186 



June, 1913. 



American Hee Journal 



^^^^ 1 



tific examination has usually proven 

 inadequate to find it. In other words, 

 those germs of bacilli, which are en- 

 th-ely harmless to man, are so infre- 

 quent in contaminated honey that a 

 microscopic examination usually fails 

 to detect them. But they are situated 

 in the most favorable condition for de- 

 velopment in the stomach of the larvje. 



Aside from the dangers arising, 

 through the wasting of honey and 

 other foods, is it not time for our civi- 

 lization to take notice of the wanton 

 loss which has thus far been considered 

 fashionable and proper ? 



We dare say that, our country 

 through, from one-tenth to one-fifth of 

 all the food served upon our tables 

 finds its way to the dung heap, un- 

 tasted. Think of wasting Hi to 20 per- 

 cent of your food ! How long would 

 this amount support you in your old 

 age ? 



This habit is not confined to the 

 wealthy and well-to-do, but is notice- 

 able even among the wage-workers, 

 though in less degree. Neither is this 

 of any benefit to the house-keeper, for 

 she has to prepare so much more food^ 

 and after each meal has an ugly mess 

 to clean up, made of a mixture of the 

 neatest and finest morsels that she has 

 artistically prepared. Aside from the 

 high cost of living created by such an 

 untidy habit, this alone ought to urge 

 us to stop it. 



Wiscousiu aud Iowa Goiug For- 

 ward 



Mr. Frank C. Pellett writes us that a 

 bill appropriating J1500 for bee inspec- 

 tion has passed both houses of the 

 Iowa Legislature. The State Fair As- 

 sociation has also made a move forward 

 by raising the amount of premiums on 

 hive products 40 percent for the com- 

 ing fair. 



Mr. N. E. France writes that a new 

 Wisconsin foul brood law has also 

 been enacted. This places an annual 

 sum of f2000 at the disposal of the 

 State Inspector, who may appoint depu- 

 ties. His salary is not to exceed $5 per 

 day when actually engaged in inspec- 

 tion work. 



The above-named gentlemen are un- 

 derstood by us to be inspectors for 

 those States. 



Moisture in Xectar 



The statement made on page 92, that 

 when first gathered nectar rarely con- 

 tains more than 25 percent of mois- 

 ture, and usually much less, is consid- 

 ered by some of our readers as incor- 

 rect. There appears to be more differ- 

 ence of opinion on this subject than 



on almost any other upon which the 

 average bee-keeper cannot make a posi- 

 tive test. The United States pure food 

 laws allow that amount of water in 

 pure honey, and nectar in this and 

 other countries is often found to con- 

 tain 75 percent of moisture. 



However, let us take notice that the 

 amount of water in nectar depends, 

 not only upon the kind of bloom from 

 which this nectar is gathered, but upon 

 the soil, the amount of moisture in the 

 ground, and the hygrometric condi- 

 tion of the atmosphere at the time. 

 Some scientific apiarists of the Euro- 

 pean continent, of the kind which one 

 of our contemporaries calls " apicul- 

 teurs en chambre " (theoretical apia- 

 rists), have tried to give an exact figure 

 as to the proportion of water in nec- 

 tar. They might as well try to give an 

 exact figure as to the proportion of 

 water in the milk of cows. Our clover 

 and basswood nectars contain \ery 

 large amounts of water. Fall flowers 

 contain less. Some of the crops of 

 heather in Europe produce nectar so 

 thick that it is extracted with difficulty. 

 Perhaps, Mr. Isaac Hopkins, who wrote 

 the statement criticized, lives in a very 

 dry climate. This might explain his 

 statement. It is safe to say, however, 

 that in the majority of instances, honey 

 freshly harvested contains much more 

 than 25 percent of water. But to give 

 a definite quantity as an average is an 

 impossibility. 



Here is a question on which we 

 would like an answer: We are told 

 that there is a considerable difference 

 in the amount of water contained in 

 different samples of nectar, and we 

 know that some honeys are much 

 thicker than others. Now is there any 

 definite relation between the water in 

 nectar in any particular case and the 

 water in the honey derived from that 

 same nectar ? If A's bees gather nec- 

 tar containing 20 percent more water 

 than is contained in nectar gathered 

 by B's bees, then will A's honey con- 

 tain 20 percent more water than B's 

 honey? Or, supposing white clover in 

 each case, will evaporation continue 

 until the honey is of the same density 

 in each case ? 



Mr. Anderson's assertion. Youn 

 queens which have been confined to 

 their cells by the bees are verj' lively, 

 and when freed are exceedingly eager 

 to destroy other queen-cells. 



Young Queens Destroying- Queen 

 Cells 



In L'Apicoltore Moderno, Miss 

 Fleischman criticises the statement 

 made by J. Anderson in the British 

 Bee Journal, that young queens, newly 

 born, destroy other queen-cells. She 

 has never seen this take place, although 

 she has often watched them. We can, 

 however, vouch for the correctness of 



Be True 



It never pays to misrepresent. If we 

 are found in a misstatement of facts or 

 a gilding of our goods by putting our 

 best in sight and hiding the poorest be- 

 hind, we are sure to be found out and 

 to lose the good opinion of others as 

 well as our own self-respect, which 

 suffers even when our falsehood pre" 

 vails. 



The advertiser should place his offers 

 in as good a light as possible, but he 

 should "stick to the truth." The aver- 

 age bee-keeper does not seek " gold 

 bricks." Fakes are usually distasteful 

 to him. Straight goods and straight 

 talk are what he wants and what he 

 should give. We will all be the better 

 for it. 



What Should a Beginner Buy? 



This question is asked by a novice 

 in bee-culture. 



We have always considered it possi- 

 ble and advisable to begin bee-culture 

 on a very small scale. Perhaps it was 

 because we began it with exceedingly 

 limited means; perhaps also because at 

 that time most of the modern imple- 

 ments had not yet been invented. 



The most important and most val- 

 uable part of the outfit is the colony of 

 bees. One ought to have two if pos- 

 sible, because if an accident happens 

 to a single colony, one might e.xperi- 

 ence failure and become permanently 

 discouraged. 



The novice should, therefore, begin 

 with not less than two colonies. Ital- 

 ian bees, in good, movable-frame 

 hives. The quality is important. In 

 addition to those, the only indispensa- 

 ble articles are: a veil, a bee-smoker, a 

 hive-tool, some good beginner's book, 

 and two or more empty hives, with an 

 extra super for each and comb foun- 

 dation. The quality of the articles 

 aside from the hives and the bees, is of 

 little moment. When the apiarist gets 

 a little farther along, he will get better 

 ones. The extractor, honey-knife, bee- 

 escape, etc., will be needed later. If 

 the man makes mistakes at first, as we 

 all do, he will feel thankful that he has 

 not been induced to invest largely. If 

 he succeeds, as he will sooner or later 

 if he perseveres, he will soon learn 

 what he needs. Let the bees pay for it. 

 The elder Dadant often said that after 

 tht first bees were secured by him, he 

 never spent anything for them, in cash. 



