THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



239 



acceptable. Such samples may be sent to 

 Prof. H. \V. Wiley, Division of Ctiemistry, 

 Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. 

 C. The express will be paid by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. 



I wish to thank the three distinguished 

 chemists who have rendered such able assis- 

 tance in determining these valuable results. 



A. J. Cook." 

 Agbicultukal College, Mich., / 

 June 29, 1893. )" 



Prof. Cook will send this Bulletin (96) 

 free to all who ask for it. I presume 

 there are but few bee-keepers in Mich- 

 igan who have not already received it, as it 

 has been sent to a list of 1,200 that I fur- 

 nished the Secretary of the State Board of 

 Agriculture for that purpose. I wish that 

 every bee-keeper in the land might read it. 

 Send for the Bulletin if you have not already 

 received it and then if you can help in the 

 way of furnishing samples for further work, 

 do so. 



Experiments in Apiculture Made at tlie 



Michigan Agricultural College in 1892 



by J, H. Larrabee. 



Mr. Larrabee's report of his work at the 

 Michigan Agricultural College Apiary has 

 been out for a month or more but lack of 

 space has prevented nae from noticing it. I 

 can do but little more now than give a sum- 

 mary of the results. 

 , Removing the queen during 13 days of the 



W honey harvest was tried with one colony and 

 compared with another colony of equal 

 strength. The colony having a laying queen 

 gained 4(3 pounds in weight during this 

 period and the queenless one gained 37 

 pounds. If five pounds were deducted from 

 the one having the queen to represent the 

 weight of the brood, only four pounds extra 

 would be left as the gain resulting from the 

 presence of the queen. 



An experiment upon a larger scale would 

 be more satisfactory. By the way, I have 

 the same criticism to make in regard to 

 several of the experiments made. 



Two colonies were fed honey to learn how 

 much honey is used in the consumption of 

 wax. Eight pounds of honey were required 

 in the secretion of 153^2 ounces of wax. 



The planting for honey experiments were 

 brought to a close with the conclusion that 

 " no results have been obtained with any 

 plant sown or planted for honey alone 



that will warrant the bee-keeper in spending 

 money or labor in this direction." 



One of the most interesting experiments 

 was that of evaporating thin or unripe hon- 

 ey. I quote as follows from the report : 



" There were constructed a series of six 

 shallow pans 19 by 28 inches in size, with 

 partitions 2 inches in hei^hth, open on alter- 

 nate ends, similar to the partitions in a 

 maple-syrup evaporator. These were ar- 

 ranged in a cabinet, one above the other, so 

 that honey entering at the top was obliged 

 to flow some 75 feet before passing out at 

 the bottem. An oil stove was placed be- 

 neath the whole, and a pipe at the top caused 

 a current of heated air to pass upward over 

 the honey. The fumes of the stove were car- 

 ried ofE by means of a second pipe, in order 

 to avoid all danger of their injuring the 

 flavor of the honey. Honey of average body 

 with 10 per cent, by weight of water added 

 was reduced again to the normal condition 

 by passing twice through the pans at a tem- 

 perature of 120% and about 100 pounds per 

 day were evaporated at that temperature. 

 Thin nectar, extracted from the hives very 

 soon after being gathered, was evaporated to 

 the thickness of good honey at about the 

 same rate. This apparatus was kept in op- 

 eration about ten days upon honey of vari- 

 ous thickness and upon clear water with the 

 above definite results. The flavor of the 

 first honey was injured — probably by the 

 first acid action of the honey upon the outer 

 coating of the tin. Afterwards this was not 

 as apparent. The color was also somewhat 

 affected. 



The heat of the sun was also tried for pur- 

 poses of evaporation. A shallow pan 28 by 

 54 inches in size was filled 3 inches deep with 

 thin honey. This was covered with glass 6 

 inches above the honey and left in the sun 

 for four days, when about five per cent, of 

 moisture was evaporated. As the honey lies 

 at rest the water rises to the top, somewhat 

 aiding evaporation. The flavor and color 

 are not afifected as much as by the method 

 of running through pans. In this way honey 

 with 30 per cent., and even 40 per cent., of 

 water added was evaporated to the consis- 

 tency of very thick honey in three weeks' 

 time, so thick that it has not at this date 

 showed any signs of granulation. During 

 favorable periods of sunshine a temperature 

 of 1.55= was reached. By this method a tank 

 4 by 6 feet, with 6 inches of honey and 

 weighing 1,300 pounds, should be evaporated 

 10 per cent., or from the consistency of fresh- 

 ly gathered honey to that of average body, 

 during about two weeks in .July or August. 



The common method of exposing to the 

 air in open vessels in the warm upper story 

 of a building was also tested with honey to 

 which 10, 20, .30, and 40 per cent, of water 

 had been added. That having 40 per cent, 

 added became strongly fermented in a 

 week's time, while only a slight change had 

 taken place in the ;30 per cent, dilution, and 

 at the end of a month it tasted like a very 

 poor quality of commercial extracted honey 

 or like honey dew. The 20 per cent, dilution 



