2o8 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 1. 



be seen that honey weighing 10}i lbs. will need 

 be nearly one-half water; and honey weighing 

 11 lbs., the limit suggested by the editor, will 

 be -'4 honey and '4 water. This is, I think, en- 

 tirely inadmissible, and I would suggest 11 '2 

 lbs. to the gallon as the lowest limit of mer- 

 chantable honey. 



I wish, Mr. Editor, that you would, some 

 time or other, cause accurate weights to be tak- 

 en of different grades of honey, so we can have 

 facts, not opinions, to base any future argu- 

 ments on. 



Stuart, Fla. 



[I suggested 11 lbs. as the lowest limit, be- 

 cau.se tiie great majority of all honeys runs 

 about that weight to the gallon. I do not 

 know whether this average is because bee- 

 keepers have a habit or a general rule of ex- 

 tracting before a// the honey is capped, or be- 

 cause the honey would not run any heavier 

 than that if it were all capped over. I am 

 afraid if we put 11 '4 as the lowest limit it 

 would throw out two thirds of the honey. We 

 have weighed honey, and found on the aver- 

 age that one of good heavy body will run 

 about 12 lbs. to the gallon; and in our experi- 

 ence the difference between medium honev 

 and thick is the difference between 11 and 12 

 pounds. That which I have "over at the 

 house," and which is so thick it is almost like 

 chewing wax, runs nearly 13 lbs. to the 

 gallon. If it were thicker than this, it would 

 be more like s^'rup boiled down, or what is 

 commonly termed "wax." 



.^ . ,ttt»»»t^^ -^ — 



OUEENS IN POPULOUS COLONIES. 



A Shnple and Reliable Method for Finding them 



without Wasting Time in Pulling over 



the Combs. 



BY F. GREINER. 



To find the queens in very populous colonies 

 of black bees is not always an eas)' task ; 

 and, as the editor says, it is well to have two 

 pairs of good eyes to do it. Hybrid queens 

 are, generally speaking, not much easier to 

 find, except as their color makes them more 

 conspicuous. 



I have never yet made it a point to breed up 

 to pure stock ; in fact, black blood predomi- 

 nates at present in my } ard ; consequently I 

 have had some experience in hunting out 

 black queens. If I do not /lazr to have a cer- 

 tain queen that minute or hour, my mode of 

 operation is this: 



Some time in the forenoon I remove a comb 

 from the side of the brood-chamber containing 

 the queen that is to be captured, and insert in- 

 stead a nice comb with a considerable amount 

 of drone comb ; close the hive, and leave it 

 entirely alone for 24 hours, or perhaps 36, de- 

 pending somewhat on the condition of the 

 comb given. The bees, very eager to raise 

 drones, and not having au}^ other drone comb 

 of any amount in their hive, go to work at 

 once, fitting and preparing the cells in the in- 

 serted comb for the reception of eggs ; and 

 when, on the next day, the hive is very care- 

 fully opened (with as little smoking as possi- 

 ble), and this comb quickly taken out, our 



sought-for queen will generally be found on it. 

 If I do not find her the first lime, I return 

 the comb and close the hive, wait ten or 

 twelve hours, and make a second search — yes, 

 perhaps a third one. By the amount of work 

 done on the comb after the lapse of the first 24 

 hours, whether it is all cleaned up — wliether 

 any, many, or no eggs have been deposited in 

 it, the experienced apiarist can judge with a 

 degree of certainty how soon he may expect 

 the queen to begin or to continue her woik on 

 .said comb, and he can make his calculations 

 accordingly. 



This tactics seldom fails to gain the desired 

 point. Nine times out of ten the queen is 

 found by the time the hive is opened the sec- 

 ond time after the insertion of the drone 

 comb ; and the time actually required to do 

 the whole work need not exceed ten minutes.' 

 My last resort is the entrance-guard plan as 

 the editor explains on page 8-50. 



Naples, N. Y., Jan. 4. 



[I believe your plan, friend Greiner, will 

 work tiptop. In the busy rush of work in the 

 apiary I always dread hunting .for queens in 

 strong colonies. Someiimes I may find Her 

 Majesty on the first comb ; but more than 

 likely she will be on the last one. If I can 

 not find her the first tirne going though the 

 hive, I shut it up and clamp a guard over the 

 entrance, and then say to the bees, "Swarm 

 if you want to, but you can not take your 

 queen." The only reason why I care to find 

 a queen in the midst of the honey-flow is to 

 clip her wings. Of course, some may say 

 queens ought to be hunted up and clipped in 

 early spring, when they are not very populous; 

 but nearly every season we buy strong colo- 

 nies along at the approach of the honey-flow, 

 and of course there are only two plans open to 

 us — find the queen and clip her wings, or put 

 entrance-guards in front of the entrance. I 

 prefer clipping when I can do it without too 

 much work. — Ed.] 



MAPLE SYRUP MADE OF SUGAR AND " HONEY. " 



Since 3'ou don't seem to fanc}' the corncob 

 recipe for making maple syrup I will give 

 you mine " free gratis." Place one cup gran- 

 ulated sugar in a sauce-pan; add about half a 

 cup of water (less if to be thick); let boil a 

 few minutes, then add two cups best white- 

 clover honey, remove from the fire, and flavor 

 with a scant teaspoonful of vanilla. 



Every one pronounces this " splendid," and 

 it is an agreeable change 'for breakfast cakes 

 when one has become tired of honey. 



We discovered this recipe while making Dr. 

 Miller's caramels, the flavor of which remind- 

 ed us as being much like the maple wax we 

 used to make years ago when making maple 

 syrup. v. W. Stevens. 



Moore's Hill, Ind. 



[All right, friend S.; give us the white-clo- 

 ver honey for flavoring, instead of the corn- 

 cob juice, by all means; and it has been 

 many times suge;ested that such a mixture is 

 milder and pleasanter than pure honey; but 

 let the mixing be done a/ home. — A. I. R.] 



