MillerThousand AnswersBeekeepingQuestions.pdf - BioBees

36 DR. MILLER'Sthe candying of honey in the hive is deplored? AYhy not teedcandied honey over tlie cluster when needed?A. Your question is hardly a fair one, for it sounds like sayingthat there is no objection to feeding candy, while there is objectionto letting the bees have candied honey. The fact is thattliere are good authorities who deplore the feeding of sugar candymore than the candying of honey. There is, however, not somuch said against the feeding of sugar candy, because it is oftena choice between that and starvation, in which case the feeding ofcandy is not a thing to be deplored. In the case of honey candying,it is to be deplored, because ij: is not so good as liquid honey.It remains, however, to say that it is quite possible that it is betterto feed candied honey than to feed sugar candy, and that so goodauthorities as the Dadants have practiced feeding candied honey.Perhaps ye Editor will tell us about it in a bracket.(Sugar may be crystalized in lumps Like rock candy, in whichcase it is of no use to the bees. But soft candy makes good beefood. The same may be said of granulated honey. If the honeyhas granulated in a way that there are hard, crusty lumps in it,some of it may be lost by the bees, especially if they attempt toconsume it in dry weather. "When the atmosphere is loaded withmoisture, much of this softens so the bees can use it. But wellripened honey which has a soft granulation will be consumed tothe last mite. We have often fed candied honey in the way suggestedby our correspondent.)Candying (See Granulation.)Cappings.—Q. I have been told that yellow flowers tend tomake cappings yellow, too, or, in brief, that the bees will caphoney from yellow flowers with a yellow capping. If this is true,please explain.A. Yes, it is true, at least of some flowers, dandelion, for example.I suppose the bees get the yellow coloring from the pollen.Q. What methods, if any, besides the knife, have been usedsince the invention of the extractor to get rid of the cappings ofthe combs?A. Turn to page 306 of the American Bee Journal for October,1908, and you will find description and illustrations of the Baylessuncapping machine. Several other machines for uncapping havebeen invented, but none absolutely perfected.Q. To melt up cappings and wax scraps, what would be thesimplest way to do?