MillerThousand AnswersBeekeepingQuestions.pdf - BioBees

126 DR. miller'sthe starters should give IS to 18, and the full sheets of foundation16 to 19. I can, however, imagine an extreme case with an immenselyheavy flow lasting only a day or two, in which 20 poundswould be stored in built combs and not a drop in the others. Onthe other hand, I can imagine a very long flow with a very littlemore gathered daily than the bees need for their own use, andvery nearly as much stored with starters as with full combs. Butremember that all this is only guessing, and my guesser may notwork in perfect order. I think the editor-in-chief knows moreabout it than I do, and I'd be glad to have his guess, even if itmakes mine look like the guess of a beginner.(My guess would be a greater difference when built combsyielded 20 pounds, say 10 to IS pounds for starters, and IS to 18for sheets of foundation. I have seen sometimes what Dr. Millerstates, IS to 20 pounds in built combs and not a drop in the others.—Editor.)Honey, Purity of.—Q. Some dealers tell me that I have beenfeeding my bees sugar syrup. Others ask me if it is machinemade.I would like to be able to prove that my nice, white combhoney is pure honey, produced by the bees, but as I am not verywell posted on honey yet, I do not know just what to say. I haveheard it said that somebody, somewhere, offered $1,000 for apound of machine-made honey. Who was this man, and is theoffer still good, and has he got the $1,000 yet? The trouble isthat many persons believe that clean, white combs without stainsare machine-made; that pure amber honey is colored, and if it isclear and white it must be nothing but sugar and water.A. An argument that I think was first advanced by C. P.Dadant ought to be enough to convince anyone with sufficientreason that section honey is not machine made. Take any twosections of honey and place them side by side. If machine madethey would be exactly alike; whereas there will be no difficulty inpointing out differences that will knock out all idea that they aremade in the same mold, and establish clearly that each section isan individual job, worked out by the bees. Pop-holes in one willbe clearly different from those in another, and variations of cellswill be evident. You may also show a section just as it is whenyou give it to the bees, and that will be convincing to most menthat the bees do the rest.The offer of $1,000 for a section of honey made without the aidof bees was first made by the A. I. Root Company, and is stillgood, with many thousands of dollars back of it. No one has yet