1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



im 



this is almost as had. in pninl of deception, as 

 the glucose fa'oricatif)ns. We feel quite certain 

 that Pi'of. Cook must he mistaken. So far, Cal- 

 ifornia honey can he produced and put upon 

 the market more cheaply than any sugar honey. 

 And now that Prof. Cook will be in that land 

 of sunshine, we hope he will see that sugar 

 honey is not practical, no matter what else he 

 may say about it. 



Wk call special attention to the article of R. 

 L. Taylor, in this number, on th(^ subject of the 

 bases of the different grades of foundation. 

 The subject is a vital one to bee-keepers; and 

 we, as manufacturers of foundation-mills, are 

 already at work to see how we can remedy the 

 trouble— namely, of thinning down the bases of 

 foundation unnecessarily thick — because it 

 seems to be a fact that bees require them to be 

 only Ti'iun of an inch thick, and that they will 

 reduce to thi> thickness if not already so. We 

 can make foundation of almost any weight; 

 but it is not so easy a matter to reduce the bases 

 of all grades of foundation to a hundredth of 

 an inch, making up the difference in weight in 

 the cell-wall. We believe we have the most 

 perfect machinery in the world for making 

 foundation-rolls, and we shall do all in our pow- 

 er to solve the problem, because it is a waste of 

 time for the bees and perhaps of material to 

 have the bases or septa too thick. 



The last consignment of imported queens to 

 Australia went through in rather bad order: in 

 fact, it was not alone the queens sent from Me- 

 dina, but those sont from various parts of the 

 United States. The complaint seems to be that 

 the candy became so soft and messy that it 

 daubed up the bees and queen too. In our own 

 case, the food was made precisely like that upon 

 which queens at other times have been sent to 

 Australia so successfully. We can not imagine 

 why the candy should have become soft, unless 

 it was from a dose of sea- water, or because of a 

 very hot climate into which tliey may have gone 

 on reaching their destination. A summer can- 

 dy, we know, must be made harder than one 

 designed for cool weather. But when queens 

 leave here at the approach of winter, when the 

 weather is very near freezing, and then finally 

 in three or four weeks more come into a climate 

 that is excessively hot. the conditions are com- 

 plicated somewhat. If we can be sure of the 

 same climate clear through, we can insure safe 

 arrival of queens. We shall try again. 



MR. I.ANGSTROTH AND MK. ROBINSON. 



We are sorry to see that C. .1. Robinson, in 

 the Anierlam Bee-keeper, is again casting re- 

 flections upon the good name of Rev. L. L. 

 Langstroth. Mr. R. brings up oh) controversies 

 that are of no particular impuriance now; and 

 even if what he says is all true he manifests a 

 jealous spirit, not to say a bad one. toward the 

 name which we as bee- keepers all over the 

 world hold in grateful remembrance. If Mr. 

 Langstroth were in health, so that he could 

 answer the imputation of what practically 

 amounts to a lie iilaced against his name, the 

 case might be different; as it is, it is in bad 

 taste. When Mr. Langstroth visited us a 

 couple of years ago he explained to us in detail 

 this whole matter. He spoke very kindly of 

 Mr. Robinson, and expressed n^gnst that he 

 (Mr. R.) should feel toward him as he did. Mr. 

 L.'s statement of the case, if it were published, 

 would quite satisfactorily explain certain dis- 

 crepancies Mr. R. places against him. It is not 

 necessary for us to go over the details, even if 

 we could remember them distinctly as given to 

 us by word of mouth, for the bee-keeping world 

 to-day is not interested in it. 



THE HABIT OF SCORCHING ON THE BICYCLE. 



Quite a number of doctors, including our 

 friend Dr. Miller, are poking fun at the fashion 

 of bicyclists in leaning over while in the saddle. 

 Most of them who condemn the practice, insist- 

 ing that this method of riding is injurious, are 

 those who are unskilled in the use or the wheel. 

 The fact is, there are extremes both ways. 

 There is such a thing as riding like a bean-pole, 

 and there is such a thing as humping the back 

 so that the rider actually looks like a monkey 

 on a stick. This last is unnecessary, and prob- 

 ably injurious; but we know from personal ex- 

 perience, and a very wide observation, that a 

 slight leaning forward of the back, keeping it 

 straight, and the shoulders back, does tend very 

 materially to add to the effort of the rider, as 

 well as to give him a better leverage in climb- 

 ing hills. Some time ago a certain doctor, who 

 said in a bicycle journal that, although he made 

 his living by his knowledge of medicine, so long 

 as he could ride further and easier by " scorch- 

 ing," he was going to do it; and that so far in 

 actual practice he could discover no Injurious 

 effi'cts. 



If. for instance, one is running or climbing 

 stairs he finds it much easier to lean over; so in 

 riding a bicycle. Most of our long runs of from 

 7.T to 100 miles per day have been done with the 

 back inclined at an angle of nearly 4.5"; and 

 having tried the perpendicular form and the 

 other, the last has given the greatest comfort. 

 Yes; but theory says this is all wrong; but 

 practice doesn't. 



'* But," you ask, "why do you take all this 

 space in a bee-journal to defend a practice that 

 is so generally condemned? Simply for the rea- 

 son that, as we expect to go among bee-keepers 

 next summer as usual, we do not want to be 

 thought foolish and idiotic for riding with the 

 back slightly inclined. 



P. S.— We have just this minute noticed that 

 A. I. R. has touched on this subject. Well, if 

 we don't agree, remember that we have ridden 

 more miles. 



BAD COMPLAINTS AGAINST ADVERTISERS; 

 HOW WE DEAL WITH 'EM. 



One of our best and most reliable commission 

 houses— one that bee-keepers have spoken of in 

 the higlaest terms— has received a bad com- 

 plaint from a bee-keeper who claims that he 

 was unjustly used. We have looked the cor- 

 respondence over, and, as nearly as we can 

 make out. the bee-keeper is himself to blame. 

 The commission house in question did more than 

 it agreed to. and still stands ready to do what- 

 ev"^' is within the bounds of reason. 



The older we grow in business experience, the 

 more we are convinced that it is not possible to 

 please everybody, or to do business always in 

 such a way that an occasional awkward and 

 bad mistake may not occur. Some of oar 

 statements have been so misconstrued by mali- 

 cious parties as to make it appear, on the face 

 of things, that we are unjust, di-honest. unre- 

 liable, and every thing else; that is bad. In 

 some cases we know the parties wlio think this 

 way of us actually feel that we are dishonest, 

 and that they have b.^en greatly wronged, when, 

 if th(!ykuew the fads, they would think very 

 differently, even though they might not be will- 

 ing to acknowledge it. 



So, then, when we receive a bitter complaint 

 like th(! one referred to. relative to some one of 

 our advertisers, it is not our custom to jump at 

 conclusions, and publish the party, but simply 

 present the facts as they have been presented to 

 us, and let him give his side. In nine cases out 

 of ten the whole complexion of the matter is 

 changed when we know both sides. So we say 



