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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Oct. 17, 1901. 



?ees the Dame of a sii^^ar-factory of Nebraska. 

 Colorado, or Michijran. on the sack in which 

 it comes, he knows that he has beet sugar, 

 but otherwise there is no way of knowing, 

 for. even though it be from the refineries of 

 Havemeyer or Arbuckle. it may be from 

 either source, for these refineries handle raw 

 beet sugar from Germany, Belgium. Holland, 

 France, Austria, and Russia, as well as raw 

 cane sugar from Java and the Indies. 



One of the statements of the writer is that 

 cane sugar is sweeter than beet sugar. "' just 

 as Jersey milk is richer than Holstein milk, 

 and for this reason alone it commands a 

 higher price.'' In the first place. 1 will say 

 that cane sugar does not command a higher 

 price than beet sugar; for in determining the 

 price of sugar there is no ciuestion of its 

 source, but of its quality. In the next place. 

 I will say that the sweetness of sugar, from 

 whatever source, depends upon its polariza- 

 tion of purity of sugar. As the chemical 

 formula of sugar from both sources is the 

 same (C12 H-2-2 On ). and their physical char- 

 acteristics are both the same, it results that 

 neither one nor the other can be said to be 

 sweeter. The simile can not hold for the 

 reason that, while sugar is a fixed chemical 

 compound of so many atoms of carbon, 

 hydrogen, and oxygen, with certain physical 

 characteristics resulting from the atoms of 

 the molecule uniting in a certain way, milk, 

 on the other hand, is a variable physical com- 

 bination of many chemical compounds; and 

 while the slightest variation in the compo- 

 nent parts of the molecule of sugar would make 

 it other than sugar, there can be a great 

 variation in the composition of milk, and it 

 wotild still be milk. It might contain more 

 or less water, more or less casein, more or less 

 fat. etc.. and yet it is milk. 



The writer of the article claims that Dr. 

 Wiley says that beet sugar is cane sugar, and 

 cane sugar is beet sugar. I do not think that 

 Dr. Wiley could say that. He might say that 

 they are identical, or that beet sugar is cane 

 sugar, but not that cane sugar is beet sugar. 

 for the reason that "cane sugar" is the com- 

 mon name of the article which is chemically 

 known as *' sucrose." just as " grape sugar '* 

 is the common name of the article chemically 

 known as "glucose." The name "cane 

 sugar " was given at a time when the only 

 known source was cane; but since then it 

 has been found in other grasses besides the 

 cane, and in a number of roots, as the carrot, 

 parsnip, turnip, and notably in the beet. The 

 writer of the article further states that, by 

 the •• same process of reasoning, saccharin, 

 which is 500 times sweeter than ordinary 

 sugar, ought to be cane sugar also, but it is 

 not."' I should say it is not I Saccharin is 

 not a sugar at all, having none of the char- 

 acteristics of sugar except that in a dilute 

 form it gives a sensation of sweetness to the 

 tongue, while in concentrated form it would 

 be very bitter, and it is in no sense a food, as 

 is sugar. I do not know what he means by 

 " the same process of reasoning.'' but cer- 

 tainly no process of reasoning could class 

 saccharin as sugar. 



Meltis R. Gilmore. 

 Supl. of Exhibit of the Amerii-nii Bert Sugar 

 Association at the PaJi- American Exjxtsition. 

 Buffalo, N. r., Aug. 31. 



It seems that after reading this letter one 

 may feel easy about the matter, especially 

 after the following assertion of Editor Root : 



I will reiterate what I have repeatedly said 

 in these columns, that beet sugar, such as we 

 have used for the last '20 years for feeding our 

 bees, has been eminently satisfactorv. 



The Best Hive-Cover.— There has been 

 some pleading for a hive-cover that would not 

 leak, warp, or twist. A strong cleat at the 

 ends will prevent warping, but it will not 

 prevent twisting. Two thin boards with an 

 air-space 'oetween them, the grain of the one 

 board running at right angles to the grain of 

 the other, the whole covered with tin or 

 water-proof paper, will probably solve the 

 problem, the air-space at the same time mak- 

 ing the cover warmer in winter and cooler in 



summer. The demand, however, for a cover 

 of this kind is not as general as might be 

 supposed. Gleanings in Bee-Culture says ; 



Some days ago Mr. Calvert sent some sam- 

 ples of covers, such as I described, to a num- 

 ber of prominent bee-men. as well as dealers, 

 located in various parts of the country. A 

 good many of the replies have now been re- 

 ceived; and nearly all favor a single-board 

 cover in place of the double board with air- 

 space. Indeed, the Excelsior cover with 

 sides and ridge-board is considered quite good 

 enough. This is a surprise, as it seems to us 

 that a double cover would be better on all 

 accounts. 



Westward Ho '. — Editor Root predicts 

 that within 10 or "iO years the larger amount 

 of honey will be produced west of the Miss- 

 issippi; intensive agriculture making bee- 

 keeping less and less profitable in the East, 

 while in the great West there is much land 

 that can never be cultivated, but will produce 

 good crops of honey. We'U see. 



Getting Combs Built to Bottom- 

 bars, says J. C. Detwiler. in Gleanings in 

 Bee-Culture, is easy with wired or unwired 

 frames, by using them in S-frame hives in 

 upper stories. That has been well known for 

 a long time, but Editor Root might have 

 taken space for a foot-note to say that in most 

 cases it would be inconvenient, and in some 

 eases impossible to use such frames in upper 

 stories, leaving the advocates for foundation- 

 splints perhaps the only ones who can get 

 combs directly built to the bottom-bar with- 

 out sagging in a lower storv. 



■Wanted — A Fonl-Brood Law and 



Inspector. — An Illinois subscriber, who 

 finds good reason to suspect that some serious 

 disease is getting a foothold in his apiary, 

 says that disease akin to foul brood is by no 

 means uncommon in his locality, and adds: 



" We, as well as the rest of the State, badly 

 need a law and an in-yjector. the same as Wis- 

 consin or Michigan has." 



Some bee-keepers will not agree with him. 

 One will say : 



•• I've been keeping bees 25 years and have 

 never seen a case of foul brood.'pickled brood, 

 black brood, or any other kind of brood but 

 healthy brood. What's the use of being to 

 the expense of an inspector so long as the 

 disease is not known in the State only in ex- 

 ceptional localities V 



To this it may be answered that one reason 

 for the need of an inspector is the fact that 

 without an inspector the scourge may exist 

 and flourish for a considerable time in any 

 given locality without its existence being 

 generally known. It may be a great deal 

 cheaper — undoubtedly it is a great deal 

 cheaper to have some one constantly on the 

 lookout to prevent the spread of foul brood, 

 than it is to stamp it out^ after it has obtained 

 a firm foothold. It is better to be at the ex- 

 pense of insurance than to run the risk of 

 being burned out. Decidedly, our correspon- 

 dent is right. Illinois ought to have the law 

 and the inspector. 



The Chicago Convention, to be held 

 at the Briggs House, corner of Randolph St. 

 and Fifth Ave., on Thursday, Dec. 5. promises 

 to be something of a revival of the old North- 

 western. It is hoped that all who can do so 

 will arrange to attend. 



I Weekly Budget. I 



Dr. C. C. Miller, and his sister-in-law. 

 Miss Emma Wilson, were in Chicago on 

 Thursday of last week, attending the Ameri- 

 can Sunday-School Missionary Conference, 

 where Miss Wilson read a most thoughtful 

 paper on " Quarterly Examinations in the 

 Sunday-School.'' Both Dr. Miller and Miss 

 Wilson are enthusiasts along Sunday-school 

 lines, and are already leaders in certain im- 

 portant things in that direction. They find 

 that Sunday-school work combines well with 

 bee-keeping. At any rate, both are success- 

 full in their devoted hands. 



A Magazisg for College Men. — " The 

 Business Side of a Great University," by 

 President Harper, of the University of Chi- 

 cago, is the opening article in the College 

 Man's Number (Oct. 12 1 of the Saturday 

 Evening Post, of Philadelphia, Pa. '■ Theo- 

 dore Roosevelt, Harvard 'SO "' is the title of 

 an entertaining paper on the President's col- 

 lege life, by his friend. Owen Wistcr. Other 

 strong features of this number are short 

 stories by Max Adeler. Jesse Lynch Williams, 

 and Frank Norris. and a page of droll " Na- 

 ture Studies," by Oliver Herford. This num- 

 ber will be of unusual interest to all college 

 men. 



Mr. N. E, Frasce, of Grant Co.. Wis., 

 when here to make the inspection referred to 

 on the previous page, of course called at our 

 office. He reports about half a crop of honey 

 in his apiaries this year. He also said that 

 there would be less foul brood if all bee-keep- 

 ers would read the bee-papers. Quite a testi- 

 monial to the value of such publications. Mr. 

 France is doing excellent work in his posi- 

 tion as inspector of apiaries, but labors under 

 many difiieulties. His jiathway will have to 

 be made easier, or he will decline to continue 

 in the work. Wisconsin bee-keepers can 

 never repay him for what he has done in 

 their interest. Neither can they find another 

 man who will be likely to do the work so 

 well, and with so little friction all around. 



" Reviewlets " from the Bee=Keepers' 

 Review. 



A BrsCH OF Grass put on top of the fuel 

 in a smoker cools the smoke, and prevents 

 the discharge of any sparks. 



Keepisi; a Record of each colony, the 

 breeding of the queen, her age. the amount 

 of honey stored, any peculiarities of the col- 

 ony, etc.. has its greatest use in enabling one 

 to select the best stock for breeding purposes. 

 Some use a book ; the only objection to a 

 book is that the leaves are likely to become 

 stuck together with propolis. " By using 

 abbreviations, a great deal of information can 

 be crowded into a small space. 



Cappisgs. at the J. B. Hall apiary, are 

 allowed to fall into a wire-cloth basket of 

 such a size that it just fits nicely into the 

 solar wax-extractor, and when the basket be- 

 comes full it is put into the extractor and 

 another used to catch the cappings. There is 

 no need of waiting for the cappings to drain 

 thoroughly, as the honey is not lost when put 

 into the solar. It is necessary, however, to 

 shade the dish in which the honey and wax 

 are caught, or the heat of the sun will dis- 

 color the honey. 



