1896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



99 



The author of "Canadian r?i>edom." in the 

 Amerwan Bee Journal, p. 793. gots mail be- 

 cause North Aniorica is not in Canada, accord- 

 ing to the new constitution of the North Amer- 

 ican Hee-keopers' Union. Listen to him: 



Rut what most concerns Canadian beedom is the 

 entire absence of all recognition of Canada, except 

 so far as it is part of North America, in this re- 

 spect it is only on a parallel wiili Mexico. The con- 

 stitution of the old association di^tinftly said: 

 "This organization shall be known ai 'The North 

 American Bee-keepers' Association,' and shall in- 

 clude in its territory all of the United States and 

 Canada." All this has been struck out. There 

 were three Canadians on the committee who do not 

 appear to have objected to their country being- 

 dropped in silence. They will have a chance to ex- 

 phiin Hnd defend themselves at the annual meeting- 

 of tlie Ontario Bee-keepers' Association, in January. 



No: ho kicks because Canada Is not in North 

 America. Just listen to — 



ARTICLE I.— Name. 



This organization shall be known as the " North 

 American Bee-keepers' Union," and shall hold 

 meeting's annually at such time and place as may 

 be designated by the Board of Directors, due notice 

 being mailed to all members at least 60 days previ- 

 ously, and published in the bee-periodicals of the 

 United States and Canada. 



And I kick because the United States Is not 

 in North America, and because of the entire 

 absence of all recognition of the United States, 

 only so far as it is a part of North America. 

 We both kick, on the same ground, individually, 

 collectively, and all together. We stand erect 

 on our hind feet, with our bristles up, and de- 

 mand justice. 



I am glad that the three members of that 

 committee will have to answer for their crime 

 to the Ontario convention. But the four Amer- 

 ican members will have a tough time answer- 

 ing to me for permitting "their country to be 

 dropped in silence." Friend Beedom, both the 

 United States and Canada are treated exactly 

 alike. 



I see that Prof. Wiley has given to the world 

 another "scientific pleasantry." He was the 

 author of what the American Bee Journal, in 

 the days of Thos. G. Newman, stigmatized, 

 very justly, as the " Wiley lie." After letting 

 it run for years through the papers of Europe 

 and America he explained it by saying it was 

 a "scientific pleasantry." Now he says that 

 " honey is cheap because much of it that is sold 

 is nothing but molasses." "Great men are not 

 always wise." Is comb honey nothing but 

 molasses? It is also as low, in proportion, as 

 extracted. 



Dr. G. P. Hachenberg. in the American Bee 

 Journal, after having covered his kitchen floor 

 with a carpet of boiling wax, and nearly burned 

 down his house, was driven out by the women, 

 and compelled to resort to invention. Served 

 him right. Any person who resorts to a kitchen 

 stove to render wax deserves all he gets. Three 

 rocks and a kettle, off a distance from the 

 house, is the place to render out wax in that 

 way. He says, "I tried fire, hot air, steam, 

 and the sun process, but with little satisfaction. 

 The extracting was either too slow and waste- 



ful, or proved damaging to the wax." Does he 

 mean by the "sun process" that he tried the 

 solar extractor"? No. He mu<t mean some 

 other sun process; for further on he says: 



Some philanthropic bee-man may suggest to me 

 to use the wax-extractor. I know nothing about 

 that machine, but I know enough about the adhe- 

 siveness and gummiflcation of beeswax, on a philo- 

 sophic theory, to believe that it can not be thor- 

 ouurhly and economically rendered by machinery. 

 If it had the nature of pure oil or water, I should 

 not have these pessimistic views about it. 



It will be clearly seen that he is unacquainted 

 with the solar extractor, and yet he knows 

 enough on "philosophic theory" to know that 

 it won't work, and that " the wax can not be 

 rendered out thoroughly and economically." 

 He doesn't believe in it, because he evidently 

 never saw one, and because it is a "machine." 

 If he had seen some of the great solar extractors 

 that were here 15 or 20 years ago— 20 to 25 feet 

 long and (> to 8 feet wide — he would have open- 

 ed his eyes. They were built principally for 

 extracting honey — wax was a secondary con- 

 sideration. This was before the revolving ex- 

 tractor made its way to this coast. They were 

 generally built so the pipe would run into the 

 honey-house. The most popular shape was a 

 half-octagon. A strong rark was fitted in — 

 about a third of the way from the top — that 

 rested on the sides of the extractor. Then this 

 rack was covered with clean sacking, and the 

 honey piled in, frames and all, just as they 

 came from the hive. Of course, the whole in- 

 side of the extractor was bright tin, and it was 

 covered with glass. They would extract from 

 1000 to 1500 pounds of honey per day. But 

 when old comb was to be rendered out they put 

 water in the extractor so as to keep the wax 

 above the faucet, or gate, and greased the sides 

 of the extractor, above the water, as high up as 

 they thought the wax would come. In this 

 way there was no " stickiness," " adhesiveness," 

 nor " gummiflcation." 



Now, after the doctor stopped running he 

 resorted to invention. He invented a can in a 

 pot of water. He also " invented " a piece of 

 wire cloth to go down on top of the combs 

 which are in the can, or ought to be there. 

 Also he "did invent" two iron rods attached to 

 the wire screen, coming high up above the can, 

 and joined at top to hang a flatiron on for a 

 weight. The doctor is opposed to machinery, 

 and that is the reason he has kept so closely to 

 the old plan of a big kettle, a sack of combs, 

 and three rocks to hold it down, for his machine 

 is absolutely that and nothing more. But after 

 all his tribulation, his conflagration, and his 

 foot-race to get away from the women, he 

 advises his readers to break the wax out in 

 chunks and run it into cakes on the kitchen 

 stove! No, no, doctor, not while we can see in 

 imagination the pots, pans, skillets, and broom- 

 sticks flying around your head as you fled down 

 the garden path. 



