1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



21 



sand flowers they have taught me lessons of 

 patience and faithfulness. 

 Westfield, Pa., Sept. 10. 



POISONOUS COMB HONEY. 



BY GEO. M. LORD. 



Mr. Root: — Will you kindly tell me what 

 there can be in honey to make it poisonous? 

 Some days ago I took a swarm of bees from 

 the eaves of a neighbor's house. There was 

 about 75 lbs. of apparently fine white-clover 

 honey, most of it in new comb, which had 

 never been used for brood. All of the hon- 

 ey was stored this year, as the swarm came 

 from my yard in May. At least four times I 

 have attempted to eat some of it; but each 

 time within twenty minutes I have been 

 taken with severe cramps and nausea. Oth- 

 ers to whom I have given the honey have 

 experienced a like result. 



f find after the honey has been extracted 

 by melting on the stove it loses its poisonous 

 quality. Whether due to the heat used or to 

 the absence of the comb I can not say. 



Although the party from whose roof I got 

 the honey sold and gave away about fifty 

 pounds to at least a dozen different people, 

 yet there were only two besides myself who 

 suffered any ill effects. 



Wells, Me., Nov. 2. 



[We asked our correspondent to send us a 

 sample of this suspicious honey; but after 

 eating quite a little of it we experienced no 

 very bad result with the exception of a slight 

 "gnawing" sensation. Others who tasted 

 the honey could detect nothing wrong. We 

 finally sent the sample to our chemist, W. 

 A. Selser, knowing that he could probably 

 find the trouble, if any. His interesting re- 

 ply follows. — Ed.] 



Mr. Geo. M. Lord:— I have put the sample 

 through my laboratory, and just completed 

 the analysis. I find this is absolutely pure, 

 and there is absolutely no poison whatever 

 in the liquid honey. There is a good amount 

 of sucrose, but not above the normal quanti- 

 ty allowed. So I should report it a pure 

 sample in every way. 



Wnile there was not sufficient wax to give 

 as complete an analysis as I should like, after 

 separating, washing, and cleaning it from the 

 honey and residue I saw what I would call 

 traces of vegetable poisoning, but in very 

 small amounts — not large enough to deter- 

 mine the quantity. 



I had a sample which I think was analogous 

 to this about fifteen years ago, and probably 

 a few remarks about it may be helpful to 

 you. A case of violent cramp and poison- 

 ing, where several parties were stricken 

 down and kept in bed from one to three 

 days, was reported to me in Trenton, N. J. 

 —said to be tne result of eating comb honey. 

 I immediately went to Trenton, and, after 

 following up several clues, found the honey 

 was from near Hammonton, N. J. I also 

 found upon investigation that the trouble 



was caused by the wax, not the honey itself. 

 After driving for miles through the country 

 surrounding Hammonton, on inquiring of 

 the different bee-keepers I found this hon- 

 ey had come from one source. It was gath- 

 ered in the lowlands at a time when the oees 

 were working on a plant somewhat similar 

 to our mountain laurel. Honey gathered 

 from the same location, although possibly 

 not exactly from the same source or under 

 the same conditions, has been sold and con- 

 sumed since without giving any trouble. 

 The a. I. Root Co., 



Wm. A. Selser, Man'r. 

 Philadelphia, Nov. 29. 



COTTON AS A HONEY-PLANT. 



A Fall Crop Produces More Honey than 

 That Grown at the Regular Time. 



BY D. P. HUNT. 



Noticing the enquiry of D. D. Stover and 

 your reply thereto, Nov. 1, page 676, I will 

 say that to-day, Nov. 11, the bees are getting 

 honey from cotton as fast as I have ever seen 

 them gather it from any source. It is water- 

 white and of fine flavor. About ten days 

 ago I discovered my bees were busy, and 

 going south from town. On investigating I 

 found they were going to some cotton-fields 

 about l}( miles distant, where there had 

 been some pretty good showers during the 

 latter part of August and first of September, 

 sufficient to cause a rank second growth, and 

 it was covered with bloom. I came back 

 and moved one load down there, and set 

 them out right in the field, and will carry 

 another load to-night. 



I have kept bees some 20 years; but being 

 a druggist I have had very little time to de- 

 vote to any thing else; but having lost my 

 store by fire last year I purchased some more 

 bees and have become quite a bee crank. 

 Last season, 1908, was the best I have ever 

 seen; this season was the worst. Up to Aug. 

 20 we had hardly rain sufficient to lay the 

 dust. All crops and even the weeds failed 

 to grow; but cotton will stand until frost; 

 and if it gets rain in the fall it will grow fast. 

 I believe the fall bloom will yield more nec- 

 tar than it does at its usual blooming time 

 which is from May to July, as the long hot 

 days seem to dry up the secretions, and, as 

 a general thing, there is an abundance of 

 other bloom during those months in this lo- 

 cality, and it would be difficult to say that 

 you had any real cotton honey. 



But there is no mistake about it in the 

 fall, for there is absolutely nothing else to 

 work on. I have watched the bees at work 

 on it for hours. During the last few days 

 they do not seem to care much about the in- 

 side of the bloom, but prefer the nectar- 

 glands at the base of the corolla, and outside, 

 also, on the buds or "squares." 



There has been a great dearth of pollen all 

 the season, and the bees are in great need 

 of it. They are searching far and near for 



