802 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 15. 



most every thing delivered. For this I use a 

 light spring wagon, which has proved to be a 

 great convenience, and the best local adver- 

 tiser that I have ever found. 

 Indianapolis, Ind., Sept. 5. 



[Your wagon is almost identically the same 

 as that used by W. A. Selser, the honey-man 

 of Philadelphia. There is no doubt that an 

 attractive wagon as well as attractive goods is 

 half the battle. 



In bottling the honey I note that you say 

 that the jars are subjected to a temperature of 

 190. If the honey also in them is brought to 

 that temperature is not this degree a little 

 higher than need be? 180 is generally the 

 limit set for liquefying or for heating ordi- 

 nary extracted honey. It always seems to me 

 that, in heating higher than this, its delicate 

 flavor is impaired slightly. The higher the 

 temperature, the greater the impairment of 

 the flavor. A domestic, a few days since, in 

 our house, heated some very fine honey to the 

 boiling-point. She had never been instructed 

 in the matter ; but when the same was placed 

 on the table it was several shades darker in 

 color, and a good many degrees poorer in fla- 

 vor. I have noticed this many times before, 

 when honey is heated to only 180 degrees it is 

 very difficult to detect any loss of flavor, and 

 the average consumer would probably not no- 

 tice it at all. 



This question of bottling honey is not so 

 very well understood by the general bee- 

 keeping public, and I would be willing to pay 

 110.00 for the best article on this subject, and 

 $5.00 for the second best. Perhaps our friend 

 Pouder will essay to go into the subject a lit- 

 tle more thoroughly. If so, will he explain 

 why he puts the jars into a water bath heated 

 to 190? Why not heat the honey to that tem- 

 perature, and then put it into the jars cold? 

 There must be some good reason for the 

 course, and I should like to have him tell us 

 more about it. 



From some things I have seen and picked 

 up here and there I have ascertained it is very 

 important to have the corks sealed with paraf- 

 fin e or beeswax. In some cases the corks are 

 dipped into the hot waxes before they are 

 pushed into the bottle. Some bottlers are so 

 particular that they will not only dip the corks 

 and wax the tops, but cover them with tinfoil. 

 The latter adds greatly to the appearance of 

 the package, and at the same time makes a 

 more perfect sealing. — Ed.] 



FEEDING BEES. 



Transporting Syrup to Out-apiaries, and Feeding 

 the Same to the Bees ; a Practical Method. 



BY J. F. CRANE. 



The season of Isyy proved to be the worst 

 for the bee-keepers of Western Vermont for 

 nearly forty years. Thirty-four years ago 

 there was, perhaps, not much more honey, but 

 there were but few bees kept at that time, and 

 the results were not so marked. In 1899, in 

 the towns bordering on Lake Champlain very 



few colonies stored any surplus, and scarcely 

 one in a hundred gathered enough to winter 

 on. The great question with bee-keepers was 

 not, " Which is better, a tall or a square sec- 

 tion ? " or " What is the most desirable super 

 or hive?" but "What is the best method of 

 getting bees in shape for winter ? " As feed- 

 ing seemed to be one of the most important 

 considerations, a few thoughts on the subject 

 may not come amiss for the benefit of bee- 

 keepers in other parts of the country. 



As we usually have little honey in this sec- 

 tion after July, most bee-keepers have need to 

 feed more or less every year ; so we were not 

 altogether unprepared for the past year's ex- 

 perience. Indeed, I have all the necessary 

 implements for feeding constantly on hand ; 

 and as we are all apt to think our method the 

 best I thought a short description might not 

 come amiss. 



If I were beginning new I might commence 

 with the Miller feeder ; but as I have enough 

 tin feeders already on hand I doubt if it would 

 pay to change. Besides, there are some ad- 

 vantages that tin feeders have over the wood- 

 en ones, I think, as they are, it seems to me, 

 lighter for their capacity, and more conven- 

 ient to transport from one yard to another. 

 Besides, when filled and inverted over the 

 frames the feed is nearer the combs than in 

 any style of wooden feeder, which seems im- 

 portant in cool weather in autumn. 



CRANE'S FEEDER. 



The feeder I use is a modification of the old 

 pepper-box invention, and of two sizes — one 

 holding 9 lbs., and the other 6. The illustra- 

 tions give a very good idea of them. It is a 

 simple tin can with small holes punched with 

 an awl in one end, with a screw cap on the 

 same end for filling, and two short legs of tin 

 to come as high as the screw cap for the can 



