262 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Oct. 



HONEY FOK COOKING PURPOSES. 



^jPI^NE of your correspondents tells of selling honey 

 III M ^'^^ ^ ^^^' ^ pound. I use honey in place of sugar 

 ^>!!*^ for cooking and my visitors think it is as nice as 

 sugar and lor some things nicer. It makes splendid 

 raspberry short cake and lor black berries is far ahead 

 of sugar". I will send you some receipts that Mrs. 

 Ellen S. Tupper used for years, slie says they are all 

 good ; the plain cake I know is, and I shall try the 

 grapes this lall. We have to payl3cts. lor brovrn 

 sugar here. Mrs. S. A. Philp, Clare, Mich. 



To PRESERVE GRAPES WITH HONEY, TakeTlbS. 



of sound grapes on the stem, the branches as perfect 

 as possible, pack them snuglj' witliout breaking, in a 

 stone jar. Make a syrup of 4 lbs. of honey, 1 pint good 

 vinegar, with cloves and cinnamon to suit, (about 3 

 oz each is our rule) boil well together for 20 minutes, 

 skim well, then turn boiling hot over the grapes and 

 seal immediately. They will keep for years, if you 

 wlbh,' and are exceedingly nice. Apples, peaches 

 an<i plums may be done in this way. 



Another way. Pick grapes from the stem and pack 

 into a jar until it is lull. Then turn cold honey over 

 them until they are covered well. Seal up without 

 any heat, ami keep in a cool place. After a few 

 months they will be found to be delicious. All kinds 

 ofliuitmade into jam, with honey instead of sugar 

 are nice. Thi se who are fond of honey consider 

 '•butter" made in this way nicer than when made 

 with sugar. 



Ginger SNAPS. One pint honey, ,^ lb. of batter, 2 

 teaspoonfuls of ginger, boil together a few minutes, 

 and when nearly cold put in flour until it is stiff, roll 

 out thinly and bake quickly. (I would use 1 teaspoon- 

 ful of soda.— S. P.) 



Honey cake. One cup butter, 2 cups honey, 4 eggs 

 well beaten, 1 teaspoonful essence of lemon, }i cup 

 sour milk, 1 teaspoonlul soda. Hour enough to make it 

 as stiff as can ivell be stirred, bake at once in a quick 

 oven. 



Honey fruit cake. Four eggs, 5 cups of flour, 2 

 cups of honey, 1 cup sweet milk, 2 teaspoonfuls cream 

 of tartar, 1 teaspoonful soda, 1 lb. raisins, 1 lb. cur- 

 rants, J4' lb. citron, I teaspoonful each cloves, cinna- 

 mon, and nutmeg, bake in a large loaf in a slow oven. 

 This will be nice months after baking as vs^ell as when 

 tresh. (I think she must have forgotten the butter,/ 

 would use 1 ieacupful.)—ii. P. 



FROin AN OL,D FRIENB, WHO HAS J5JSF 

 COME BACK INTO OUR RANKS. 



MERE I am, alive and buzzing yet. Now don't 

 make nauglity faces, for I liave not bothered 

 , you for a few years. We began this season 



tvith 3 colonies of bees, doubled them and took rather 

 more than ){ barrel honey, extra thick and clear. 

 Of course that is nothing to brag of; but I am going 

 it slow and sure this time, that is, if I can go sure. 

 Have just safel}' introduced two queens bought of 

 E. C. lilakeslee. I have never lost a queen in intro- 

 ducing, after I got her into the hive. Have intro- 

 duced quite a number for myself and neighbors in 

 last few years. I once let one go from the-cage on a 

 comb of brood. She took a turn or two among the 

 hi es and thtn flew away witliout even saying good- 

 bye ; that vfiia the only queen I ever lost in introdu- 

 cing. A few days ago I "took up" a colony of bees 

 tor a box liive neighbor, as ho had no brimstone 

 handy; I was to have the bees, and he the honey. I 

 found they were hybrids, being dcscendiMl from the 

 first )nire Italian queen I ever owned (which by the 

 way was ;i pi esent to me from Novice). I never had 

 a queen that I valued as much, and only one that was 

 her equal, and that one ought to have been a good 

 one for it took H. Alley. 18 months to rear it. 



In August Gleanings, page 2lti, in describing your 

 shipping case you say "The two sheets of glass can be 

 purchased anywhere for about 12 cents." Now I have 

 bought, in Medina, only a few doors from you, v;in- 

 dow glass 12x18 and paid 2.^c each. How^ is that ? 



Our friend Thos. Pierson, of Ghent, met with a se- 

 rious accident. He was lifting a hive of bees over the 

 fence, and the fence broke down letting him fall ; for 

 a few days he was not expected to live, but is better 

 now. I saw him a month ago, and he said he would 

 have 1500 lbs. c jmb honey. 



Send me sample section box with fdn. I was in 

 your store two weeks ago, and waited an hour for 

 you to be at leisure so I could ask you for them, but 

 you were very busy. Seth Lucas. 



Kemson Corners, Ohio, Aug. 12, '77. 



When a queen flies away, leave the hive 

 open, and go away, for she will be sure to 

 come back to the spot where she took wing. 

 I never knew one to fail in so doing, unless 

 she was reared near by, but a short time be- 

 fore ; in which case you will find her at her 

 old home where she took her wedding flight. 

 They are good property, even if you see them 

 away up in the clouds — don't know but I am 

 putting it rather "high" — if you only have 

 your wits about you. 



The glass for the shipping case are only 

 7I0XI7, and our hardware man gave us the 

 figures, but upon inquiry, I find that it should 

 have been 12c eacJi. At wholesale by the box, 

 they will cost only about 8c. 



I am very sorry not to have seen you, friend 

 L. ; you should have "buzzed" around and 

 made yourself known. We are always busy, 

 but our smallest boy would have given you a 

 section box in a twinkling, had you only said 

 the word. 



I 



OUT-BOOR WINTERING; 8 AND 11 



FRAME hives; FOOT POWDER 



SAW^S, &c. 



f'N the spring of 1876 I started with 14 swarms, 11 

 frames in a hive, size of frame 10,4i'xl5>4' inside 

 measure. I took from the 14 and their increase, 

 which was 11, making in all 25 ewarms, 650 lbs. of box 

 honey and 1.50 of extracted. I sold 3 swarms for S22.00 

 which left me 22 to winter, one of the number being 

 in a liive with 12 frames If V long and 6 inches deep; 

 I also had 2 nuclei with 3 large sized frames each. I 

 weighed 6 swarms ■when I put Ihem up, wliich was 

 the first week in Dee ; each was packed in a box 6 

 inches larger every way than the hive, and the space 

 filled witli shavings from the planing mill. The first 

 of May 1877, 1 unpacked and weighed them and found 

 that it took, on an average. 16 lbs. to the hive, to win- 

 ter the 11 frame hive, and 10 lbs. for an 8 frame hive, 

 on their summer stands. All were in good condition 

 except 3, and those were Italians ; one was weak and 

 the other two dead ; the only bees I've lost in 5 years, 

 and tliose I think would have come through all right 

 if I had tucked the quilt down around ihem as I 

 ought. I lilted the qnilt to put in some candy, and 

 didn't get it down to its place again ; so much for not 

 doing things as I know I ought. 



I see by the last Journal, that the question is 

 asked, if grain bags are good for quilts to be used on 

 top of the frames. I would say that I have been using 

 them all the summer so far, and I think them first 

 rate; but you want to pick out those that are firm, 

 not "slazy!" 



I have one of those Barnes' foot power saws, which 

 I would not be without for anything. I made all of 

 my 100 hives with it last winter, and I hardly touched 

 a common saw or a plane to the whole lot. In sawing 

 out frame stuft", the saw leaves tlio wood so smooth 

 that there 13 no need of a plane. VVith it von can do 

 all your rabbeting, and in fact everything about a 

 hive, in the sawing line. I make all my little section 

 frames for the top ot the hive, with it ; the frames are 

 5 inches square. They hold IV lbs.— just right to sell 

 quickly. J. H. MuuDOCK, Dexter, Mich. 



It certainly takes more stores to winter a 

 large colony, than a small one, as perhaps 

 many of our readers have observed. We last 

 season wintered a small colony in the house 

 apiary, that did not probably consume more 

 than 6 or 8 lbs., but they were so much behind 

 strong stocks, that it was not much of an ob- 

 ject after all. If the chafi" should enable us to 

 winter such safely, it would be a fine thing for 

 the purpose of being able to supply early 

 queens. I too killed a colony by leaving the 

 quilt open at one corner carelessly in the 

 spring; it was not a good colony, or they 

 would have stood it I presume, but it is with- 

 out doubt, very important that the brood 

 should be closely "tucked up," when they com- 



