350 



THE BEE-KEEPERS* REVIEW. 



not that I did not care to go, or thought 

 it would be no advantage to the Review, 

 but because it would prevent me from 

 catching up and getting the December 

 Review out on time. I finally decided 

 that the constant attendance of the edi- 

 tor of the Review at different bee-con- 

 ventions, for a period of two weeks, 

 would be of more benefit to its readers 

 than would promptness in getting out one 

 issue. I know that the Review has been 

 behind of late, and I regret it as much as 

 any one can ; it is very desirable to get 

 out a magazine on time — not so impor- 

 % tant as in the case of a newspaper, but 

 very desirable, nevertheless. More im- 

 portant, however, in the case of class 

 journals, like the Review, is it that they 

 furnish their readers iniDortant informa- 

 tion when they do come. That is the 

 main reason why I am going; because I 

 expect to bring home a big bundle of 

 good things, and spread them out before 

 the readers of the December, and later 

 issues, of the Review. 



*«^*».'ni'it»^^ 



HOW HONEY SHOUI^D BE LOADED ON A 

 WAGON. 



Gleanings prints a miniature specimen 

 of the caution card that they use on cases 

 of comb honey. Among other things 

 there isa "fist," or hand, and the instruc- 

 tions are to load with the finger pointing 

 to the bow, locomotive or horse. I think 

 that this is correct, but Gleanings says a 

 subscriber thinks that the finger should 

 point to the side of the dray or wagon; 

 giving, as a reason, that the wheels on 

 one side are liable to drop into a rut, giv- 

 ing a jar to the combs; and, therefore, the 

 edges of the combs should point towards 

 the wheels. Another takes the same 

 view as that taken bj' Gleanings and my- 

 self, viz., that when a wagon goes over a 

 sluiceway, or bumps against a bridge that 

 may be above the level of the road, then 

 the jar will be lengthwise of the -ttagon. 

 When a wheel goes into a rut it does not 

 usually drop in; it goes in gradually. If 

 a wheel does drop in, it goesiu alone; that 



is, both wheels on the same side do not 

 drop in at once, and the shock to the load, 

 except that portion directly over the 

 wheel, is not very great. Then there is 

 another point, and a much stronger one, 

 and that is, that the sidewise jerk from 

 the drop of a wheel is not very great. 

 The sidewise motion is slight; nearly the 

 whole motion is that of doivmvards. 

 When a vehicle is in motion, and the 

 roadbed is a little rough, there is almost 

 a constant sidewise motion, but it is not 

 severe; it is a slow motion. The forward 

 or backward jerks, as the wagon passes 

 over obstructions, are much more severe 

 than any sidewise jerk can possibly be. 

 Very little comb honey is damaged in a 

 wagon; and that little comes from 

 careless or fast driving over rough roads 

 without springs. With springs, or care- 

 ful driving, very little breakage will oc- 

 cur; and, in my opinion, the direction of 

 the combs will have little bearing upon 

 the amount broken; as nearly all of the 

 bumps are downwards. 



Broken combs are usually the result of 

 bumps received from the shunting of cars, 

 and from the careless handling of rail- 

 road employes, and I think that the cau- 

 tion cards as furnished by the Roots are 

 all right. 



THE COLOR OF WAX IS NOT EFFECTED BY 

 THE LENGTH OF" TIME IN WHICH 

 IT IS COOLED. 

 Bros. York and Hill are having a little 

 set-to in regard to the effect that the slow 

 cooling of wax will have upon its color. 

 Bro. York argues that the secret of a 

 bright yellow color in wax is that of al- 

 lowing it to cool slowly, while Bro. Hill 

 says that the length of time in which it 

 cools has nothing to do with it. The 

 trouble with Bro. York's argument, as I 

 understand him, is that he is confusing 

 purity, or freedom from dirt, with that 

 of color. That is, he assumes that the 

 dark color results from the presence of 

 dirt. I think that the following sentence 

 will bear me out in this belief. He says: 



