350 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 1. 



if you have a smaller nunibei', and all strong, 

 then the danger is less, especially if you follow 

 the wise rule of determining that, the later in 

 the season you start a nucleus, the stronger it 

 must be. 



I think it is a fact, although I am not sure 

 that it is generally known, that queenless bees, 

 perhaps more particularly those that are en- 

 gaged in rearing queen-cells, are much more 

 inclined to stay wherever they are put than 

 bees taken from a colony having a laying queen. 



Another fact that I think is not generally 

 known, is, that, when part of the bees of a col- 

 ony become sufficiently detached from the main 

 body, and yet have free communication with it, 

 such bees, in the busy season, are very likely to 

 raise a young queen, independently of any 

 thought of swarming. It doesn't seem to mat- 

 ter much how the separation be made, whether 

 by having one or two brood-combs above, be- 

 low, or to one side of the regular brood -nest, 

 separated by a queen-excluder from it, or in 

 some cases separated merely by sufficient dis- 

 tance. The bees seem to feel themselves prac- 

 tically queenless, in spite of the fact that they 

 can easily go where they can tind the old queen. 

 Now, in such cases I have taken the frame or 

 two of brood with adhering bees, a day or two 

 before I thought it was time for the young 

 queen to hatch, and have been very successful 

 in getting them to stay wherever put. 



Marengo, 111. C. C. Miller. 



THE EVILS OF GLUCOSE ADULTERATIONS. 



PKOF. COOK DEFINES HIS TRUE POSITION. 



said nothing to give such an impression. I 

 argued with all the force I could exert to the 

 exact contrary. I shall ever do so, unless I 

 have reason to change my opinion as to such 

 products which is not at all probable. 

 Ag'l College, Mich., A pill lU. A. J. Cook. 



[We are very glad to receive this, inasmuch 

 as we know that I'l'of. Cook has been in some 

 quarters misunderstood; and we hope it will 

 be the means of correcting any false impres- 

 sions that may prevail, either at home or 

 abroad. A brief convention report can not well 

 give all that a speaker has said, and hence he 

 may be misunderstood, as was Prof. Cook. We 

 have had quite extensive correspondence with 

 the professor of late, and know that, if there is 

 any thing above another to which he is un- 

 flinchingly opposed, it is the mixing of glucose 

 with honey. He is in a position to know, as 

 well as ourselves, that there is no glucose on 

 the market that will in any way add to the 

 selling qualities of the honey, either in looks or 

 taste. So small an amount as 2.5 per cent will 

 ruin miy honey; and there is nothing in the 

 world that will set a going " the everlasting 

 clack about adulteration " as quickly as will 

 these glucose mixtures. People are suspicious, 

 and have a right to be, when such goods are 

 placed before them. The mixers must be fer- 

 reted out and exposed.] 



Heads of Grain 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS. 



Editor Qleanmgs: — It seems strange that, 

 after one has fought and denounced honey 

 adulteration for years, people should be ready 

 to believe him its defender, upon the slightest 

 suggestion. At our late Michigan convention, 

 Mr. Heddon did defend the adulteration of 

 honey with glucose. He argued that such 

 glucose made it look better and taste better. I 

 took the opposite of both these assertions. I 

 am very certain that glucose adulteration, the 

 only kind practiced, I think, is very harmful. I 

 can tell such honey if only one-fourth is glu- 

 cose, and it leaves such a metallic taste in my 

 mouth, that, were I to use it for a little, I 

 should have an aversion to honey. I not only 

 held this as true at our own meeting, but at 

 no small trouble I prepared specimens, using 

 the best of honey. The judges, as I expected, 

 had no trouble to select the adulterated speci- 

 mens. Thus I say now, as I said then and have 

 always said, such adulteration is most harm- 

 ful; and if the product is sold as honey it is a 

 rank fraud andjmost harmful imposture, and I 

 think it should be severely punished by both 

 tine and imprisonment; especially for a second 

 offense. I said at our meeting, that, if it were 

 true that glucose did improve honey— really 

 makes it better — then I should never condemn 

 it more— of course, I wouldn't. I should be a 

 fool if I did. I would always praise, not con- 

 demn, an improvement. In this case I would 

 condemn selling it for pure honey. But no one 

 would; they would wish its own brand — the 

 index of superiority — to help to sell it. But 

 this is not to the purpose, as glucose injures 

 honey, and will seriously interfere with the 

 market if indulged in. Of this I have not a 

 doubt. 



I write this as I do not wish to be misrepre- 

 sented, either at home or abroad. It is bad 

 enough, right at home, where one is known; 

 but it is harder to have the foreign papers so 

 misinformed. It has been a great surprise to 

 me that my position was so misunderstood. I 



DAI) ANT ON HONEY -DEW. 



In a small article, on page 266, our friend 

 Henry J. Alvis says that we told him that bees 

 would winter on honey-dew. We can not ex- 

 plain how he understood what we may have 

 said. If he will open our book, page 330, he will 

 see that we consider honey-dew as worse than 

 dark honey for wintering. Besides, in the in- 

 structions to beginners, contained in our circu- 

 lar, and which have been sent to him for years, 

 he can read that honey-dew and fruit- juice are 

 bad winter food, and should be extracted from 

 the combs. Chas. Dadant & Son. 



Hamilton, 111. 



an appeal T(» INDIANA BEEKEEPERS; 

 world's COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. 



Indiana State Building, Jackson Park, 

 Chicago, III., April 22. 



Blfteen feet of show-case, .5x7 feet, has been 

 purchased for the State honey exhibit at the 

 World's Fair. Will you furnish from your 

 apiary any portion of this exhibit? It now 

 remains with the bee-keepers of this State to 

 see to it that this space is well and appropri- 

 ately tilled; and we fully believe that your 

 State pride, with our abundant resources, will 

 prove you fully equal to the undertaking. 



Mr. Sylvester Johnson, well known among 

 the bee-keepers of this State, has kindly con- 

 sented to look afttT the Indiana exhibit. He 

 will be at the Fair Grounds throughout the 

 time of the exhibit, and will do all in his power 

 to see that exhibits are properly arranged. 



We are depending entirely on this year's 

 product, and consignments can be made in July. 

 Plan your exhibit to occupy a space 2>^ feet 

 square and 5 feet high; pack carefully, and 

 ship by freight to B. F. Havens, Dep't A, Ag- 

 ricultural Building, Jackson Park, Chicago, 

 111. Freight must be prepaid, and at the close 

 of the exposition the goods will be returned to 

 your shipping-point free of charge. No cash 



