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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 1 



Plainly, then, we want the honey in a place 

 where things will dry; and as heat is a great 

 drier, the hotter the place the better, so long 

 as it does not melt the comb. An attic close 

 up to the roof, where, under the summer 

 sun, it gets "hot as election," is a fine place. 

 I have known sections which had endured the 

 summer's roasting in such a place, to go 

 through the freezing of the following winter 

 without being affected, when most sections 

 would have granulated and cracked with 

 the freezing. 



Put honey in a room warmer than the sur- 

 rounding air, and with at least a little chance 

 for ventilation: and instead of fearing that 

 it will become watery you may count on its 

 improving. That's about the whole story. 

 I don't understand why your south upstairs 

 is not all right, and can only guess that, for 

 some reason, it is not warm enough. The 

 remedy is to raise the temperature — if no 

 other way, by an oil-stove. 



If you have sections over the faces of which 

 honey has been dripping, put them over a 

 strong colony for an hour or two, and the 

 bees will make a perfect job of cleaning the 

 outside. Then put them in a warm place, 

 and you may count on the honey improving 

 if it is thin; but if the air-spaces under the 

 capping have been filled, you can never 

 make it right again. Prevention is better 

 than cure. 



Marengo, 111. 



[We have had quite a little experience with 

 carbon bisulphide for fumigating honey, and 

 can indorse all that Dr. Miller says. There 

 would be no danger in sleeping below the 

 honey-i'oom if one were reasonably careful 

 to close the cracks under the door, etc. 



For the most effective work, the main point 

 is to have plenty of bisulphide for the size of 

 the room. It is" often an advantage to use a 

 large tight box for the honey, with the liquid 

 in a shallow dish on top, so that the amount 

 of air will be smaller and the gas correspond- 

 ingly stronger. — Ed.] 



CANDY FOR FEEDING. 



The Somerford Method of Making Increase. 



BY EDWARD FLYNN. 



I lost several colonies wintered outdoors 

 in single-walled hives. I fed syrup in the 

 fall, and candy this spring. When I first 

 started making candy two years ago I found 

 it very diificult to make it just right, and 

 am not sure that i have succeeded yet. Af- 

 ter putting on a super, I place a slab of can- 

 dy on top of the frames (they are flush with 

 tlie top of the hive), with a couple of ^-inch- 

 square sticks supporting it. In a day or two 

 the candy sinks down, and cements the sticks 

 and frames in a concrete-like solid mass — 

 very hard. Is this right? It is very hard to 

 get the candy off the frames again. I may 

 mention that I nail a cleat half way up on 



the inside of the super, cut a half-inch board 

 to fit inside on those cleats, and put packing 

 on top. I also tack a piece of enamel cloth 

 on the outside of the hive, where it meets 

 the super to retain the heat, so I don't think 

 they got chilled. Nearly all I fed with candy 

 died; those I did not feed are all right. 



I have a lot of hives with good clean comb 

 on hand, and wish to increase this summer 

 to make up for winter losses. 



I have been reading up the Somerford 

 method of increase in the ABC, and intend 

 to try it; but there are some parts of it I 

 want explained. Mr. Somerford says: "To 

 begin with, remove the queen or cage her." 

 Now, right here I want to know where I 

 shall remove her to. I want to put her 

 back again in the old hive after I divide. If 

 I cage her what sort of a cage shall I put her 

 in — a Benton introducing-cage? How much 

 candy will she and her attendants consume 

 during the ten days she will be away from 

 the hive? or will she require any attendants 

 at all? Lastly, where should the cage be 

 kept — in the old hive or where? I shall di- 

 vide only one hive. I won't risk any more 

 till I see" if I make a success of it. Mr. Som- 

 ei'ford says, "Put in one good frame of hon- 

 ey, using it as a division- Ijoard. I have no 

 frames of honey available, as I have only six 

 hives left altogether, and three of these are 

 not Langstroth, the size of the one I am go- 

 ing to divide (that is the worst of having 

 different-sized hives). Would an ordinary 

 division-board and a quantity of syrup suf- 

 ficient to last four or five days, placed in 

 the bottom of the hive, do as well as the 

 frame of honey? 



Epworth, B. C, Canada, March 30. 



[It takes a little experience to make the 

 candy and have it just right. As explained 

 in a previous issue, the sugar and water 

 should be cooked to a "hard crack;" that is 

 to say, when the boiling has been going on 

 long enough so the finger, when fii'st dipped 

 in the water, and then immediately into the 

 hot syrup, and back again into the water, 

 will form a film that will crack when the fin- 

 ger is bent, then the cooking has progressed 

 long enough. But be careful in making this 

 syrup to see that it does not burn. It should 

 then be poured into shallow wooden butter- 

 dishes; and if the candy has been made right 

 it will not run down between the frames. 

 But, to prevent the possibility of it, turn the 

 buttei"-dish of candy right side up. For ex- 

 periments on candy-feeding you are referred 

 to pages 95 and S2 of our Jan. loth issue. 



When Mr. Somerford speaks about caging 

 the queen he means putting her in any kind 

 of queen-cage, placing the cage on top of the 

 cluster of bees, or between the frames if 

 it does not bulge them too far apart. The 

 ordinary cage will hold candy sufficient for 

 a week or ten days. When he speaks about 

 removing the queen he means putting her 

 into another hive by introducing. 



A division-board and a frame of candy or 

 a pan of syrup would answer in the place of 

 a frame of honey. — Ed.] 



