MillerThousand AnswersBeekeepingQuestions.pdf - BioBees

THOUSAND ANSWERS 251winter stores? I haven't had time to experiment in this, and thisfall I followed Prof. Cook's advice, according to his book andput an even teaspoonful of tartaric acid into IS pounds of syrup.I think this amount of acid is altogether too much for the amountof syrup. I believe much less acid in proportion would keep thesyrup from crystallizing. The bees evidently do not like it.A. Some years ago I had considerable experience in feedingup for several winters with tartaric acid in syrup. I used an eventeaspoonful of acid for 20 pounds of sugar. I think it workedall right. How much acid that would be to a given weight ofsyrup depends on the strength of the syrup. For winter feeding Iused five pounds of sugar to two of water, and that made a teaspoonfulof acid to 28 pounds of syrup. Prof. Cook's teaspoonfulof acid to 15 pounds of syxup looks just at first glance as if hemade it about twice as strong with acid as I did. Whether hereally did so depends upon the strength of the syrup. Referringto Cook's Manual, edition of 1902, page 266, where he mentions aneven teaspoonful of acid to 15 pounds of syrup, it will be seenthat he says : "We use equal parts of sugar and water." \\'ith theproportion of a teaspoonful to 20 pounds of sugar there would bea teaspoonful to 40 pounds of half-and-half syrup. That, againstthis 15 pounds of syrup, shows that he made it two and two-thirdstimes as strong as I did. Mine seemed to be strong enough. Oflate years I have used no acid. If I fed at all I gave them halfand-halfsyrup in August or early September, and the bees madeit all right without any acid. I cannot help thinking this is betterthan later feeding with acid. Aly feeders are becoming idle capital,as the pasturage has so changed that a fall flow may alwaysbe counted on.Q. Yesterday (Dec. 30.) I was examining the colonies I amwintering in the cellar, and I found one that I concluded hadstarved. There was about 12 pounds of sugar in the combs candiedhard. My record shows that on September 20 this colony hadabout 15 pounds of honey. I fed them 20 pounds of sugar syrupwith one ounce of tartaric acid to each 10 pounds of sugar. I amafraid some of the rest of my bees will go the same route. Onedislikes to lose them after feeding and giving them the best careone can. I have read of some who feed sugar syrup without usingacid, and do not have any trouble, and it seems that there islittle or no trouble where acid is used. Last fall some of mybees were carrying out candied sugar a week after I fed them. Isit possible that I have not been making my syrup right. The wayI made it was to place a boiler of water on the stove and let itcome to a boil, then add the acid and stir it well. I then set the