1897 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



23 



noiv requires while in perfect health (thanks to 

 the beef treatment). 



The bees, during the fore part of the winter, 

 are in a condition of health: but later on, the 

 retention of the fa?ces causes a concition of ill 

 health, uneasiness, and, consequently, a larger 

 consumption of food. 



Mr. Doolittle, in speaking of the difference in 

 the amount of food consumption, probably had 

 reference particularly to cellar wintering. Bees, 

 if wintered outdoors, especially in localities 

 where they can have occasional flights, proba- 

 bly will not cousume much more toward spring 

 than they would in the fall, the reason being 

 thatjthey have an opportunity for a cleansing 

 flight. 



The whole question is interesting and practi- 

 cal; and if we can keep down the tendency to- 

 ward disease in the spring — that is, by feeding 

 them pure wholesome sugar syrup— then I think 

 the food consumption will not vary greatly from 

 the early to the latter part of winter. 



MR. BENTON AND APIS DOKSATA. 11 



Prof. A. J. Cook, in the American Bee Jour- 

 nal, deplores the action taken at the Lincoln 

 convention against the limportation of Apis 

 dorsata, and wonders whether the prejudice 

 against one of the employes of the Agricultural 

 Department, Mr. Frank Benton, was not really 

 the foundation for this action. If there were 

 objections to the person who would be likely to 

 be'r!employed by the general government, then 

 he would " make the objections to the individu- 

 al, and not try to balk the enterprise." 



It might be stated, however, that, if Mr. B. 

 is &lpersona',non grata to the mass of bee-keep- 

 ers, or their leaders, there is another man. Mr. 

 W. K. Morrison, who is, perhaps, just as ca- 

 pable of performing the task. He is anxious to 

 undertake this work, and his plan has been 

 already outlined in these columns. Perhaps 

 it is not necessary to repeat that I have been all 

 along in favor of this plan, because it does not 

 Involve the expenditure of money on the part of 

 the government. What Mr. Morrison does need, 

 however, is personal Influence of men in high 

 standing in the councils of our nation. He 

 would expect to secure the cooperation and as- 

 sistance of other nations in a similar way, and 

 all countries alike would share equally in the 

 benefits, .or in proportion to the assistance 

 rendered. I do not believe that bee-keepers as 

 a'. rule would be opposed to such a movement, 

 and perhaps this would satisfy the desire of 

 Prof. Cook. 



women-folks of our homes would not be able to 

 duplicate the jumbles sent out by the large ba- 

 keries, in quality and lightness. Well, it seems 

 the women-folks in Dr. Miller's family have 

 made some jumbles that, to my notion, are ful- 

 ly equal to those we have been in the habit of 

 buying. Indeed, the flavor is a little superior, 

 owing to the better quality of honey usfd. Well, 

 here is what the doctor says: 



I send you by this mail a sample of honey-jumbles 

 made from the recipe given in "Straws," Dec. 15, 

 the only difference being that, instead of consider- 

 ing 4 ounces of soda the right thing for a barrel of 

 flour, the cook insisted it should be 4 pounds. I've 

 no doubt that's correct. Of course, we didn't use 

 the wliole barrel of flour at the first trial. If you 

 like them as well as 1 do, I think you'll admit that 

 there must be some unselfishness in me to send you 

 the last of the batch— they were made several days 

 ago— instead of eating them myself. I've eaten 

 four to six at a time without killing me. If this 

 crowded season ever gets by so there's more time 

 for cooking 1 want to have the same recipe tried 

 with less water and all honey, instead of honey and 

 molasses. The only trouble with this lot was that 

 the dougli was so soft it was hard to handle. 



After testing them myself I gave samplescto 

 our printers, and theycall united with me in 

 pronouncing them to' be as good as the best 

 jumbles ever made.; ".Barney, "'the head print- 

 er.'would havei to getchis wife to make some, 

 andri.am^of the same mind. 



It seems there'was a slight mistake, probably, 

 in the recipe. One [of the ingredients was car- 

 bonate of-soda, 4 ounces, and it appears that^it 

 should have been 4 pounds. The whole recipe, 

 then, with this^correction, willcread as follows: 



nPIour, 196 lbs.; lard, 3 lbs.; honey, 13 gallons; mo- 

 lasses, 3 gallons: carbonate of soda, 4 lbs.; salt, 1 

 lb.; water, 3 gallons; e-xtract of vanilla. 1 pint. 



Of course, the proportionsdn this receipe are 

 too large for domestic use; and for the conven- 

 ience of our women-folks I have reduced it to 

 one-fortieth, figuring 13 Ibs.-to the gallon of 

 honey and syrup. The recipe will stand thus: 



.THAT HONET-.rUMBLE RECIPE A SUCCESS. D 



ZjIn our last issue, page 884, Dr. Miller g ave us, 

 under the heading of Straws, a recipe for mak- 

 ing honey-jumbles. ^You will remember I said 

 in'my footnote, the getting hold of this recipe 

 was;;a real acquisition; but I feared that the 



Flour, 5 lbs. ; lard, 4 oz. ; honey, SM lbs. ; 

 14 oz.; carbonate of soda, Hi oz.; salt )^oz.; water, 

 1 pint; extract of vanilla, i\ gill. 



If; the honey is not of heavy body, increase 

 the quantity slightly. Perhaps the women- 

 folks would prefer to have this reduced to "cup- 

 fuls;" but as such a measure is very indefinite, 

 we can get at the result more exactly by giving 

 the figures in pounds and ounces, and I suspect 

 it important that the proportions be as near 

 exact as possible. I believe it would be possible 

 to^use all honey instead of molasses and honey. 



If all the women-folks can succeed as well as 

 Dr. Miller's have done, this recipe is going to be 

 of;great value to bee-keepers, n Every bee-keep- 

 er who has honey to sell ought now to be able 

 to'ofler to his customers honey-jumbles, home- 

 made, and they will sell like hot cakes, j 



It' might be well to call attention to theofact 

 that jumbles will keep almost indefinitely. In- 

 deed, they seem to improve with' age. Dif they 

 get!a little dry, shut them up in a bread-crock 

 and then see how moist^they will become. 



