THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jaa. 7, 



diluting It well, till the egg comes up. If the egg projects too 

 much, add more water. 



To make the vinegar from honey, we use from l>i to 2 

 pounds to the gallon, according to the strength wanted. The 

 sweeter the liquid, the stronger the vinegar, when made. But 

 the weaker It is, the quicker it is made. The reason of this Is 

 that a small percentage of sweet diluted, changes more 

 promptly Into alcohol and Into acid than a largo quantity. If 

 you put In too much honey, some of It may remain unfermented 

 for a long time, and a very heavy solution would probably 

 never all change by fermentation. The weaker the bever- 

 age, the quicker It sours. 



Bear In mind that the fermentation of any sweet or any 

 frult-julce is flrst alcoholic, then acetic. No acetic, or vine- 

 gar fermentation, can occur till an alcoholic fermentation has 

 taken place, and the more thorough the alcoholic fermentation 

 Is, the more thorough the acetic change will be. 



After our honey-water has been made, we must induce 

 the fermentation by some means. The temperature must be 

 right, about TCP Fahrenheit, and It Is best to Induce by heating 

 the liquid even as high as 90° or 100= if It has not already 

 been heated as above mentioned. A little of excess is not 

 so Injurious as a low temperature, provided, however, that you 

 do not reach the germ-killing point— 16U^ to 170^. If your 

 liquid was heated to this point. It would have to stand till it 

 had absorbed more ferment germs from the atmosphere, and 

 this would be slow. 



Most honey contains plenty of ferment germs, and It needs 

 but little Inducement to start the alcoholic fermentation. If, 

 however, there Is any delay a little fruit-juice, fresh grape- 

 juice, fresh cider, or even a little yeast will soon give it a start. 

 The liquid Is put Into barrels lu a warm, sheltered place, the 

 barrel being tilled only about two-thirds, as the boiling of fer- 

 mentation will cause it to rise and a full barrel would spill pan 

 of Its contents. The bung-hole is covered with a thick cloth 

 to keep the gnats and files away. 



If the vinegar Is made during cool weather, it Is best to 

 keep It in a warm room, or in a cellar heated by a furnace. 

 This is where we keep ours. But, if you have no place in 

 which to keep It warm, and must leave It In a cool place till 

 summer comes again, it will do no harm, but the vinegar will 

 be that much longer in getting made. 



If your vinegar making is carried on in a warm place, in 

 the winter, where there is no fear of flies, give It ail the air 

 you can. Bear in mind that It takes oxygen, b:th for the alco- 

 holic and for the acetic fermentation, and this oxygen is to be 

 had only in the air. That Is why wine-makers leave their casks 

 open as long as the alcoholic fermentation lasts in the wines, 

 but take good care to fill up the casks and bung them up 

 tightly before there is any chance for the acetic change. We 

 must, therefore, give our vinegar all the air we can, and If we 

 want to make It rapidly, we must transfer It from one vessel 

 to another as often as we can. Vinegar-makers pour their 

 vinegar over beech-shavings, which assist in airing it, and re- 

 tain much of the lees or sediment. But it is not nece.saary to 

 go to all this trouble, for after the fermentation has been well 

 started It will continue with more or less speed, according to 

 circumstances, till good vinegar Is produced. 



After the alcoholic fermentation has been well started. It 

 Is easy to Induce the acetic fermentation, by the addition of 

 sour wine, or sour vinegar, In a small quantity. We make It 

 a practice to always keep at least two barrels of vinegar, the 

 one sour, the other souring, and we retlll the one from the 

 other occasionally. 



If the vinegar iswantod clear, it must be rackt, by remov- 

 ing all but ihe lees, and the latter need not be thrown away, 

 but may be used with new vinegar to help its formation. 



Good wine or cider must not be kept In the same collar with 

 vinegar, as the germs of the vinegar, floating through the air, 

 will induce the acetic fermentation very readily in the former. 

 Good vinegar usually contains millions of small animalcu- 

 les which prevent It from having a crystallino appearance. 

 These may be destroyed by heating to 1 1 tP and will then set- 

 tle to the'buttom with the lees or dregs. Lot it not be supposed, 

 however, that they are injurious, for millions of those are evi- 

 dently consumed In every glassful of good vinegar, and one 

 should beware of vinegar that does not contain any, for it Is 

 probably made of poisonous compounds that kill theni. But It 

 is lucky that our house-keepers do not have eyes gifted with 

 microscopic power, or thoy would relegate good vinegar out of 

 the domain of the kitchen. 



The writer, at the North American convention. In St. 

 Joseph, Mo., In 1894, met a young bee-keepHr who had tried to 

 make vinegar and had succeeded, but said that he bad to throw 

 It away because It was full of little snakes, which he had de- 

 tected by holding a very thin vial of the vinegar In the sun- 

 light. It must have undoubtedly been flrst-class vinegar, and 



he was very much astonlsht to hear that he could with difS- 

 culty find any good vinegar that did not contain such snakes, 

 unless it had been heated. 



To help strengthen vinegar that is making too slowly, 

 pour it over crusht fruits, grape-skins, apple-pumice, or even 

 apple-parlngs, but, above all things. If you want it to make 

 fast, be sure it has plenty of air at the right temperature. We 

 have now In our house-cellar, three or four barrels of wine and 

 honey-vinegar that has been a year In making, because it was 

 not kept warm enough. Ilancock Co., III. 



Introducing Queens with Tobacco Smoke. 



BY DB. K. QALLni*. 



In Gleanings for Nov. 1, Editor Root, in commenting on 

 my method of introducing queens, says: "The use of tobacco 

 smoke for the purpose of uniting or introducing, should be 

 condemned, especially In the hands of beginners." Because, 

 of their using it in fumigating their bees to keep them at 

 home from county fairs, he thinks It Injures the bees, etc. I 

 can see quite a difference between fumigating^ sufliclent to 

 safely introduce a queen — say at the outside lO seconds — or 

 stupefying them sufficient to keep them at home all day. I 

 strongly condemned the use of tobacco smoke for common 

 purposes about the bees, years ago — I was going to say, before 

 Editor Root was born, but I guess I will not, for I don't know 

 exactly how old he is. 



Now for what others say about introducing with tobacco 

 smoke. A. I. Root, on page 188 of the " A B C of Bee-Cul- 

 ture, says : 



" Immediately after the honey season the bees are apt to 

 be out of sorts with everybody and everything, and at such 

 times it is pretty hard to make them accept a queen. If ordi- 

 nary methods fall, give them a little tobacco smoke — just 

 enough to Intoxicate them a little." A little further along 

 he says: " I remember oue year we received an importation 

 of 50 queens ; half of them were given to neighbor H. to in- 

 troduce, while we rotaiued the other half. Neighbor H. had 

 entire success In Introducing all of his, while we lost some four 

 or five of ours. Both used the same methods of preparing the 

 colonies. The difference was, that Mr. H. used a little tobacco 

 smoke on every one he introduced, while we used none." So 

 much for A. I. Root. 



Henry Alley, in his "Thirty Years Among the Bees," 

 page 39, recommends the bees to be fumigated with tobScco 

 smoke, just before sunset. He further says; "I have no 

 doubt that during the past 30 years I have introduced 50,000 

 queens with an average loss of not over 3 per cent. I have 

 Introduced 100 queens by this method In one hour." 



Dr. Tinker, In his "Bee-Keeping for Profit," page 32, 

 says : " If a queen Is found balled rescue her. In this case It 

 is no use to try again. She can only be Introduced upon 

 combs of hatching brood." Now right there and then I should 

 be Just meau enough to give t^hem a dose of tobacco smoke, 

 and give it with a good will, too. I would show them who was 

 running the shebang 1 I guess Editor Root was " straining at 

 a gnat," etc. 



I have Introduced more or less with tobacco smoke for the 

 past 50 years, and have never In all that time lost a single 

 queeu when I used this smoke method. And, then, I think It 

 quite an advantage, to know that wo can take out the old 

 queen and have a new one Introduced safely in 15 minutes, 

 Instead of being three or four days about it. 



I am not anxious to have every one adopt my plan. When 

 bees are breeding rapidly, and gathering abundance of nectar, 

 different plans will succeed. The loss of four or five imported 

 queens would bo quite an Itom with me. 



Orange Co., Calif. 



Bee-Economy — The Queen and Swarming. 



BY PHOF. A. J. COOK. 



The replies to the Inquiry on page 083 (last year) were a 

 surprise to me. Were it not that so many of our wisest aud 

 most keenly observant apiarists — In fact, about all that record 

 their opiuion— seem agreed, I would think all were wrong. 

 When I find such unanimity of opinion against me, I always 

 conclude that very likely I am wrong, and I always study 

 closely to see where I have erred. But In this case I can see 

 a reason why all the others may be In error and I in the right. 

 The inquiry implies that when a young queen goes forth to 

 mate the bees sometimes swarm out with her. This point is 

 conceded by all that express an opinion. I doubt the truth of 

 the statement contained in the Inquiry. 



