American Hee JoarnaJi 



of this article is to supply housekeepers 

 who desire to substitute honey for cane 

 sugar, in the diet of their children, with 

 a few simple recipes obtained from 

 practical experience, for making this 

 wholesome sweet into a variety of 

 pleasing confections. 



A few suggestions on the care of 

 honey may be of benefit to those who 

 are so situated that it is cheaper to buy 

 in quantities. The worst place to store 

 honey, or even to keep it for a short 

 time, is in the cellar or any damp cool 

 place. Honey, when extracted from 

 the comb, readily absorbs moisture, be- 

 coming thin, and (in time) sour. The 

 very best place to store honey is in the 

 attic, up next to the roof, where it is 

 hot. During cold weather, honey that 

 is kept any length of time has a ten- 

 dency to granulate, turning to a white, 

 semi-solid granular condition. This is 

 called " candi -d honey," and it fre- 

 quently "candies " so solid that it must 

 be dug out of the bucket with a knife. 

 It is a simple matter, however, to re- 

 store it to its former condition. Place 

 it in hot water, never over 160 degrees, 

 and let it stay until it has liquefied. It 

 may take an hour, or it may take a 

 whole day. 



In the following recipes quantities 

 are given in pints and pounds because 

 the success of honey recipes depends 

 upon the right proportion of the ingre- 

 dients. All cups are not the same size, 

 and do not hold the same quantity of 

 material, therefore it is best to use a 

 standard measure. 



The simplest honey cake is the 

 honey ginger-snap. 



One pint of honey; ji pound of but- 

 ter; 2 teaspoonfuls ginger. 



Boil together for a few minutes, and 

 allow it to get nearly cool. Add enough 

 flour to make a stiff dough, and roll 

 out thin ; cut into round cakes and 

 bake quickly. 



Another simple cake is the honey 

 cookey. The recipe is given for a 

 large quantity, because they will keep 

 indefinitely, and they are nice to have 

 in the house all the time for the chil- 

 dren to eat between meals. If they are 

 wanted in smaller quantities the recipe 

 can be reduced a half or even one 

 quarter. 



One pint honey; 1 quart sour milk; 

 1 teaspoonful soda. 



Mix well together and add sufficient 

 flour to make a soft dough. Roll mod- 

 erately thin and cut into round cakes. 

 Bake in a slow oven to prevent burn- 

 ing. 



A richer cookey is made by the addi- 

 tion of butter and eggs. One pint of 

 honey; }i pound butter; 4 eggs; % 

 pint buttermilk or clabbered cream ; 1 

 quart flour; 1 teaspoonful soda. 



Mix the honey and the butter and the 

 eggs well and add the buttermilk. Sift 

 in the flour and soda and mix well. 

 Mix in enough flour in addition to the 

 quart to make a cookey dough that will 

 roll out well without sticking ; cut in 

 round cakes and bake in a slow oven. 



In the line of confections, some sugar 

 must be used to make the honey 

 "candy;" but the home-made honey 

 caramel has the advantage of being 

 pure. 



One pint honey; 1 pound sugar; 

 scant gill of cream. 



Boil until it makes a soft ball when 



dropped into water. Stir in a tea- 

 spoonful of vanilla, and pour it into a 

 shallow buttered pan to the depth of 

 about half an inch. When cool enough 

 to prevent its sticking to the knife, cut 

 into inch squares. If chocolate cara- 

 mels are desired, use a tablespoonful of 

 melted chocolate instead of vanilla, 

 stirring it in just before pouring into 

 the buttered pan. 



To make honey popcorn balls, boil 

 a pint of honey in an iron frying-pan 

 until it is quite thick, and then stir in 

 the popped corn. When cool, mold 

 into balls. 



As a substitute for tea or coffee for 



children there is nothing better than 

 honey tea — a very simple tea made by- 

 adding a tablespoonful of honey to a 

 cup of hot water. If not sweet enough 

 to suit the taste of the child, add more 

 honey. Mrs. B. R. Winslow. 



Washington, D. C. 



The foregoing article is copied from 

 Gleanings in Bee Culture, whose editor 

 thinks so well of it he suggests that 

 bee-keepers have it copied in their 

 local papers. He says : 



"It is brief and to the point: and almost 

 any editor would be glad to publish it it a 

 polite suggestion is given from a resident 

 bee-keeper to that effect." 



RR 



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Send Questions either to the office of the Amciicaij bee J 

 DR. C. C. MILLER. Marengro. 111. 

 Dr. Miller does not answer Questions by mail 



Wintering a Strong Colony 



Will bees winter well in 8*frame hives, 

 one on top of the other, making ib frames in 

 all. and an empty comb-honey super on top 

 of all. filled with burlap? New York. 



Answer.— That's a good arrangement for 

 a strong colony. 



Late Feeding for Winter 



Will it be best to feed late in the fall, 

 and keep it up all winter? 



North Carolina. 



Answer.— No; better feed up early enough 

 to last till bloom comes again next spring. 



Painting Bottom-Boards Inside 



Should bottom-boards of liives be painted 

 inside? California. 



Answer.— It is not necessary, although of 

 course a bottom-board will last longer if the 

 under side be painted, especially where 

 quite near the ground. But there is no gain 

 in painting the inside. 



Combs of Honey for Spring Feeding 



I have about \o brood-frames full of honey. 

 Would it be wisdom for me to keep them 

 until spring to feed or extract them now 

 and feed syrup if needed in the spring? If I 

 keep them over how can I do it to best ad- 

 vantage? lOW'A. 



Answer.— I should certainly keep all I 

 thought I could use in spring and up to the 

 time of harvest. .A. dry room where they 

 will not freeze much is the best place for 

 them. If you haven't that, put them in the 

 cellar. Look out for wax-worms, and if they 

 trouble, fumigate the combs with carbon 

 bisulphide. 



Two Queens in One Hive 



Something a little strangle to me has hap- 

 pened in my apiary, and I cannot under- 

 stand it. On July iQ. I opened the hive of 

 my best colony of Italian bees and took 2 

 frames of bees and brood, leaving the queen 

 in the hive. The frames of brood and bees 

 I put into a 3-frame nucleus. One side of it 

 is glass with a door that shuts over it, so that 

 I can see what the bees and queen are doing 

 at any time. 



,\ugust 3, I went back to the same hive, and 

 after a long search I succeeded in finding 

 the yellow queen, a year-old one that I rear- 

 ed myself. Now after I looked the 2 frames 



over and removed 2 small queen-cells that 

 the bees had started. I introduced the queen 

 with a cage, and she was accepted. August 

 6, I put in a frame with starters as directed 

 in " Forty Years Among the Bees." It was 

 several days before she deposited eggs in it. 

 but she proved all right, only a little slow. 

 But you know this is a slow year for bees. 



But the strange part of it is this: While 

 lookingthrough theglass today. I thought the 

 queen looked smaller and a shade darker 

 than a few days before. But while I sat 

 watching, behold the large yellow queen that 

 I had introduced came in sight also, and I 

 had the satisfaction of watching both queens 

 at once on the same side of the comb. Now 

 I have always read and been told that 2 

 queens could not live in the same colony un- 

 less the old one was going to be superseded. 

 But in this case the queen I put in is not old. 

 And. besides, it is not a colony— only a small 

 nucleus. I am going to watch them with a 

 good deal of interest to see the result. 



How did the second queen get there? 



Illinois. 



Answer.— This is a very unusual case. 

 Just once in all my experience have I had 2 

 queens in the same colony, with neither 

 queen more than a year old. One can only 

 guess as to how the second queen got into 

 the nucleus. It's a fairly safe guess to say 

 that slie was reared there. It was 15 days 

 from the time the nucleus was formed till 

 you introduced the queen, during which 

 time a virgin queen might easily have been 

 reared. But the strange part is that this 

 virgin should suffer the introduction of the 

 older queen. 



Bees Stopping Storing — Wired Combs — Entrance- 

 Blocks 



1. I thank you very much for the way in 

 which you answered the questions in the 

 September number. Will you give a little 

 more information on question 2. page 308, re- 

 garding bees stopping storing? These bees 

 did not stop till they swarmed, when they 

 seemed to get weaker every day. so I looked 

 in and found moths on the comb and not a 

 bit of honey. Did the queen die before the 

 moth got in? 



2. I had one of my colonies destroyed by 

 comb falling down. Will wiring keep it from 

 breaking? or would you wire horizontally or 

 diagonally? 



3. I use the Acme hive and Wisconsin 

 style. Which is best, in your judgment? 



4. Are those entrance-blocks used on the 

 hive all year around? or when would you 

 advise me to put them on. and what opening? 



lOWA. 



Answers. — 1. The further information 

 that the colony had swarmed makes the an- 



