ISDT 



GLKANINGS IN BP^E CULTURE. 



ly iii\osli.y;;U(.Hl, tor it is a source of very great 

 loss to tile bee-keepers subject to its ravaj^es. 



Deuver is a very line city, beautifully located 

 in sitilit of the mountains with their sunnnits 

 of ])erpetual snow. One ])eculiarity of Den- 

 ver ivhich stands out in marked contrast to 

 any other town or city I have visited is the 

 fact that all its I)uildin,y;s, including the dwell- 

 ing-houses clear out to the suburbs, are either 

 brick or stone. No wooden structures are in 

 sight anywhere. This gives the city a solid, 

 substantial look. Wooden building-material 

 has been expensive because it must all l)e im- 

 ported, while brick and stone are ])lentiful ; 

 besides, a city ordinance is no doubt the chief 

 cause of the ab.sence of wooden buildings. 



On my trip through Iowa I made E. Kretch- 

 mer a short call, and found that he, like the 

 rest of the bee-supply manufacturers, had had 

 a good trade the past season. I also spent a 

 da}- in Des Moines and another in Chicago ; 

 but I shall have to defer till the next issue the 

 account thereof. 



SUGAR SYRUP FOR BEES — HOW MADE. 



Question. — Will you please tell us in the 

 next issue of Gl?:axings how to make sugar 

 syrup for winter stores for bees ? I think you 

 have given your recipe for syrup for winter 

 feeding in some of the bee-papers before, but 

 I can not turn to it just now. The season did 

 not turn out as well as we were promised at 

 first, and hence may of us will have to feed. 



Ansivcr. — Years ago we were told of many 

 plans to make a feed of sugar that would ans- 

 wer for winter stores for the bees ; but upon 

 using most of the plans I found them to be 

 failures along certain lines, the one most com- 

 :non being that the syrup would crystallize in 

 the feeders and in the cells after being fed. 

 Not being .satisfied I went to experimenting in 

 diflferent ways ; and while studying over this 

 matter it occurred to me that, years before, 

 during some experiments made to prevent 

 honey from granulating, I had used sugar 

 in one of these experiments, which syrup had 

 accomplished the desired end, that of keeping 

 the honey liquid when cohl weather came. I 

 said to myself that, if sugar syrup would keep 

 honey from granulating, why would not hon- 

 ey keep sugar syrup from crystallizing? vSo 

 the next batch of syrup was made as follows : 



Fifteen pounds of water was weighed out 

 and put into a tin vessel of suitable size. This 

 vessel was then put over the fire till the water 

 was brought to a boil, when 80 pounds of 

 granulated sugar was poured in, stirring the 

 same briskly while putting in, so that it would 

 not settle and burn, as such sugar is sometimes 

 liable to do if not stirred. The stirring was 

 kept up till the sugar was partially dissolved, 

 when it was left over the fire till it boiled 



again, when it was skimmed if inijnirities 

 arose. It was then taken from the fire, when 

 ') jjounds of good thick hone\- was ])oured in 

 and stirred for a moment or two, so that the 

 whole should be mixed thoroughly. , This 

 honey ])roved to l)e just what was needed, for 

 syrup thus made remained li(|uid day after 

 day, when not fed to the bees immediately, al- 

 though with this formula the syrup was near- 

 ly, if not quite, as thick as the best honey. 

 And I found that, after keeping it for .several 

 months by way of experiment, it proved as 

 good as ever, not crystallizing or souring at all. 

 Thus I had a feed that was easily made, and 

 that would remain good whether in the hive or 

 out ; and after years have passed I use the 

 same whenever the season has been so poor 

 that I am obliged to feed in the fall. 



The honey first used was extracted basswood 

 honey ; but of late years I have used that 

 whicii has accumulated from the wax-extract- 

 or, no matter how badly mixed or of what 

 color. I find that honey coming from the so- 

 lar wax-extractor, by way of a little honev be- 

 ing in the bits of comb and wax placed there 

 for melting, is always the nicest kind for any 

 manner of feeding, no matter what the color 

 may be, for the heat of the sun so ripens and 

 thickens it that it is always prime for winter 

 .stores. If no honey can otherwise be had, 

 that from partly filled sections will answer. 



PREVENTING SW.A.RMS IN AN OUT-APIARV. 



Question. — If you were going to run an out- 

 apiary for comb honey, how would you man- 

 age to prevent swarming ? 



Answer. — Well, as I have an out-apiary that 

 is run for comb honey, perhaps I can answer 

 this by telling what I do at that out-apiary 

 each year. If I wish any increase I proceed 

 as follows : Placing a hive all rigged with 

 frames filled with foundation or empty combs, 

 on the stand of one of the populous colonies 

 which I think may be getting ready to swarm, 

 I next .set the sections from the old hive on 

 the new, when I proceed to shake all of the 

 bees ofi" their combs and out of the hive, let- 

 ting them run into the hive I set on their for- 

 mer stand. I now place the combs of brood 

 back in the hive again and carry the whole to 

 the stand of another populous colony, setting 

 this last colony on a new stand from 10 to 100 

 feet distant. The sections are now put on the 

 hive of brood, into which the bees returning 

 from the field are now pouring. When they 

 find that this is not their old home they are 

 som.-what homesick ; and if their old home is 

 nearer than ten feet, many of these bees will 

 find it, and, setting up the joyous hum of 

 " home is found ! " will call most of the bees 

 away from the brood, which is not a desirable 

 thing ; hence I place the removed hive 2-i feet 

 or more away if it is possible to do so. I gen- 

 erally carry along with me some nearly mature 

 queen-cells and give this made colony one of 

 these in a queen-cell protector. This protect- 

 or keeps the bees from destroying the cell till 

 they realize their queenless condition, which 

 happens a little before the cell hatches, so 

 that, when the queen emerges, she is kindly 

 received, and in due time becomes the head of 



