botli tlie eight iiml ten frynio 

 Laiig'st rotli liivi's, lie was leather of the opinion that 

 tlie latter grave liliii more bees and more honey per 

 colony.— E. U. 



he was prepared to give me some interesting 

 results. Said he, "Some tell us, that, to make 

 syrup for bee-feed, sugar and water should be 

 used in the pi-oportion of 20 lbs. of the former 

 to a gallon of the latter. Others say, mix in 

 the proportion of two parts of sugar to one of 

 water; but after experimenting 'along this 

 line,' as Doolittle would say," giving me a com- 

 ical wink, " I canity to the conclusion that the 

 amount of water was too small; and now I 

 make a syrup of equal parts of water and 

 sugar." 



" Equal parts by weight or measure '? " said I. 



'• It does not make any difterence," he replied. 

 " Weight and measure are practically the same 

 in this case." Continuing he said, " I learned 

 that syrup made in this proportion, fed to bees, 

 would not granulate. Of course, it makes a 

 thinner syrup, which the bees thicken to the 

 right consistency, or, if you please, ripen it; 

 and I neve/ saw any of this kind of syrup that 

 would granulate. Now, they used to tell us," 

 he continued, " that we must boil the syrup a 

 long while in order to make sure that the sugar 

 is thoroughly incorporated in the water; but I 

 do not even do this. I just pour the water 

 right on the sugai-. and place the feeders at the 

 entrance, as you saw on the hives as you came 

 in. Again, some recommend putting in vin- 

 egar, and others honey, to prevent granulating. 

 I never, with the ordinary thick syrup, could 

 see that it did any good." 



I do not remember whether he regards it 

 necessary to heat the water; but, if I remember 

 correctly, he considered It of but little impor- 

 tance either way. Perhaps I may as well in- 

 terpolate right here, that Dr. Miller had also 

 been experimenting "along this line," entirely 

 ignorant of what Mr. Boardman was doing; 

 and, strangely enough, he had arrived at about 

 the same conclusion; but he put in fotir mea- 

 sures of water to five of sugar. He had found 

 it was not necessary to even heat the water. 

 He poured the sugar into the feeder, and then 

 the water, and that was all there was of it. He 

 found that, by making the syrup thinner, as 

 did Mr. Boardman, the bees would ripen it 

 better, and nuike a winter feed that would not 

 granulate; and, secondly, it was much more 

 convenient to prepare a syrup in this way. I 

 will not, say nioif of Dr. Miller's feeding, be- 

 cause, un hi- Ills own siuniature, in another 

 olumn. \ou will lind he has moi-e to say on this, 

 and I will i-eler our readers to that. 



" I have learned another thing," said Mr. 

 Boai-dman, "'and that is.it pays to feed; that 

 it pays to give the bees a large amount of stores 

 for winter, and then in the spring feed them 

 enougii to keep brood-rearing going at a lively 

 rate. Yes," said he, " I feed clear up to the 

 honey-flow. If the crop is to be a short one, 

 the brood-nest will be full of bt-ood and syrup; 

 and just the very day that honey is first stor-ed. 

 it will be crowded into the sections, just where 



