The Manipulation of Bees 
241 
beekeeper more than he gets for pure comb-honey and this 
fact effectually keeps adulterated comb-honey off the market. 
What to feed. 
Honey from an unknown source should never be fed, 
because of the danger of introducing disease. Beekeepers 
usually feel that it is cheaper to feed sugar syrup because of 
the higher market value of honey, but no food for bees better 
than honey has yet been found. If extracted-honey is 
fed, it should be somewhat diluted. The best plan is to 
give combs of honey. 
As a substitute for honey, a syrup made of granulated 
sugar is best. For spring feeding, a thin syrup may be 
used, even as dilute as two parts of water to one of sugar 
(by volume). Ordinarily equal parts of each are used. 
For supplying winter stores, a thick syrup, 2\ to 2| parts of 
sugar to one of water, is preferable. To prevent granula¬ 
tion of the sugar in the thick syrup, it is inverted (changed 
chemically to levulose and dextrose) by the addition of a 
teaspoonful of tartaric acid to 20 pounds of sugar while the 
syrup is being heated to dissolve the sugar crystals. In 
early spring and late fall, syrup may be fed while warm and 
fall feeding should be done as rapidly as the bees will take 
the syrup. In making syrup, the greatest care must be 
taken not to allow it to be discolored by scorching the 
sugar; it should be as clear as if made with cold water. 
Glucose, other cheap syrups or molasses and the cheaper 
grades of sugar should not be fed to bees, especially for 
winter stores, since they contain substances indigestible to 
bees, causing dysentery. 
Candy and cube sugar are sometimes used for supplying 
bees in winter after their stores are exhausted. These 
should be used only in emergency and nothing but granu¬ 
lated sugar should be used in making candy for this purpose. 
A soft white sugar, known in the trade as “coffee A,” placed 
in a division board feeder is sometimes used as a stimulant 
to brood-rearing. 
R 
