334 FEEDING BEES. 



610. As honey is scarce in the seasons when Fall feed- 

 ing has to be resorted to, we will give directions for making 

 good syrup for Winter food: Dissolve twenty pounds of 

 granulated sugar (use none but the best) in one gallon of 

 boiling water, with the addition of five or six pounds of 

 honey. Stir till well melted, and feed while lukewarm.* 



611. Sugar candy; for feeding bees, was first recom- 

 mended by Mr. Weigel of Silesia. If the candy is laid on 

 the frames just above the clustered bees, it will be accessible 

 to them m the coldest weather. It may also be put between 

 the combs, in an upright position, among the bees, or poured 

 into combs before it is cold. 



To make candy for bee-feed: add water to sugar, and 

 boil slowly until the water is evaporated. Stir constantly 

 so that it will not burn. 



To know when it is done, dip your finger first into cold wa- 

 ter and then into the syrup. If what adheres is brittle to the 

 teeth, it is boiled enough. Pour it into shallow pans, a little 

 greased, and, when cold, break into pieces of a suitable size. 



613. Before attempting to make candy for bee feed, the 

 novice will do well to read the following advice from the 

 witty pen of friend A. I. Root: 



"If your candy is burned, no amount of boiling will make it 

 hard, and your best way is to use it for cooking, or feeding the 

 bees in Summer. Burnt sugar is death to them, if fed in cold 

 weather. You can tell when it is burned by the smell, color 

 and taste. If you do not boil it enough, it will be soft and 

 sticky in warm weather, and will be liable to drip, when stored 

 away. Perhaps you had better try a pound or two, at first, 

 while you 'get your hand in.' Our first experiment was with 

 50 lbs. and it all got ' scorched ' somehow. . . . Before you 

 commence, make up your mind, you will not get one drop of 

 sugar or syrup on the floor or table. Keep your hands clean, 

 and everything else clean, and let the women folks see that 

 men have common sense; some of them at least. If you should 



* Pure sugar syrup without addition of honey often crystallizes in 

 the combs and becomes as hard as rock candy. 



