148 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



which does not allow the bees to take the 

 food at a rapid rate. In our opinion, the 

 Alexander feeder is pretty hard to beat for 

 all practical purposes, especially if it is 

 made large enough. Either have it large, 

 or put two feeders on at one time. In case 

 it becomes necessary to feed, we put on the 

 feeders; but unless the weather is warm 

 enough for bees to fly perfectly, we feed 

 only in case we fear starvation unless cir- 

 cumstances are so we can feed after dark. 

 Then when the first good day comes we 

 jjrepare enough feed to feed each one 

 enough to last it till there is flow enough to 

 supply the needs as nearly as can be fore- 

 told. 



If it is early in the spring, and the 

 chances are that they will not gather much 

 for some time, we begin in the morning and 

 feed right along all day, or until they have 

 enougii. We find, by this way of feeding, 

 that there is not so much trouble with rob- 

 bers as where just one feed is given, for the 

 bees soon become gorged, as in a natural 



flow, and while in this condition no robbing 

 reed be feared. 



After this kind of feed they will care for 

 all the brood they can keep warm, which is 

 all one can get under any method of feed- 

 ing. If, after one of these feeds, we find 

 we have misjudged the future, and the bees 

 begin to gather, it is not a hard job to slip 

 out a comb or two and give empty ones in 

 their i^lace; or if the colony is good, give it 

 a super of combs, preferably a shallow ex- 

 tracting-super. It is surprising how much 

 the bees will use, and how much brood they 

 will mature under this treatment. We like 

 this way of feeding, especially for outyards, 

 for we can fix a yard in one day so it will 

 not be necessai*y to visit it again for two or 

 three weeks. 



In conclusion we should like to ask those 

 who have been feeding after the old way, a 

 little at a time, to try this way on a part of 

 their colonies, and see if it is not an im- 

 provement over the old. 



Dunlap, Iowa. 



CRUSHED OIL CAKE AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR POLLEN 



BY R. J. T. MUCKLE 



Last sprinff, 1913, was cold so long that 

 no pollei. was to be had, and the colonies 

 were dwindling rapidly, the queens ceasing 

 to lay. I tried flour, corn ineal, oatmeal, 

 and finally shorts, and was gi'aiified to see 

 that in this latter I had got something 

 the bees scrambled for. My nephew, for 

 fun, put out crushed oil cake, and from 

 that moment even the shorts were almost 

 deserted. Queens began to crowd the combs 

 with eggs, the bees of which are not only 

 the largest, and incidentally the brightest- 

 colored Italians, but as gatherers of pollen 

 and nectar, and builders of whitest caps, 



the best yet produced in the many years I 

 have been a bee devotee. 



Flax seed subjected to pressure separates 

 an oil, as you know, leaving in the press a 

 cake of fibrous nature. This is then put 

 through a crusher and becomes the "crushed 

 oil cake " that I use. 



This is of immense value in feeding stock. 

 It contains about 50 per cent of protein, 

 and is on this account, I believe, peculiarly 

 suited to the rapid maturing and intense 

 energy of our short-lived friend the honey- 

 bee. 



Claudeboye, Manitoba, Can. 



FOOD ANALYSES; DIFFERENT FOODS COMPARED AS TO PROPOR- 

 TIONS OF ACIDS AND ALKALIES 



BY E. P. ROBINSON 



A number have written for more detailed 

 information than is given on p. 904 of the 

 Dec. 15th issue, regarding food values, hoAv 

 the numbers 1860 and 4220 are obtained, 

 meaning of last column in table, etc. As 

 other readers may also have failed to under- 

 stand the table fully I write these few lines 

 instead of replying to the letters personally. 



The analyses given were obtained from 

 bulletins published by the United "States 

 Department of Agriculture, and may be had 



by applying to Senators or Representatives 

 in Congress, or by paying a small price. 



The flg-ures 1860 and 4220 are accepted 

 by nutrition experts as about the correct 

 number of calories to be obtained from a 

 pound of protein, carbohydrates, and fat 

 when fully digested. A calory is the accept- 

 ed unit of heat, amount necessai'y to raise 

 tlie temperature of one gram of water one 

 degree centigrade. 



The figures given in the last column are 



