July 14, 1904. 



THti AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



485 



beedom, who receive the American Bee Journal regularly, 

 to see the picture of the one of their number who so ably 

 and entertainingly conducts the department of " Our Bec- 

 Keeping Sisters " in this journal. We are sure all would 

 be glad to know her better, or to have the privilege, as we 

 have had, of spending a day or two under the same roof 

 with her in Dr. Miller's delightful home. But the next best 

 thing is to have her picture and read her department from 

 week to week. 



Dr. Miller holds his 73 years exceedingly well. We only 

 hope that he may be spared to the world yet many years. 

 All beedom does well to hold him in the highest esteem and 

 honor. He deserves it. There are too few like him in the 

 world. 



I Contributed Articles | 



Notes of an Inspector of Apiaries. 



BY HERM.4X F. MOORE. 



THERE has been a good deal of talk about foul brood 

 near Chicago, but no one can appreciate the actual 

 conditions existing so well as the inspector who visits 

 many apiaries and finds yard after yard diseased in all 

 stages. The discouraging feature about it all is the indif- 

 ference often shown by those most interested. 



In one front yard a single colony remains alive. A 

 short examination without smoke shows 3 frames of bees 

 and brood nearly destroyed by foul brood. Two or three 

 other empty hives are near, the colonies of which were 

 likely killed by the same disease. About a mile away a fine 

 apiary of 26 colonies was examined and -j of them are 

 found infected. The owner of the 26 directed the inspector 

 to the front-yard colony, saying his bees might have gotten 

 it there. The owner of the 26 is out from S7S to SlOO by the 

 disease. He also told the inspector he had allowed the bees 

 to clean out an empty honey-barrel, from Wisconsin. But 

 that being over a year ago, was not, in this case, the source 

 of the disease. Bee-keepers cannot be too careful about 

 feeding their bees on strange honey. Better sell the honey 

 and feed sugar syrup in all cases so as to run no risk. 



At another apiary 3 colonies nearly dead with foul 

 brood are found. The old German lady told the inspector 

 that they burned everything up — bees, frames, hives and 

 all. She was advised to burn up the frames and brood at 

 once, for the sake of neighbors. Said she would see to it. 



About a mile from the infected colonies was another 

 apiary of 4 colonies. The lady told the inspector they had 

 no disease, that they were right up-to-date. She had sold 

 50 colonies lately to a farmer a couple of miles away. She 

 gave no opportunity to examine the bees. After finding 3 

 colonies badly diseased the inspector called again at this 

 apiary and warned them of the disease about a mile away. 

 The advice given was to call at the diseased apiary and 

 make friends with the people and try to have the diseased 

 colonies destroyed at once. 



In several of these cases the inspector should have been 

 able to burn up and treat the disease right on the spot. 

 There is great need for a law giving the inspector power to 

 burn or cure, in his discretion. 



The inspector has been against formaldehyde as a 

 remedy up to this time. However, it seems as if this agent 

 would be useful in saving combs, with a slight modification 

 of the present method. A chemist told the inspector that 

 formaldehyde had a great attraction for water. He said it 

 would form a combination with the water in honey after a 

 long fumigation and no doubt destroy all germs of foul 

 brood in the honey. It might be a very long process and 

 hardly practicable in ordinary cases. 



Now, if we can dip the best of the combs in water (say 

 soft, warm water) and jounce them up and down repeatedly, 

 so the water will penetrate every part and soften the honey 

 in the cells, may it not be that the formaldehyde and water 

 will do a thorough job and make the combs safe to use ? 



The writer will be greatly obliged to any one who has 

 the facilities (Mr. France, for example,) if he will try this 

 and report in the American Bee Journal. 



Cook Co., 111. 



Does Honey Absorb Water Naturally? 



BY J. K. lOIINSON. 



I BELIEVE I first asked this question, which has drawn out 

 considerable discussion. Mr. lyatham gives account, on 

 page 261, of an experiment where honey did absorb water 

 so as to increase in both weight and bulk. His experiment 

 is valuable, as it shows that honey does have some affinity 

 for the moisture of the air, but it also shows that honey is 

 not a true deliquescent. It also shows that even though 

 he had the honey confined in a bell-glass it did decompose 

 to some extent though he does not admit that it did. 



In the account of Prof. Shutt's experiment he demon- 

 strated that honey gained so as to double its bulk, or nearly 

 so, in three weeks. I suppose Mr. Shutt alsoconfined honey 

 in an air-tight compartment and burned hydrogen to pro- 

 duce the water. While I do not in the least doubt the accu- 

 racy of both Mr. Latham's and Prof. Shutt's experiments, 

 I do say they mislead in the real facts, for just one reason, 

 and that is this : 



The honey in an air-tight compartment is no/ subject 

 to the law of evaporation, while the honey as we store it in 

 any room which is sufficiently ventilated, is. We must bear 

 in mind that a natural atmosphere becomes moist because 

 of evaporation, and Jroni no other cause. 



Mr. Latham's experiment shows plainly that the law of 

 evaporation is much stronger than the affinity of honey for 

 water, as he admits that even the tiniest crack caused the 

 air to become dry. Why ? Because of evaporation. Neither 

 could he get the honey to absorb any of the moisture ex- 

 cept when inclosed, and then burning hydrogen. Now 

 hydrogen will not burn except when supported by oxygen. 

 Not only so, but it always unites with the oxygen to produce 

 water. 



It was only a question of how much hydrogen he used 

 in combustion to produce a certain amount of water, and as 

 the compartment was air-tight the honey got the water; but 

 even the tiniest crack, and the honey was powerless. Had 

 there been no honey in the bell-glass, water would have col- 

 lected on the sides of the bell-glass, by lowering the temper- 

 ature. Let me quote a few words from Prof. Storer, pro- 

 fessor of chemistry in Harvard College : 



" No ma;tter in what way hydrogen is burned, the pro- 

 duct is always water. At the high temperature of the flame 

 this water must, of course, remain in the condition of gas, 

 but it can readily be brought to the liquid state by reducing 

 the temperature. Over a jet of burning hydrogen, best ob- 

 tained from a gas holder, hold a dry, cold bottle. The glass 

 soon becomes covered with a film of dew, as the water gen- 

 erated by the union of hydrogen and oxygen condenses in 

 droplets upon the cold sides of the bottle." 



Water will not burn naturally ; not only so, but it sub- 

 dues conbustion ; but by chemical experiment the two gases 

 composing water (oxygen and hydrogen) can easily be sep- 

 arated, and the one gas (hydrogen) supported by the other 

 gas (oxygen) will not only burn readily, but cause great 

 heat. 



In fact, many things can be accomplished by chemical 

 experiment that do not take place in Nature. 



Such old and experienced bee-men as Dr. Miller, L. L. 

 Langstroth, A. I. Root, etc., have for many years taught us 

 that a model place to store honey is in a garret where the 

 thermometer will reach nearly 100 degrees. Why ? Because 

 when honey is in a warm, airy room the law of evaporation 

 has power to draw the water from the honey, whether it be 

 liquid or comb honey. And, not withstanding this is a fact, 

 such an atmosphere is heavily laden with moisture, which 

 you can readily prove by drawing a pitcher of very cold 

 water and placing in that room. The water will collect in 

 abundance on the outside of that pitcher. Why doesn't the 

 honev get some of that moisture ? No ; honey is contin- 

 ually giving up its moisture, while the cold sides of a 

 glass pitcher have power to collect, owing to low tempera- 

 ture. So we must bear in mind that ventilation is one of 

 the most essential means of ripening honey. 



Mr. Latham says we should bear in mind that there 

 should be an air-tight partition between honey and air. Cer- 

 tainly not. Air is the very element that ripens honey and 

 makes it good. When honey is stored rapidly the bees will 

 not cap it over until they give it lots of air, by ventilating 

 or fanning a current of air through the hive. 



Mr. Latham says honey did not decompose during his 



experiment, yet admits that it lost its volatile oils. If he 



will think again he will have to admit that the honey must 



undoubtedly have decomposed to just the extent of its loss. 



If he will read on page 318 (1903) he will find an account 



