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winter stores? I haven’t had time to experiment in this, and this 
fall I followed Prof. Cook’s advice, according to his book and 
put an even teaspoonful of tartaric acid into 15 pounds of syrup. 
I think this amount of acid is altogether too much for the amount 
of syrup. I believe much less acid in proportion would keep the 
syrup from crystallizing. The bees evidently do not like it. 
A. Some years ago I had considerable experience in feeding 
up for several winters with tartaric acid in syrup. I used an even 
teaspoonful of acid for 20 pounds of sugar. I think it worked 
all right. How much acid that would be to a given weight of 
syrup depends on the strength of the syrup. For winter feeding I 
used five pounds of sugar to two of water, and that made a tea- 
spoonful of acid to 28 pounds of syrup. Prof. Cook’s teaspoonful 
of acid to 15 pounds of syrup looks just at first glance as if he 
made it about twice as strong with acid as I did. Whether he 
really did so depends upon the strength of the syrup. Referring 
to Cook's Manual, edition of 1902, page 266, where he mentions an 
even teaspoonful of acid to 15 pounds of syrup, it will be seen 
that he says: “We use equal parts of sugar and water.” With the 
proportion of a teaspoonful to 20 pounds of sugar there would be 
a teaspoonful to 40 pounds of half-and-half syrup. That, against 
this 15 pounds of syrup, shows that he made it two and two-thirds 
times as strong as I did. Mine seemed to be strong enough. Of 
late years I have used no acid. If I fed at all I gave them half- 
and-half syrup in August or early September, and the bees made 
it all right without any acid. I cannot help thinking this is better 
than later feeding with acid. My feeders are becoming idle capi- 
tal, as the pasturage has so changed that a fall flow may always 
be counted on. 
Q. Yesterday (Dec. 30.) I was examining the colonies I am 
wintering in the cellar, and I found one that I concluded had 
starved. There was about 12 pounds of sugar in the combs can- 
died hard. My record shows that on September 20 this colony had 
about 15 pounds of honey. I fed them 20 pounds of sugar syrup 
with one ounce of tartaric acid to each 10 pounds of sugar. I am 
afraid some of the rest of my bees will go the same route. One 
dislikes to lose them after feeding and giving them the best care 
one can. I have read of some who feed sugar syrup without using 
acid, and do not have any trouble, and it seems that there is 
little or no trouble where acid is used. Last fall some of my 
bees were carrying out candied sugar a week after I fed them. Is 
it possible that I have not been making my syrup right. The way 
I made it was to place a boiler of water on the stove and let it 
come to a boil, then add the acid and stir it well. I then *“*t the 
