334 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



single hole it couldn't get through fast 

 enough.' 



'But,' I said, 'suppose the hole large 

 enough so that the syrup came through just 

 as fast as it comes through a percolating 

 feeder. Would the syrup be just the same ?' 



She promptly said it would not ; and when 

 I came to get the matter formulated in 

 words, I found she held the opinion that 

 something in the line of filtration was neces- 

 sary, and that the liquid must find its way by 

 a somewhat devious passage through the 

 meshes of a cloth or a mass of cotton. The 

 same idea had been in my mind, and I think 

 it quite likely that you, Mr. Editor, had the 

 same thing in mind when you were in search 

 of that colored individual in the fence. 

 And when you struck upon old flannel instead 

 of new, you felt sure you had found ' the nig- 

 ger.' 



Let me tell you about some experiments I 

 have been making. Although made in the 

 main too late in the season to feed bees, no 

 actual feeding was necessary, for the remov- 

 al of the syrup by the bees has nothing to do 

 with the points I was after. 



I took a baking-powder can, holding about 

 a pint, and made a small hole in the bottom, 

 of such size that cold water would pass 

 through at the rate of about seven drops per 

 minute. Hot water would pass through 

 much more rapidly. I put sugar and water, 

 equal parts, in the can. A few drops came 

 through very slowly, then it stopped alto- 

 gether. A grain of sugar may have stopped 

 the hole. I tried holes of larger size, but it 

 seemed that any hole so small that it would 

 not allow a grain of sugar • to pass through 

 was small enough to be entirely stopped by 

 one of the grains. 



Then I drove through the hole a two-inch 

 wire nail. Of course, this would let grains 

 of sugar through. To jjrevent that I covered 

 the hole with a single thickness of thin cot- 

 ton cloth that was new. Putting in equal 

 quantities of sugar and water, it came 

 through all right in good time. With twice 

 as much sugar as water it made, of course, 

 heavier syrup, but it took four or five days 

 to get through. But I found that, the longer 

 it was used, the slower it went through, per- 

 haps from the fulling of the cloth. Very 

 fine wire cloth, such as is used in milk-strain- 

 ers, might be more uniform in action. Pos- 

 sibly, however, it may be that there is some 

 other trouble. 



Two months ago or more I put an equal 

 quantity of sugar and water in a tumbler, 

 and let it stand. In the course of a few days 

 the water on top was a weak syrup, and the 

 amount of sugar in the tumbler was percep- 

 tibly less, but T.fter that time the change was 

 slow ; and the longer it stood, the slower the 

 sugar seemed to dissolve. At this writing 

 there is half an inch or so of sugar in the 

 bottom of the tumbler, and a tolerably thick 

 syrup over it. This shows that time is an 

 important element in dissolving the sugar. 



Now I'll tell you the conclusions at which 

 I have arrived. aUhough I don't feel that 

 there is no possibility of mistake. When 

 sugar and water are put together, there is a 

 slow mixing ; and in a little time the crevices 



between the grains of sugar are filled with a 

 solution of sugar. Allowed to stand in that 

 way, the water above is prevented from mix- 

 ing with the sugar — at least, it does so very 

 slowly, the upper part of the sugar gradually 

 combining with the water above it. That 

 was plainly shown in the last experiment 

 mentioned, where it took weeks to dissolve 

 the sugar. 



Suppose, however, that, by some means, 

 we remove all the syrup that tills the crevices 

 between the grains of sugar. Water will 

 come down afresh to fill the crevices, and in 

 its turn will dissolve a fresh portion of the 

 sugar. Now, that's exactly the principle we 

 work upon in all of our percolating. We al- 

 low the syrup to pass out from below, through 

 some sort of sieve that will allow only syrup 

 and no grains to pass, and we manage so 

 that it shall go through so slowly that the 

 sugar at the bottom will have time to dis- 

 solve before the syrup passas through. I 

 think that's all there is to it, and it isn't a 

 question of cotton or wool, old cloth or new 

 cloth. Old flannel isn't a whit better than 

 new flannel, providing the space of new flan- 

 nel is enough less so that the syrup goes as 

 fast through one as the other. The only 

 point i.~, to have your feeder or your crock 

 emptied in the same space of time. 



Six or eight thicknesses of cheese-cloth 

 worked better than two or three. Why ? 

 Because the rim of the crock was uneven ; 

 and, when placed on the plate, a single thick- 

 ness of cloth would do little toward filling 

 the crack where it was largest ; whereas, six 

 thicknesses would fill it. If the rim of the 

 crock were perfectly true and smooth, the 

 case would bp different. 1 filled a tumbler 

 with sugar and water, put a single thickness 

 of thin cotton cloth over it, then inverted it 

 over a smooth tin dish. How fast do you 

 suppose the syrup came through ? Not a 

 drop came, and I don't think it would if it 

 had stood a year. If you tie a single thick- 

 ness of cheese-cloth over a crock, then in- 

 vert it over a plate, it will work all right pro- 

 viding the rim of the crock be just even 

 enough and uneven enough. In general, it 

 would let the water out too fast without giv- 

 ing the sugar time to dissolve ; but in that 

 case, if you put enough beeswax under the 

 edge of the crock to make the syrup come 

 out slow enough, I think you'd find it all 

 right. 



You said, Ernest, that sugar adhered to 

 the proper bottom of the crock. What made 

 you let it do that ? Just give the whole thing 

 a few shakes after inverting. In using the 

 crock feeder, the cloth under the sugar plays 

 no part, only that part that comes in actual 

 contact with both crock and plate, and it 

 would work all the same if the middle part of 

 the cloth were all cut away. 



It is quite possible that there is a double 

 advantage in having the syrup come through 

 slowly : and we who have been priding our- 

 selves on having a feeder with which we 

 could give '25 lbs. in as many hours may yet 

 change our views. It may be that the bees 

 need longer time to put the right amount of 

 formic acid into their feed. 



Marengo, Ills. 



