May, 1908. 



American Vae Journal 



enough to be detected with the naked eye, 

 if the vinegar is placed in a very thin 

 bottle or vial in a strong light. This 

 eel is not to be found ni vinegar made 

 by the distillation of wood, or in any 

 other of the unhealthy and dangerous 

 substitutes sold for vinegar, bo those 

 of my lady readers who may shudder 

 at the idea of swallowing alive a num- 

 ber of eels in salad will rest assured 

 that it is better to use viiie?ar contain- 

 ing these live "fishes" than the other 

 kind, unless perchance it has been pre- 

 pared according to Pasteur's methods. 



This anguillula is, by Pasteur, consid- 

 ered as another vinegar disease, because 

 they absorb the oxygen and prevent the 

 further acetification of vinegar. 



The next disease is the formation of 

 the "vinegar-mother," a gelatinous, vis- 

 cous substance formed out of the vine- 

 gar, and which continues to grow as the 

 vinegar gets older. 



Yet in spite of all these diseases, good 

 vinegar, well bunged after it is formed, 

 may be kept for years. It is said that 

 in certain countries, especially in the 

 wine-producing regions, vinegar is kept 

 good for half a century. It must be 

 borne in mind that vinegar was orig- 

 inally made of sour wine only — "vin- 

 aigree" shortened into "vinaigrc." The 

 vinegar made of honey has the advan- 

 tage of being almost colorless, and of 

 not retaining the peculiar flavor of ap- 

 ples or grapes which that made of these 

 fruits plainly exhibits. 



But how are we to prevent the ex- 

 istence of all these diseases? In the 

 first place, as mentioned in a previous 

 article, the vinegar must be properly 

 made, by using the proper quantity of 

 honey and permitting it to ferment thor- 

 oughly, changing first into alcohol, then 

 into vinegar. After the vinegar is thor- 

 oughly made, Pasteur indicates a very 

 simple method to prevent any further 

 changes. It is the same as indicated by 

 him to prevent the souring or decaying 

 of wines — heat. Since all changes are 

 due to the formation of different 

 growths or living animalcules or plants, 

 it is only necesary to kill those living 

 germs whether vegetable or animal, to 

 secure an unchangeable liquid, provided 

 the air is excluded. This is a condi- 

 tion sine qua non of success, for the air 

 is the vehicle in which all these germs 

 are transported. 



A temperature of 130 to 150 dgerees 

 is said to be sufficient to destroy all 

 germs of vinegar disease. The vinegar 

 thus treated may be allowed to settle, 

 and after a few weeks draw off the 

 lees, which is composed of the murdered 

 eels and sterilized fungi. The vinegar 

 will then assume a "reat limpidity and 

 will keep for years. 



In the heating of wines and vinegar, 

 "pasteurizing" is done in closed vessels, 

 especially with wines from which the 

 alcohol would first evaporate, being more 

 volatile than water. In vinegar the heat 

 in closed vessels is less necessary, be- 

 cause acetic acid does not evaporate as 

 readily as water. But more or less of it 

 and of the essential oils will evaporate, 

 which will be readily noticed by the 

 pungent odor escaping from heated vine- 

 gar. "For that reason it is advisable to 

 keep the vessels closed as much as pos- 

 sible, and to apply heat oidy long enough 

 to warm the mass thoroughly at the 

 temperature indicated. 



If the vinegar is too weak and needs 

 concentrating, it is better to use cold 

 than heat. If it is exposed to a tem- 

 perature below 32 and above 20 degrees, 

 some of the water will congeal and will 

 show itself in the shape of small crys- 

 tals, which may be removed by filtering 

 through a cloth. The acid portion of 

 the vinegar is thus rid of a portion of 

 its water. The acid itself would con- 

 geal, it is said, if a temperature as low 

 as 14 degrees should be reached. 



Iron-bound barrels are not desirable 

 for vinegar unless they are made of 

 very strong and sound staves. The least 



leak which will permit the vinegar to 

 escape will cause the hoops to rust, for 

 its action is as damaging to iron as that 

 of salt. A good article of vinegar which 

 it is intended to keep had best be bottled, 

 to keep pernicious influences away. 



Good, well-made honey-vinegar should 

 not be sold at a low price. Each fam- 

 ily uses but a very limited amount of 

 vinegar each year, and well-to-do peo- 

 ple willingly pay from 30 to 50 cents per 

 gallon when they know that they are get- 

 ting a good, clean and healthy article, 

 free from deleterious substances. 



Hamilton, 111. 



V^' 



convent ion i^M 

 ' Proceed Inds 



Report of Michigan Convention. 



Pres. W. Z. Hutchinson, opened the 

 convention in the City Hall, Saginaw, 

 promptly at 8 p. m., Dec. 18, 1907. 



The attendance was not large, but a 

 considerable number were added during 

 the second day. 



Pres. Hutchinson spoke of the expec- 

 tation that the National Bee-Keepers' 

 Association would meet in Detroit for 

 its next convention. Detroit had giv- 

 en way last year for Harrisburg, Pa., 

 and he said, as also had Pres. Geo. E. 

 Hilton, that the convention would be 

 sure to be held at Detroit. Upon res- 

 olution it was decided to hold the next 

 State Convention in connection with the 

 National. A very hopeful tone was mani- 

 fested, and if the expectation of those 

 who should be in a position to know, is 

 realized, there ought to be the largest 

 turnout at Detroit the National has had 

 for many years. 



EXPERIMENTS IN BEE-liEEPING. 



R. F. Holtermann, of Brantford, On- 

 tario, in his address on "Co-operative 

 Experiments in Bee-Keeping," pointed 

 to the growth of co-operation in the 

 Ontario Agricultural and Experimental 

 Union of Ontario, which now had over 

 7,000 experimenters. It had attracted 

 the attention of the leading spirits in 

 progressive agriculture in the United 

 States and Europe, and similar organiza- 

 tions were being formed in those coun- 

 tries. Bee-keepers required something 

 to unite them in interests, and to teach 

 them to observe and come to proper 

 conclusions as to cause and effect. 

 Messrs. L. A. Aspinwall, R. L. Taylor, 

 Geo. E. Hilton, E. E. Coveyou, and 

 others, favored immediate action, and 

 upon the suggestion of Mr. Taylor, it 

 was decided to conduct the following ex- 

 periment during the following season, 

 with Elmore M. Hunt, Redford, Mich., 

 as chairman of the committee, and all 

 wishing to co-operate in this work should 

 write to him. 



A test is to be made as to the effect 



of a double instead of a single bee-space 

 between the last row of sections and the 

 side of the hive, and to raise the front of 

 tlie hive % of an inch from the bottom- 

 board, the brood-chamber closing the 

 opening thus made. It had been stated 

 in the convention that such action would 

 cause the sections next the side of the 

 hive to be filled and capped as soon as 

 the central ones. More bees were thrown 

 between the section and hive, and a larg- 

 er proportion would go up the side of 

 the hive and enter the super from the 

 side, as they could not so readily reach 

 the bottom of the central combs. In 

 response to a question, Mr. Aspinwall, 

 known to be a very careful and thor- 

 ough investigator, said he discovered 

 that the old bees were not found in the 

 sections, and that more bees with old, 

 frayed wings were found as one ex- 

 amined the cluster towards the bottom of 

 the hive. The field-bees no doubt gave 

 the nectar to the younger bees, and oc- 

 casionally one can see bees with their 

 mandibles open and another bee receiv- 

 ing, so there was clearly a transfer tak- 

 ing place. When the brood-chamber was 

 crowded, where was the honey put ex- 

 cept in the supers? and there only 

 young bees were found. 



EXTRACTING HONEV. 



Mr. Coveyou pointed out the import- 

 ance of experiments in the extraction 

 of honey, such as the best speed at 

 which a honey-extractor should run. 

 The work in this direction was haphaz- 

 ard. Bee-keepers should find out the best 

 method of extracting, and the best ma- 

 chine, and then demand it from the 

 supply-dealer. The best temperature at 

 which to extract should be discovered, 

 the success of the work being gauged 

 by the revolutions and the weight of 

 honey left in the comb when through. 

 Mr. Coveyou used the Holtermann 

 strainer in his extractor, and he wanted 

 a test made of the best temperature at 

 which to strain. Mr. Coveyou, instead 

 of using a blue-flame oil-stove under the 

 extractor bottom when the honey was 

 too cold and thick to strain rapidly, as 



