July 28 1904. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



519 



in appearance ; that the honey itself is the better for re- 

 maining for some time on the hive. What a severe con 

 demnation of your own practice. It is the "body" — the 

 flavor, the aroma, the keeping quality, the eating quality 

 that makes honey the much-prized luxury that it is. It is 

 a bad trade to impair or injure any of these for snowy 

 whiteness. All the whiteness that the trade calls for can 

 be had without in any way sacrificing quality. 



I am willing to admit that some of the whiteness will 

 be lost by leaving the sections on until the honey is thor- 

 oughly ripened and the surface of the cappings finished- 

 made practically air-tight. 



Another thing, I believe that decreasing the room in 

 the hive during the honey-flow by removing sections, causes 

 a tendency to swarm, and also to travel-stain the remaining 

 sections — sets up a general discontentment. 



We should not lose sight of the fact that bee-keepers 

 are, without any profit to themselves or to their patrons, 

 educating the public to demand what they do not adequately 

 pay for. Through our exhibitions and otherwise, we have 

 taught — some at least — to expect a section with scarcely 

 the appearance of a pop-hole ; that every last cell must be 

 sealed fast to the wood ; that extracted honey must be 

 served to customers in the liquid form ; that tall sections 

 are " away out of sight " ahead of the standard 4'4 x4,'+ sec- 

 tions ; and now, my good friend, Dr. Miller, is making a 

 fad of snowy whiteness. And we are saddling ourselves 

 with all these uncalled for fads. And in the end no more 

 honey will be sold, nor will we get any more money. I hold 

 to putting the very best goods possible upon the market, 

 but it is, in my judgment, unwise to create a demand for 

 an article that tends to injury, and can be of but temporary 

 gain and no real benefit to any one. No one has a patent 

 on any of these fads, and if many adopt them, what then ? 



To my mind there is, though perhaps unconsciously, a 

 little guile in it all. The tall section, though it weighs no 

 more, seems to ; and so the customer pays more for it. 

 The snow-white section is supposed, by the unsuspecting 

 customer, to be of superior quality, but in truth it is of in- 

 ferior quality to the well-ripened honey covered \)y finished- 

 sealed cappings. 



Perhaps I ought to ask pardon, but then we are Bible 

 readers and Christians. Saint Paul says : " Abstain from 

 all appearance of evil." — I. Thes. 5:22. But the practices 

 referred to are too cute even to have the appearance of evil. 



No one is at liberty to interpret the above as charging 

 any one with dishonest motives. What I wish to say is, 

 that any one may inadvertently wrong himself or another. 

 It is much easier to err than to correct an error. 



Ontario, Canada. 



A Robber-Guard and Entrance-Contractor. 



BY "A BBEKEEPKR IN VIEGINIA." 



I SEND drawings and descriptions of an appliance that I 

 have found very useful, and that any one who can put a 

 hive together can make. I claim no originality for it, 

 though I have never seen anything of the kind in use, or 

 advertised for sale. I call it the " Combined Robber-Guard 

 and Winter Entrance-Contractor." 



Fig. 1 shows the central portion of the entrance-con- 

 tractor with robber-guard in position. (Outline part is the 

 contractor, and shaded part the guard.) This is how it or- 

 dinarily appears from the front of the hive. 



Fig. 2 shows the same except this is its appearance 

 from the rear or.inside of .the hive, ordinarily. 



In very bad cases of robbing, where the despoiled colon 



seems disinclined or unable to put up any defense, the rob- 

 ber-guard may be used with the rear part of the front, thus 

 leaving only one bee-space for the robbers to enter, while 

 five or six bees can defend the entrance from the inside. 



Fig. 3 shows the entrance-contractor as used in winter; 

 the opening can be any size desired, the robber-guard be- 

 ing, of course, cut to fit the opening accurately. 



Fig. 4 shows the robber-guard slightly enlarged and on 



Fi^.l. 



Front 



Fig,2. Back 



Fii.3 



Fit.4. 



Combined Robber-Guard and Winter- Entrance Contractor. 



its back. It is fastened in the contractor with two very 

 small nails, and is easily pried out or pressed in with the 

 fingers. 



All entrance-contractors and robber-guards are num- 

 bered and cut to fit the hive of the same number, as I find 

 almost every hive varies slightly in both the length and 

 depth of its opening. I have one of these for every hive, 

 all painted white, and they can be put in position on any 

 hive, or hives, as desired, in a few seconds. 



In winter the robber-guards are taken out, and the con- 

 tractors remain on until the approach of warm weather. 



Augusta Co., Va. 



Honey as a Health-Food is the name of a 16- 

 page leaflet (3>^x6 inches) which is designed to help in- 

 crease the demand and sale of honey. The first part is 

 devoted to a consideration of " Honey as Food," written 

 by Dr. C. C. Miller. The last part contains " Honey-Cook- 

 ing Recipes" and "Remedies Using Honey." It should be 

 widely circulated by every one who has honey for sale. It 

 is almost certain to make good customers for honey. We 

 know, for we have used it ourselves. 



Prices, prepaid— Sample copy free; 10 for 20 cts.; 25 

 for 40 cts.; 50 for 70 cts.; 100 for $1.25; 250 for $2.25; 500 

 for $4.00 ; 1000 for $7.50. Your business card printed free 

 at the bottom of the front page, on all orders for 100 or 

 more copies. Send all orders to the Bee Journal office 



