48 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



San. 



secret of getting a right pronunciation is in having 

 a prominent Adam's apple in the throat. 



Mr. L., Senior, used the Rambler like a gentle- 

 man; but with all our blandishments we could not 

 establish the fraternity of Scotch blood. 



As previously stated, this region is not noted for 

 Its honey production; and from the number of 

 bees we saw passing over the lake we should think 

 many were lost therein. We found the busy work- 

 ers upon goidenrod, nearly to the top of Prospect 

 Mountain, 'MW feet above the lake. Messrs. L. 

 were (juite enthusiastic over .Japanese buckwheat. 

 Their few acres between the rocks were splendidly 

 filled, and they were expecting a yield of fifty bush- 

 els per acre. 



Of course, our friends claimed superiority for the 

 Carniolans, and we were not in a position to con- 

 tradict them. 



The climate is Just right here in summer and fall 

 for rusticating; and people who indulge in a few 

 weeks' vacation gain in health and spirits. Hunt- 

 ing and fishing is the main business of the tourist, 

 and Messrs. L. have a full complement of guns, 

 dogs, boats, and fishing - tackle, and know the 

 haunts of game. 



The morning on which we bade our friends adieu, 

 our Hawkeye gave us a view of one of these hunt- 

 ing-parties. The four dogs had their breakfast 

 placed before them; but at sight of the guns it was 

 forgotten, and they were all howling for the hunt- 

 ers to start. 



A few years ago, Bro. Andrews tried to get up a 

 party of bee-keepers to camp in his cottages. The 

 plan is a splendid one, but it has never materialized. 



Bro. L now proposes to improve on the plan, 

 and camp out in a tent upon one of the beautiful 

 islands. If Bro. Root will promise to be present we 

 will guarantee a parly of bee-keepers to make the 

 hours pass pleasantly and lively while he may so- 

 journ with us. Hurrah for a grand camping party 

 of bee-keepers at Lake Geoi'ge next September. 

 Can it be done? asks the Rambler. 



PROPER CARE OP HONEY. 



WHERE TO KEEP IT; A GOOD ARTICLE. 



I AM learning more and more the importance of 

 properly caring for honey after it is stored. I be- 

 lieve it is a matter to which too little attention is 

 paid, and concerning which too little is known by 

 honey-producers themselves. All agree, that, to 

 create a demand for the principal product of the 

 apiary, is a matter of prime importance. To do 

 this, two things are necessary: To make honey 

 tempting to the eye in the store, and tempting to 

 the palate in the dining-room. I incline to think 

 the hitter item the principal one, after all, that 

 has been urged in favor of "gilt-edge" honey; 

 hence my reasons for treating the subject. 



I have this year been inquiring of my customers 

 and others (some old bee-keepers) where they keep 

 their honey; and the answer is, generally, " In the 

 cellar." That is the worst place in the world for it. 

 One woman told me they kept their honey in a cool 

 place in the house. That seems to be a prevailing 

 impression, that honey must be kept in some cool 

 place; and to find that cool place, what more natu- 

 ral than that they poke it into the cellar? There 

 they have the very worst conditions for it. The 



cellar is a good place for milk and potatoes, but not 

 for honey. 



CELLARING HONEY. 



This largely explains why so many folks do not 

 like the article. I know that parties who once try a 

 few pounds of mine generally want more; and 

 some who thought they did not like honey are be- 

 coming good customers. It is the quality, I firmly 

 believe, that sells it. If all honey had to be like 

 some I have tasted, I should not like it either. 



HOW TO RIPEN AND PRESERVE HONEY. 



This is a somewhat mooted question: Can we se- 

 cure at the same time the whitest and the best- 

 flavored honey? I claim that we can. The most es- 

 sential ingredients for ripening and preserving 

 honey are warmth and dryness. Especially are 

 they necessary from the time honey is stored in the 

 hive until it is thoroughly ripened. This I have 

 proven to my own satisfaction by repeated experi- 

 ments. These ingredients, I think I have also dem- 

 onstrated, are most fully obtained in a tight, single- 

 walled honey-house painted some dark color, and 

 not on the hive. At the close of the white-clover 

 harvest, which occurs from the 4th to the 20th of 

 July, I take the bulk of my honey, finished and un- 

 finished, off the hives. My first reason for doing 

 this was to preserve the whiteness of the finished 

 sections, and to keep the bees from daubing the 

 edges of the unsealed cells with what appears to be 

 a mixture of wax and propolis, which they are sure 

 to do during the honey-dearth of summer. I leave 

 a few cases on the hive each year. The honey I 

 take off' I pack chiefiy in unused hives in my honey- 

 house. Said honey-house is built of flooring lum- 

 ber, single-walled, 13x13x8 feet in size. This room, 

 painted red, with the sun pouring in unobstructed 

 through the south windows, and the door shut, in 

 warm weather, is so hot that it roasts the oil out 

 of me worse than a broiling sun in a harvest-field. 

 Here, during the hot months of summer, I leave my 

 honey to ripen. The honey thus stored away I 

 have found, by repeated tests, to be far superior in 

 thickness, and richness of flavor, to most of that 

 taken off as late as September. Of this last, that 

 which comes nearest to the early-removed honey in 

 excellence is some which I have taken from the 

 upper story of a hive which stood in the sun, ex- 

 posed to its heat through almost the entire day. 

 This upper story is separated from the lower by a 

 honey-board, having only three crosswise slats for 

 the passage of the bees. The heat of the sun tends 

 to drive the bees down into the lower story, or out 

 in front, especially during the hot dry season when 

 no honey is coming in, throwing the surplus story 

 pretty much into the condition of my honey-house. 

 And it is in that hot dry room we have the condi- 

 tions best calculated to evaporate the water, and in- 

 tensify the body and flavor of the honey. 



I see no flaw in the theory of this process of rip- 

 ening honey; but, " the proof of the pudding is in 

 the eating." Even unsealed honey thus treated be- 

 comes as good as the best, and better than any I 

 have ever tasted when first taken from the hive, 

 especially a shaded hive. I challenge any one to 

 try it. 



But even in the honey-house, certain rules must 

 be observed. Perhaps some apiarists arrange their 

 honey on shelves next to the wall. I should expect 

 such a one to conclude that honey ripens best in 

 the hive. The best place for it is in boxes in the 

 middle of the room, where the sun can shine full 



