68 Bec-lt'erpiiifi in Tictoria. 



wlicn the hive is opened, therefore a hive which has just had a new 

 queen given to it should not be interfered with for at least four or 

 tive days, unless an unusual commotion at the entrance indicates that 

 the queen is balleil. If desirous of ascertaining whether the queen 

 has been accepted, do so on the fourth or fifth day after the bees have 

 ceased tlying for the day. 



If a queen is found balled, drop the ball of bees into a saucer full 

 of water, when the bees will release the queen. If smoke is used to 

 scatter tiie ball the smoker should not be held too close, as hot smoke 

 may cause the bees to sting the balled queen. The queen should be 

 re-caged in the hive, allowing the bees to again liberate her by eating 

 cut tlie candy. 



Candy for Queen Cages. 

 The candy, the food supplied to queens and their escort of workers 

 in the cages forwarded through the post, consists of a mixture of sugar 

 and honey, in such relative proportions that it is much of the consistency 

 of iJutty — it must be neither too stiff nor too soft. This candy is also 

 used fcr introducing queens, by means of the Miller Introducing, or 

 any other similar cage, and as food for bees in confinement. The direc- 



Fig. 2. — Miller Introducing Cage. 



tions for making it given in textbooks are, to make a stiff dough out 

 of good honey and powdered cane sugar. The honey is warmed till 

 it IS quite thin, and as much sugar as possible stirred in; it is then 

 thoroughly kneaded with the hands, when it will gradually absorb more 

 and more sugar. It should then be allowed to stand for some days, 

 when more sugar should be worked in. Roots' .1 . B. G . of Bee GiiRttre 

 -advises against the use of icing sugar, implying that it contains starch, 

 and would prove fatal to bees. There is no risk of the kind in Victoria 

 sanoe the Pure Food Law has been in operation; the standard brands 

 of icing sugar being quite pure. 



The repeated working in of sugar, as described above, is laborious 

 and tiresome. A candy equally good can be made in much less time, 

 and in a single operation, by working the honey into the sugar instead of 

 the sugar into the honey. It is done in the following manner: — Some 

 good-quality honey is heated till it is thin, but not above 160° Fahr. 

 Into a pudding basin, put 11 ozs. icing sugar, and rub it evenly fine, 

 using a round-bottom lemongde bottlej or a delf door knob on a handle, 

 as a pestle. Unless the icing sugar is very lumpy, this will only take a 

 few seconds; then put 1 oz. of the hot honey into the sugar, stir till it 

 becomes like oatmeal, and then work it with the pestle till it forms one 



