24 



GLEANI1*»G.S IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1. 



Wire stiff enough to hold the leaves in place 

 should be used. Do not use long wires, but tack 

 each leaf on close to the leaf, with a carpet- 

 tack. The board to form the back should not 

 be too thin— »K of an inch is about right. Use a 

 small hammer, and a nail-set to drive the tacks 

 with, and cover the heads with other leaves or 

 green moss. Line the bo.x with white printing- 

 paper. 



A few dead and dried bees stuck on are pr^'t- 

 tv: but as honey-bees dry up so small. I prefei- 

 queens or drones, or butterflies. Stick a small 

 black-headed pin through them before they are 

 fully dried, and stick it through a leaf. The 

 yellow-headed bumble-bees also look natuial on 

 wax leaves or flowers. 



I'OTATO-BAI.T. BREAD. 



This is the bread for swarming-time. Why? 

 Because it never sours within any reasonable 

 length of time. If made uii at night, and mixed 

 the first thing in the morning, it will be ready 

 to hake before the bees begin to swarm in the 

 forenoon. Or, the yeast may be set in the 

 morning, and attended to through the day just 

 when there is nothing else pressing, only so 

 that it gets light: but it does not sour by being 

 left some time after being light. It may smell 

 somewhat sour: but by being mixed it takes 

 the sourness all out of it. although it may have 

 been as light as a puffball. and is always good 

 if not allowed to get too light before being 

 baked. 



HOW TO MAKE IT. 



Take two or more fresh yeast-cakes and soak 

 them soft. Stii' into a pint of mashed potatoes 

 the yeast, one teaspoonful of salt, one teacup of 

 sugar (half a cup of sugar will do after the 

 yeast has been started). Use no water nor 

 flour. Set this away for four days in summer. 

 or one week in winter. 



To make bread, take one quart of finely mash- 

 ed potatoes, cool enough not to scald the yeast. 

 Stir the potato-ball in thoroughly, and save out 

 two-thirds of a pint for bread next time. Now 

 stir into the remainder about one-fourth teacup 

 of water (use no flour), and let it stand over 

 night or until light: then add one quart of wa- 

 ter, and flour enough to make a sponge. Beat 

 well and let it stand until light again, or until 

 you are ready to mix (it never needs soda to 

 sweeten it): then make out into loaves. Oil the 

 top of the loaves: when light, bake in small 

 loaves, as such do not require being baked so 

 long as larger ones, consequently the crust is 

 not so hard. If two loaves are made in one pan 

 they may be broken apart to see when done, 

 and yet "not injure the bread. If one has any 

 trouble to guess when the bread is done (as 

 Ijread is often injuied by being baked too long), 

 handle gently when setting it in the oven, as 

 jarring and shaking will not allow of its being 

 so light. 



If graham bi'cad is wanted, use half the po- 

 tato sponge for graham sponge, and the other 

 half for white l)read. When light, mix it stiff 

 with white (loin-, and treat the same as for 

 white bread, only be careful not to get it quite 

 as stiff as for white bread. If too stiff', work in 

 more water. Both the white and brown bread 

 should be made u\) so stiff they do not require 

 more flour when w()rked out into loaves. 



I?ake it nicely, neither too fast nor too slow, 

 and you will have good bread every time with 

 even fair flour. Much bread that otherwise 

 would be good is spoih'd in baking. 



The tire to bake tli(> bread should be started 

 immediately after the bread is mixed into 

 loaves. If there is fire in the stove already, and 

 the oven-doors closed, and the dampfU' to heat 

 the oven adjusted, all well: but if there is no 

 tire, then it should be started before the bread 



is made out into loaves. Many persons wait 

 until the bi'ead is ready to go into the oven be- 

 fore any attempt to heat the oven is made,, 

 which carelessness allows the bread to run over, 

 or get too light, and then the fire is hurried up 

 so fast that the bread is burned. The heat of 

 the oven bakes much the nicest after being 

 heated quite hot. and is Ijeginning to cool. Oft- 

 en the last loaf baked is baked the best. 



SMALL POTATOES. 



These may thus be used up for bread, as the 

 large ones are nicer for table use. I put them 

 into a wire basket and set them in a kettle with 

 plenty of boiling water. When done, lift out 

 the basket and pour a few into the potato- 

 masher while hot. Press the lever, and the 

 potato is pressed through the perforated metal. 

 The skins are retained in the masher. This 

 leaves no lumps in the bread, uses up the small 

 potatoes, and saves time and potatoes in paring 

 them. 



By the way, this same potato-masher makes 

 potatoes very nice for table use. Boil nice 

 large ones, and, just before sending to the table, 

 run them through this masher, sprinkling in a 

 little salt, or salt in boiling. As fast as mashed, 

 pour out into a dish, and cover them. Pour 

 over them some hot rich cream, in which a lit- 

 tle buttpr has Ijeen beaten up. and you have a 

 most delicious plate of potatoes as light as a 

 puffball. Uo not stir them after being mashed 

 or pressed thiough the masher, as it will take 

 the lightness out of them. 



I mention the above way of making bread, 

 l:)ecause. in swarming time, it sometimes seems 

 very difficult to get bread made when the cook 

 has the swarms to look after. Two summers I 

 have had help who could not make bread. 

 Though I had three girls one sumnKM-. none of 

 them could make bread, and were inexperienced 

 in bee-work also. The bees swarmed incessant- 

 ly that summer, and gathered much honey. 

 Mr. Axtell took sick about that time, and I had 

 both yards to look after. With the help of the 

 gills, I could only get time to mix up biscuit 

 dough and bake for bread in the morning be- 

 fore bee-woi'k began. 



Another summer I undertook to mix light 

 bread outdoors where I could watch the yeast 

 when light, as I had set it in the sun to rise, 

 as the girl could not make bread, and was in- 

 experienced in bee-work also. I had just got 

 my hands into the dough to mix the bread, 

 when out came a swarm. I rubbed oft' the 

 dough and ran for the queen, and took care of 

 the swarm. By this time the dough had dried 

 pretty well upon my hand, which took me 

 a long time to wash. I had just got into the 

 dough again, when out came another swarm. 

 I could hot take time to get the dough off my 

 hands very well, for I was afraid I should lose 

 the queen: so I found from experience that 

 bread - making and queen - catching did not 

 work well together. 



VENTILATION THROUGH THE HIVE. 



In your article on page 889, in the Nov. 1.5tii 

 issue "of Gleanings, you say so many bees died 

 in hives that were not protected by outside 

 cases, I wondered, as I read, whether there 

 would have l)eeu thi' same loss if there had 

 lieen passages through the center of the hive. 

 a la Heddon or Mr. B. Taylor, or holes punched 

 through the tops of the combs, as we u.sed to do 

 a good many years ago for winter passages. I 

 have seen the same things happen to colonies 

 we were preparing for winter, and had set some 

 of the brood-combs outside of the division- 

 boards for the bees to carry thi^ honey in. One 

 cool night had caught them, and they drew uji 

 into a cluster, leaving small clusters on tlie 



