The Opelousas courier., 1892-02-06
FEEDING BEES.

The honey season has now passed as
frost has put in its appearance. After
sWarms, possessing valuable young
queens, may pot have sufficient stores to
last them until it can be gathered from
fhe fields. It is a pity to let them starve,
Tor they may be valuable another season
and able to pay both principal and inter-
est for what is now loaned them. Honey
is the natural food for bees, but when
there is d failure in this commodity we
must find a substitute. Get the best
~granulated sugar Gan inferior article will
not do, as il is not safe for winter food)
and sift twenty pounds Of it into a pan
containing a gallon of water. II liquid
honey can be obtained add five or six
pounds, stirring it together; the money
prevents granulation. If honey is not to
be had add just enough tartaric acid or
vinegar to make it q little tart In order
to prevent granulation. This will be
appropriated by the bees if given to
them slightly warm. There are many
bee-feeders for sale by the trade, but any
earthen household vessel can be used for
Che purpose il one is careful. A vessel
OF glass or earthenware of sirup for the
bees must be filled with cut straw. shay
ings, or chips. I have used little pans,
by tying over them cheese cloth locseiy,
SO that it would settle down as they took
out the sirup, and could not get under it.
Wooden butter dishes which do not leak,
make gooa feeders, as the bees can not
hold onto wood and not drown. The
Dadants use tin fruit cans by tying mus
lin over the top, and inverting them on
d plate. The strip is held by atmos-
pI eric pressure, and can be placed above
the bees, when they will take it through
the muslin. Bees must be fed inside the
hive, ii such 4 way that nome from the
outside can gain access to it in rwo-story
hives this a readily be done. It is bet
ter to give Twenty-Five pounds OF feed
now than to disturb them BIZ feeding in
spring. They do not breed up strong 10
spring when they know that their stores
are getting low. If they starVe before
flowers bloom, all the feed given to them
will be lost.
al number III small colonies better be
united than left TO starve and freeze.
Take way all queens but one, and set
IN the combs alternately, no two from
the same hive together. The combs
containing honey could be uncapped and
put ID tie upper story, with 9 LITTLE
place for the bees to come up, when theJ
will carry it below.-0yaass JaaE
Farmer.
now nj DOUBLE THE VALUE oF MANURE
The chemists of sons of our expert
menE stations have adopted the following
trade values Of the ingredients OF fer
filters for the present year. Nitrogen,
per pound in hair, horn shavings, ans
coarse fish scrap, seven cents, In anirnonll
salts eighteen and a half cents. Phos
phoric acid, per pound insolubie Il
water, two cents soluble IN water
eight cents.
Nitrogen is nitrogen, and phosphorus
acid ID phospaoric acid, but there y
great difference intheir trsde and manu-
rial value according to their availability
a pound Of insoluble nitrogen IN coars
fish scrap is worth only seven cents
while i pound Of soluble nitrogen
woath eighteen and d half cents.
pound If insoIuble p~aospaoric acid
worth only two cents, while . pound 2
soluble phosphoric acid is worth elgh
cents. The whole vast business (
manufacturing artificial fertilizers resi-
on the discovery of d method Of CONVEX
ing insoInble phosphoric acid into solu
he phosphoric acid But the naanufat
tnrars Of fertilizers have NOT yet discoN