]SU6 



GLEANINGy IN BEE CULTUUK. 



105 



nies were considerably weakened. Late last 

 fall somn colonies were affected with the same 

 thing again. From some hives ihere would 

 come out liumlieds, and oie during the oay. 

 Some of them were so reduced that, in some 

 cases, I united four or live together before put- 

 ting them into the cellar. My opinion is, that 

 these peculiar conditions were causeu by the 

 character or kind of stores gathered. But I 

 can not understand why some colonies should 

 be affected worse than others. 

 Southern, Minn., Jan. 2. 



[At the Illinois State Convention In Chicago, 

 two or three reported this same dead brooJ,and 

 bees dying, as you speak of. From the de- 

 scription given, as in your case, it was plainly 

 not foul brood; but what it was, no one seem- 

 ed to know. There have been repeated letters 

 on the same thing, and we had ii one season in 

 our own yard and part of another. We did 

 nothing for it. and it finally disappeared of it- 

 sell. We shall have to conclude that this dead 

 brood is probably a disease, with characteris- 

 tics very similar to those of foul brood, but dif- 

 fering in that it has no effect on bees. And 

 now the questions that I should like to see 

 solved are these: (i.) Is it a case of poisoning, 

 or (2)' is it a real disease caused by bacillus, 

 similar to that of foul brood ? 3. If so, can it be 

 cured. In answer to the first question, Mr. 

 Davenport seems to feel that it is not a case of 

 poisoning. In answer to the third question — if 

 he is correct, treating the dead brood the same 

 as foul brood does not have any influence so far 

 as the cure is concerned. Perhaps some of our 

 German bee-keepers, especially scientists across 

 the water, can give their American cousins a 

 little more light. While we may be, and prob- 

 ably are, ahead of them in practical apiculture, 

 owing perhaps to the favorable conditions on 

 this side, they are certainly ahead of us in sci- 

 entific research. — Ed. J 



EUCALYPTUS HONEY. 



HONEY FKOM AUSTKAJ.IA ; MAILIMG-PACK AGKS. 



By Dr. C C. Miller. 



Mr. J. D. Ward, of Sydney, New South Wales, 

 has sent me six samples of Australian honey, all 

 of it eucalyptus. I had no idea that, under that 

 one name, there could be such a variety. The 

 samples are marked A, B, C, D, E, F, and I'll 

 try to tell you what they look like. 



In the first place, however, I wish you could 

 all see in what nice shape the samples came. 

 They are in six bottles, each six inches long 

 and % in diameter, corked tight, and covered 

 with sealing-wax. In these long slender bot- 

 tles they present a very fine appearance, as 

 evidenced by the exclamations of delight of the 

 women on seeing them. If I wanted to sell 

 honey by sample I should copy closely after 

 Mr. Ward's example. And the packing could 

 hardly be improved upon. A piece of IKj inch 

 plank has 1-inch holes bored into it to receive 

 the bottles, each bottle being wrapped in paper 

 so as to make a close fit, then a thin board 

 cover screwed on. 



Describing them, Mr. Ward says: " A is iron- 

 bark and gum; ]i, C, D, and E, varieties of box; 

 F, assorted gums. A and B are from my own 

 bees, located 30 miles from the sea. F is from 

 the coast close to the sea. C, D, and E are 

 from the mountains." 



A looks for all the world like a nice sample 

 of light-yellow beeswax; and before opening it 

 I had to look at the accompanying letter to 

 assure myself it was not so. It is candied solid, 

 and I'm describing them just as I received 

 them, for I haven't melted them. The flavor is 

 peculiar, and I do not altogether like it. "A 

 little rank," one of the tasters called it. I have 

 been told that, on becoming acquainted with 

 this flavor, one likes it; but of course I can't 

 speak frnm experience. 



T — ■ 





A MAIIJNG I'ACKAGE FOR SAMPLES OF HONEY. 



B is also granulated with a fine grain, beau- 

 tiful in appearance, very light-colored, looking 

 a good deal like linden, slightly more of the 

 cream color in tint. It has the peculiar flavor 

 in a less marked degree than A; and, after 

 tasting it and appearing to study over it for a 

 minute, Mrs. Miller said very decidedly, " I like 

 it. It has a kind of candy taste." 



C is very light in color, evenly granulated, 

 but not yet solid. Mrs. Miller likes it. Emma 

 likes it better than B. and I think I like it less. 

 I suspect it is not the easiest thing to tell just 

 what one does think of these samples as com- 

 pared with each other, especially when not 

 many minutes intervene in the tasting. 



D is partially granulated, and is the darkest 

 sample in the lot— at least the dullest, for it 

 inclines the least bit toward perhaps brown as 

 compared with the bright color of A. The 

 flavor approaches that of A, but Emma thinks 

 there's a shade of maple-sugar flavor mixed 

 with it. 



