690 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 



he thus truthfully labeled. I have found the plant- 

 louse nectar of the larch and elm particularly 

 pleasant in flavor. The near relatives of plant lice, 

 bark lice, also secrete a larg-e amount of nectar. 

 This bark-louse or scale-louse nectar, unlike that 

 from the plant lice, is dark, of strong- odor and ill- 

 flavored. As scale-lice flourish best in dry seasons, 

 so in years of drought this bark-louse nectar will be 

 most plentiful. The present season, and also the 

 year made niemoi-able by the Chicago fire, were 

 both marked by the great amount of this bark-louse 

 nectar. The present season tons of honey have 

 been stored by bees, the source of which was these 

 same bark or scale lice. While many do not object 

 tt3 the flavor of this honey, it is dark and rank, and 

 as it in many cases was mixed with the clover hon- 

 ey, its presence was a sore misfortune to the bee- 

 keeper. For my own jiart I would never put such 

 honey on to the market, as T would never use it on 

 my own table. As 1 have often stated, I believe the 

 cause of the jrreat morf ality among- the bees in the 

 winter fnlhrAiny Thf Cliicag-o fire was due, in part 

 at least, t(i this liark-louse honey in the bee-hives. 

 I think, however, that the flavor that season was 

 considerably more rank than it is this sniiinifr. pf)s- 

 siblv owin.f^ to its being less mixed with other and 

 better honey.- These nectar-secretinf.'- bark lict' ai-e 

 very common here and in many Northern States. 

 Now myriads of them are in our basswoods, our 

 maples, our hickories, our sassafrasses, our white 

 ashes, our elms, pumping- up the sap and excreting 

 this bitter, odorous sweet. The very atmosphere is 

 tainted, and when the bees can do no better they 

 accept this nectar of questionable reputation. It 

 thus becomes a practical matter. The bee-keeper 

 must watch for this unsavory nectar, and when it 

 abounds he must see that it is not mi.xed with the 

 fine grades of honey. By use of the extractor it 

 will be easy to keep this separate. As this nectar 

 will keep the bees busy gathering in time of no 

 nectar bloom, it will keep the colonies breeding, 

 and as it will be good food for bees during summer, 

 it will do no serious mischief to one who is inform- 

 ed as to its use and abuse. 



Lately I have received several samples of what 

 has been styled manna grass by those sending it. 

 It comes from Ohio and Michigan. The grass was 

 specked with crystals of sugar, much as though it 

 had been dipped in sugar syrup. Placed in the 

 mouth, or on the tongue, it seemed as if it might 

 have been sprinkled with granulated sugar. The 

 sweet was very pleasant to the taste. 



Upon close examination I found the grass was the 

 seat of a thrifty plantation of ergot. Many of the 

 seeds or kernels had the purple-black ergot grains. 

 I gave the ergot to Dr. Grange, our veterinarian, 

 and told him of the coating of sugar, which I sup- 

 posed must arise from insects, though I could find 

 none of the latter. 



Soon after, Dr. Gi'ange kindly referred me to a 

 work on veterinai-y medicine, where ergot was de- 

 scribed and the honeyed secretion given as a char- 

 acteristic marking of the early stages of this poison- 

 ous fungus. In looking up this subject I find that 

 European writers often speak of this nectar from 

 ergot, and of insects collecting it. The ergotized 

 grass in O'lincy, Mich., was thronged with bees, 

 which are reported to have secured excellent honey 

 from it. 



ErK-ot, as is well known, is a fungus much used in 

 tnedicine. Its use induces spasmodic contraction 

 of the involuntary muscles. When eaten by man, 

 as it is wont to be in ergotized rye, it produces in- 

 flammation of the eyes, chills the extremities — 

 probably by contraction of the arterioles — induces 

 swelling of the joints, which is speedily followed by 

 gangrene of the limbs and bowels, and death by 

 convulsions. As Bonjean and others have shown, 

 if the ergot of plants is eaten by cattle and others 

 of the lower animals, disease and death are produc- 

 ed, with much the same symptoms as mark ergot 

 poisoning in man. It is stated that there have been 

 many epidemics in Europe caused by ergot poison- 

 ing. 



We see, then, that in ergot, Michigan has a most 

 unwelcome visitor, and that there is a very dark 

 side to this ergot picture; but it is pleasant to think 

 that here, as in most of nature's products and life's 

 experiences, the sweet is liberally mixed in with 

 the bitter. I remai-k, in closing, that in this fungus 

 we have another source of nectar not before notic- 

 ed in our American literature. 



The above, coming just at this time, is 

 very acceptable, for it is perhaps the most 



comprehensive article on this wonderful sub- 

 ject of honey-dew we have ever had. 



HOW TO MAKE SYRUP FOR BEES. 



A SEASONABLE AKTICLE. 



HAVE frequently noticed writers for bee peri- 

 odicals advise making syrup much thinner 

 when intended for stimulating purposes than 

 when fed for winter stores. Now, this is correct 

 enough so far as the feed itself is concerned; 

 but the mistake is in making it. Syrup should nev- 

 be made thiner than in the proportion 1 lb. of best 

 granulated sugar to H lb. of water. This is thelprO- 

 portion given in all the pharmacopoeias for medic- 

 inal purposes, and is, I presume, supposed to 

 keep in any climate. Now, when you wish to feed 

 for stimulating purposes, all you have to do is to di- 

 lute it with boiling water. The advantages in this 

 are as follows : 



1. You can make sufficient syrup at one time to 

 last several days, with no danger of its soui-ing. 



3. When you feed for stimulating purposes it 

 should be slightly warm ; you accomplish this when 

 you thin it with your boiling water. 



3. It is much easier to have a kettle of boiling wa- 

 ter on the stove than it is to warm your syrup when 

 wishing to feed. 



I would give this caution, however, when making 

 a large quantity, which you intend keeping for 

 some time, which is this: The syrup, after cooling, 

 should be shaken or stirred up. The reason for 

 this is, when syrup is allowed to cool in a partially 

 covered vessel there will be a thin watery liquid 

 covering the surface, caused by the cooling of the 

 heated moist air, which, if allowed to remain, will 

 very soon sour, and thereby in time sour it all. Do 

 not be satisfied with pouring boiling water on the 

 sugar, and then stirring till dissolved, because it Is 

 doubtful whether it will take up a sufficient quanti- 

 ty of sugar to keep it; and even if it should, there 

 will usually be a quantity left undissolved. An or- 

 dinary boiler is a good vessel in which to make your 

 syrup; the usual size will hold easily 80 lbs. of sugar 

 and 40 lbs. water. Put in the water first, and, when 

 boiling, or nearly so, pour in the sugar; stir it once, 

 and when it boils you will find the sugar all dis- 

 solved. This is much better than putting both su- 

 gar and water in at the same time, as it would re- 

 quire continual stirring, or there would be dangerof 

 the sugar sticking to the bottom, and burning. If 

 you were feeding very late in the season, too late 

 for the bees to cap it over, I would then make it a 

 trifle thicker. For convenience it is well to remem- 

 ber the following: 



One pound of water is equal to one pint (ale, or 

 wine measure), so that, in making your syrup, it re- 

 quires just half as much water (by weight) as sugar; 

 and sugar, when liquefied, will make a trifle moi-e 

 than half as much in liquid ounces as it does by 

 weight; for instance, 8 oz. (iipt.) of water, 16 oz. of 

 sugar, will make a little more than 16 oz. by mea- 

 sure, and weigh, of course, l!j lbs. This is near 

 enough for general calculation in reckoning the 

 amount of syrup a given feeder will hold, or the 

 quantity a certain vessel will contain when making 

 your syrup. For example, friend Root states that 

 his Simplicity feeder holds about 54 pint; conse- 

 quently it will contain nearly ^i lb. by weight. 



Brussels, Ont. G. A. DeaDMAN. 



