36 DR. MILLER'S 



the candying of honey in the hive is deplored? AYhy not teed 

 candied honey over tlie cluster when needed? 



A. Your question is hardly a fair one, for it sounds like saying 

 that there is no objection to feeding candy, while there is objec- 

 tion to letting the bees have candied honey. The fact is that 

 tliere are good authorities who deplore the feeding of sugar candy 

 more than the candying of honey. There is, however, not so 

 much said against the feeding of sugar candy, because it is often 

 a choice between that and starvation, in which case the feeding of 

 candy is not a thing to be deplored. In the case of honey candy- 

 ing, it is to be deplored, because ij: is not so good as liquid honey. 

 It remains, however, to say that it is quite possible that it is better 

 to feed candied honey than to feed sugar candy, and that so good 

 authorities as the Dadants have practiced feeding candied honey. 

 Perhaps ye Editor will tell us about it in a bracket. 



(Sugar may be crystalized in lumps Like rock candy, in which 

 case it is of no use to the bees. But soft candy makes good bee 

 food. The same may be said of granulated honey. If the honey 

 has granulated in a way that there are hard, crusty lumps in it, 

 some of it may be lost by the bees, especially if they attempt to 

 consume it in dry weather. "When the atmosphere is loaded with 

 moisture, much of this softens so the bees can use it. But well 

 ripened honey which has a soft granulation will be consumed to 

 the last mite. We have often fed candied honey in the way sug- 

 gested by our correspondent.) 



Candying (See Granulation.) 



Cappings. — Q. I have been told that yellow flowers tend to 

 make cappings yellow, too, or, in brief, that the bees will cap 

 honey from yellow flowers with a yellow capping. If this is true, 

 please explain. 



A. Yes, it is true, at least of some flowers, dandelion, for ex- 

 ample. I suppose the bees get the yellow coloring from the pollen. 



Q. What methods, if any, besides the knife, have been used 

 since the invention of the extractor to get rid of the cappings of 

 the combs? 



A. Turn to page 306 of the American Bee Journal for October, 

 1908, and you will find description and illustrations of the Bayless 

 uncapping machine. Several other machines for uncapping have 

 been invented, but none absolutely perfected. 



Q. To melt up cappings and wax scraps, what would be the 

 simplest way to do? 



