742 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1. 



grocers and holders of honey come to realize 

 that cold temperature injures honey, many of 

 them will not keep their stock of honey in the 

 coldest part of a store, and. in many cases, in 

 their ice-boxes, under the false idea that honey 

 must be kept cool. H. R. Wright. 



Albany, N. Y., Sept. 21. 



[Good extracted honey, if brought to a tem- 

 perature of not over 180° Fahrenheit, bottled 

 and sealed ivhile hot, will usually, if kept in a 

 uniformly warm temperature, keep liquid for a 

 year or more. Indeed, we had some fine clover 

 honey, treated in this way, keep liquid for two 

 years. But there is a great difference in honey. 

 Some will candy much quicker than others. 

 The riper — that is. thicker — the honey is, the 

 longer it will keep liquid. 



Cold atmosphere is quite favorable to candy- 

 ing of both extracted and comb. 



The temperature of the storage-room should 

 be about that of a living-room— 70°. Higher 

 would do no harm, but is inconvenient and ex- 

 pensive. 



Cellars and cold rooms, especially when sub- 

 ject to freezing, are poor places for honey. 



In melting candied extracted honey, the tem- 

 perature should not go above 180°, otherwise 

 the fine flavor will in a large measure be de- 

 stroyed. The usual way is, to place the vessel 

 of candied honey in another larger receptacle 

 containing hot water. — Ed.] 



THAT HIVE DISCUSSION — WHY IT SHOULD BE 

 CONTINUED. 



Last number of Gleanings is at hand, with 

 intimation that the discussion concerning big 

 and small hives ought to cease, because it is a 

 matter of locality. I have also received a pri- 

 vate letter from a prominent bee-keeper ex- 

 pressing the same opinion. Now, right here I 

 want to enter the vei^y biggest kind of a protest 

 — that, precisely because it is a matter of local- 

 ity, it ought be fully discussed. We ought to 

 ascertain in what localities and for what kind 

 of honey-flows large-sized brood -nests give the 

 best results, and where and under what circum- 

 stances small brood-nests are best. Methods of 

 managements are to be taken into considera- 

 tion, as the management in any given case 

 must vary with the kind of hive employed. 



Adrian Getaz. 



Knoxville, Tenn., Sept. 20, 1895. 



[As we have received a good many letters of 

 similar import, and only one protest against the 

 hive discussion, we will hold our columns open 

 for a while longer. The question, I think, is 

 indeed an important one. and personally I 

 should be very sorry to have it stopped now — 

 just on the eve of getting, as I think, a few 

 more pointers and a better understanding of 

 what localUy has to do with it.— Ed.] 



THAT HIVE DI.SCUSSION. 



Keep up the discussion about the size of hives. 

 I have tried from one up to twenty frames, and 

 prefer ten to either more or less. I may tell 

 you the reason why, later, if you care to know. 



West Lodi, O., Sept. 5. J as. Bolin. 



[Yes, by all means let us know.— Ed.] 



THAT NICE HONEY OF YORK'S ; IS IT FROM THE 

 ROSE OF SHARON? 



In reading Gleanings for Aug. 15, page 637, 

 I see that you have had a visit from Mr. York; 

 and the description of his honey exactly an- 

 swers mine; and as I had been trying my best 

 to find out its source, I thought I would write 

 you to say that the only possible source seemed 

 to be the " rose of Sharon." My apiary (three 

 hives) in our place is in a well-built-up town; 

 but as the rose of Sharon is a pretty flower, 

 nearly every yard has one or two trees of it. 



If the tree named grows in near Chicago, Mr. 

 York will undoubtedly find it the source of his 

 honey. Perhaps I should mention that there 

 are two kinds of the flower^the single and 

 double; and while I could never find a single 

 honey-bee on the single-flowered bushes, they 

 fairly swarmed on the double, both red and 

 white. The honey I have looks almost black in 

 the comb; but when held up to the light it 

 looks quite light. 



Have taken 50 lbs. of comb honey from my 

 hives this year, 2 colonies spring count, the 

 most of it being this rose of Sharon, and the 

 rest about 15 lbs., being basswood. Fall flowers 

 are in full bloom, giving plenty for winter, and 

 perhaps a little surplus. E. Loizeaux. 



Plainfield, N. J., Sept. 10. 



[I don't know whether Mr. York has the rose 

 of Sharon in the vicinity of his bees or not. The 

 only way to prove whether the honeys are one 

 and the same is to exchange samples. — Ed.] 



square IRON TANKS OF LARGE CAPACITY FOR 

 HONEY- STORAGE IN AUSTRALIA. 



A few months ago I read some articles in 

 Gleanings about the fitness or otherwise of 

 galvanized-iron tanks for storing honey, such 

 tanks being principally used in California by 

 large honey-producers; but I haven't seen any- 

 body recommending the tanks I use. The 

 tanks I have for honey-storing are square iron 

 tanks, made of stout iron plates, the seams 

 closely riveted, very strong, and painted red 

 outside. These tanks are used on board ships 

 for holding water, and are also sent out to Aus- 

 tralia filled with groceries, but principally with 

 malt for the breweries. They hold 200 to 400 

 imperial gallons, equal to 3000 and 6000 pounds 

 of honey. 



I have at present eleven of those tanks in use 

 — six of 6000 capacity, and five of 3000; three of 

 them for over eight years in use, and they give 

 every satisfaction. vSome have had honey in 

 them for 3 or 4 years. Before using I clean them 

 well, and wax inside. Fl. Petersen. 



Wattle Flat, N. S. W., Australia, July 25. 



[If I understand you, these tanks are of plain 

 iron — i. e., ungalvanized. Such tanks, especial- 

 ly if waxed inside, would no doubt give good 

 service; but they would be rather expensive. 

 Plain iron, if painted on the outside, would be 

 just as good, and perhaps better, than tne zinc- 



