548 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



l^hat atxd Boiu. 



ANSWERS By 



James Eeddon, Dowagiac, Mich. 



Me. Editor.— Will you allow me to 

 say to my friends that I can no longer 

 keep up my private correspondence, 

 and sliall be forced to leave unan- 

 swered all communications except 

 private letters relating to business, 

 and questions regarding bee-culture 

 to be answered through the question 

 department or " What and IIow." 

 These questions must be sent to the 

 Editor, and not to me. This an- 

 nouncement is a necesssity ; I am 

 sorry it is such. Jasies Heddon. 



Honey for Winter use. 



AVill you please answer this in the 

 Bee Journal : AVill it be well to 

 put full frames of honey in the cen- 

 tre of hives before putting tliem away 

 for winter ? H. J. Xorthrup. 



Lansingburg, N. Y., Oct. 18, 1883. 



Answer.— I have known of excel- 

 lent success by so doing ; put in combs 

 as free from bee-bread as possible ; 

 give them a little more space between 

 combs than used during summer. 



Preventing Granulation. 



Please answer in the Weekly Bee 

 Journal : What amount of tartaric 

 acid IS required to keep sugar syrup 

 from granulating (also honey) and 

 whether the acid has a tendency to 

 cause dysentery ? also, is the Pelham 

 foundation as good as the natural 

 base { Sylvester Marshall. 



Pratts, Fork, O., Oct. 17, 18S3. 



Answer.— There is some difference 

 in sugars, regarding their tendency 

 to crystalize. I have never had any 

 brand or grade that would crystalize 

 if a lump of tartaric acid the size of a 

 small hickory nut (say round and % 

 diameter) was used for every 10 

 pounds of sugar. The amount of 

 water used (that is, the thinness the 

 syrup is to be when done) also makes 

 a difference. That amount of acid is 

 adapted to 5 pounds of water with 10 

 pounds of granulated orconfectioners' 

 A sugar. The granulated sugar, has 

 the greater tendency to crystalize, but 

 is preferred here. Confectioners tell 

 us that boiling tends to boil the grain 

 out of the sugar. Syrup that shows a 

 strong tendency to grai n before passed 

 through the bodies of the bees, shows 

 no such tendency afterwards, which 

 is caused by the addition of formic 

 acid secreted and given to the syrup 

 by the body of the bee, while she 



holds it in her sack. Regarding the 

 acid causing dysentery, I know that 

 it does not, and some of our most 

 experienced apiarists have thought 

 that it was a preventive. How that 

 may be, I know not. Kegarding the 

 Pelham foundation, our experiments 

 the past season (which will be reported 

 soon) showed tliat the Pelham foun- 

 dation is in no way objectionable on 

 account of the shape of the base. It 

 is a good foundation. 



Clouds and Sunshine. 



I have gotten over my despondency 

 of last April, when it seemed that my 

 pets would all go under, but enough 

 survived to give honey to revive my 

 drooping spirits. I continued to read 

 the Bee Journal, and its timely 

 hints has brought me through this 

 season's work, and I am largely the 

 gainer. I think, in the preparation for 

 the next year's work. From 36 colo- 

 nies, some quite weak, and several 

 made no piolit at all. I now have 85, 

 an increase of 49; purchased 15 iii box 

 hives, and transferred them, making 

 100 colonies. I made 9 colonies, in 

 partnership, in another apiary, so now 

 I have 109 colonies in tolerably good 

 condition. I expect to double some 

 up, so as to have from 90 to 100, to put 

 into winter quarters. I have taken a 

 little over 2,000 pounds of honev, 1,400 

 pounds of extracted, and 600 and over 

 of comb. I sold all the comb, and 

 about 1 ,100 pounds of extracted at V2)4 

 cents per pound, unless they took 100 

 pounds, then at 11 cents. I have a 

 growing trade in honey. I shall pur- 

 chase some white clover comb honey, 

 to keep up my trade. I can retail to 

 families in Louisville, rfsadily. 



G. AV. ASHBY. 



Valley Station, Ky., Oct. 19, 1883. 



My Report for Six Years. 



This is my bee-keeping and honey 

 report for 6 years. I liave taken the 

 Bee Journal 4 years, and shall, as 

 long as I keep bees. ;My bees are pure 

 Italians, and my hives are the Sim- 

 plicity with brood frames, to hold 8 

 sections. I winter on suminerstands, 

 packed in fours, in sawdust : 



Col. In SpriDR. Fall. Sold. Died. Comb. Extrac. 



1878 13 3 



1879 2 9 



1880 9 31 1 900 100 



1881 30 54 1,800 700 



1882 54 80 12 4,500 1,000 



1883 68 100 4,000 1,400 



L. D. Ormsry. 

 Pierpont, Ohio, Oct. 24, 1883. 



Well Done. 



My bees did well this season. I ob- 

 tained 75,000 pounds from 60 colonies, 

 spring count. J. II. Kennedy. 



Little York, X. Y., Oct. 24, 188:^. 



Postage to Canada. 



G. M. Doolittle, in the last column 

 on page 511 of the Bee Journal, 

 says: "Samples of merchandise are 

 mailed at 10 cents postage for every 

 8 ounces or less." I would like to 

 know his authority. lie says the Pos- 

 tal Guide says so. If it does, I cannot 

 find it. On page 712, Official Postal 

 Guide for 1883 (Sec. 511), it says : 

 " ^Mailable matter of fourth class em- 

 braces ' samples of merchandise,' and 

 postage thereon is one cent for each 

 ounce." etc. If he has any later in- 

 formation I would like to know it. 

 J. L. Anderson, P. M. 



Lawrence, 111., Oct. 23, 1883. 



[Our correspondent is informed that 

 Mr. Doolittle was speaking of the pos- 

 tage on queens to Canada. 



The citation on page 712, is referring 

 to samples of merchandise sent to 

 any part of the United States— not to 

 Canada ! If he will turn to page 823 

 of the Postal Guide, volume for 1883, 

 he will, under the heading of " Can- 

 ada," in the department treating of 

 Foreign Mails, see the following: 

 " The weight of each package is lim- 

 ited to eight ounces, and the postage 

 charge is 10 cents per package, pre- 

 payment compulsory." 



This is unmistakably plain, and we 

 note it here, so that there may be no 

 excuse for any one attempting to send 

 merchandise to Canada, of greater 

 weight than eight ounces, except 

 books, and the postage on each pack- 

 age is 10 cents ; no matter if it weighs 

 only one-half an ounce. — Ed.] 



Section Rack. 



AVould Mr. Turner be good enough 

 to give a fuller description of the sec- 

 tion rack used by liim, than is given 

 in his article on page 514 of the Bee 

 Journal. I do not see how glassing 

 the last section of a row will enable 

 one to judge as to the completion of 

 the remainder, as the comb founda- 

 tion in it would obstruct the view of 

 the interior sections. I presume we 

 shall hear from Mr. Heddon as to Mr. 

 Turner's strictness in i-eference to 

 the construction of the rack used by 

 him. I am an anxious inquirer as to 

 the best rack for adoption. 



J. C. Thom. 



Streetsville. Out., Oct. 13, 1883. 



Honey Harvest. 



This summer has not been a good 

 one for bees, in this section of Iowa. 

 Last year I received 4-50 pounds from 

 9 colonies, and increased to 14 colo- 

 nies ; and this year to 27 colonies, 

 strict count. I got the enormous 

 amount of 300 pounds. I extracted 

 250 pounds, and took off 50 pounds in 

 one and two-pound sections. I like 

 the Bee Journal ; could not get 

 along without it. Its instructions are 

 very valuable to me. I hope for a 

 better summer for bees next year. 

 S."J. McKenney. 



Burlington, Iowa, Oct. 16, 1883. 



tm 



