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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



49 



upon it some time in the day. Be sure to set the 

 receptacles several inches above the floor, and 

 away from the wall. Sections left out seem to 

 gather dampness during the night and in rainy 

 weather, when that packed away is protected. Cer- 

 tain it is, such honey becomes thin and watery, and 

 acquires a rancid and often partially sour taste. 

 That packed next to the floor or wall in boxes gets 

 into the same condition. Extracted honey may be 

 even more sensitive to these conditions than comb 

 honey. It should be extracted where the sun can 

 shine full upon it as it runs out of the faucet. Put 

 it in open vessels— 5 or 10 gallon lard-cans are the 

 best, all things considered; tie thin cloths over 

 them, and set them in the honey-house, where the 

 sun can shine upon them as far as possible. Do 

 not set them next the wiill. I have found on experi- 

 ment, that the honey in cans near the middle of the 

 room, to become the best; that in screw-cap cans 

 next best, and that in jars next the wall, the poor- 

 est. The last had more or less of that taste and 

 smell resembling soured honey. 



Before I knew any better I left honey in waxed 

 kegs out of doors. It spoiled in the same way. The 

 thickest honey will be the last to granulate, and 

 the thinnest will be the flrst. 



HOW TO MAKE HONEY NICE. 



Some folks like only candied honey. To such, if 

 any of them read this paper, I would say that honey 

 begins to " grain " on the approach of cold weather. 

 If it is stirred a time or two at this stage it will can- 

 dy much quicker. Also, when honey is left undis- 

 turbed, the watery and sugary particles tend to 

 separate, and the latter to form into large crystals- 

 To stir at this time— pouring from one vessel into 

 another— is the best way to do it. Break these crys- 

 tals; the watery particles are absorbed, and the 

 honey candies in fine grains, which much improves 

 its flavor. Geo. F. Kobbins. 



Mechanicsburg, 111., Dec. 10. 



Very good, friend E. I do not know but 

 that I indorse every point you make. Comb 

 honey, when it is kept in cellars, or where it 

 is damp, or even in a room where the tem- 

 perature changes so much as to cause damp- 

 ness to settle on the surface, will fast ac- 

 quire a moldy and disagreeable taste. It is 

 for this reason that comb honey had better 

 be placed in a room where it will not freeze. 



BAD >A7"ELL-WATEB. 



PROF. COOK CONSIDERS AN IMPORTANT SUBJECT. 



Mr. Root:— Would you be kind enough to ask 

 Prof. Cook if he could explain to me the cause of 

 water having a bad smell, in a well 28 feet deep? 

 If I pump it out dry, in two or three days it smells 

 bad again. There is no nuisance about the house. 

 I have cleaned it out, but I can not account for it. 



Newcastle, Pa, Nov. 2:'). Wm. Gibson. 



In accordance with the request above, we 

 forwarded the question to Prof. Cook, who 

 replies : 



In reply to Mr. Wm. Gibson, let me say that I 

 should be suspicious of ill-smelling well-water— at 

 least, till I had it examined. Sometimes water has 

 a rank odor from the presence of sulphur. This 

 may be unpleasant till one gets accustomed to it; 

 but I do not think it harmful. We dug an artesian 

 well here at the college, which extends down some 



hundreds of feet through solid rock. This water 

 we regard as very wholesome; yet it smells and 

 tastes very strongly of sulphur. 



A much more common cause of odorous water 

 comes from decaying organic matter. In cistern 

 water this is often very ottensive. In such cases, 

 drawing water from the top or near the top of the 

 cistern, instead of from the bottom, will free the 

 water of the odor. In this case, sediment from the 

 roof is carried to the cistern, sinks to the bottom, 

 and from the decomposition comes the horrible 

 smell. I have been very thankful for the discovery 

 that simply drawing water from the top removed 

 all this odor of putrefaction. 



Such odors are not so frequent from wells; but as 

 the water is usually used for drinking it is far more 

 to be dreaded. Such water is not wholesome, and 

 may cause the very worst forms of disease. In case 

 the surface soil is sand, pollution may come from a 

 vault or cess-pool for a long distance. I should 

 never feel warranted in using such water without 

 flrst boiling it, till I had it examined by a compe- 

 tent chemist. Analysis will soon show whether it is 

 safe to use or not. As suggested above, a few 

 minutes' boiling of such water, just before using it, 

 will remove danger. It should be boiled fifteen or 

 twenty minutes. The danger comes from minute 

 vegetable organisms, which are destroyed by the 

 prolonged boiling. 



The diseases that arise from the use of such wa- 

 ter are typhoid in character, and hence very viru- 

 lent. 



Sometimes the water may contain the germs, 

 without any tell-tale odor. Some years ago we had 

 here at the college a very serious outbreak of ty- 

 phoid fever. It was found that all who had had the 

 disease had used water from a well previously sup- 

 posed to be unexceptionable. The water was ex- 

 amined, and found to be very impure. The moral 

 is: We can not be too careful to prevent all fllth or 

 decaying matter from gaining access to the well. 

 Vaults, barnyards, and dish-water pools near the 

 well are dangerous, and the more so on porous, 

 sandy soils. A. .7. Cook. 



Agricultural College, Mich., Dec. 30. 



In addition to the above, I would suggest, 

 friend G., that you examine the ground 

 around your well for quite a distance. If 

 there is any standing water, take it off by 

 deep underdrains, by a good fall. If there 

 is not a good fall around the well, say for a 

 hundred feet or more, draw in dirt and 

 make the ground slope away from the well. 

 Should this be too expensive, make a well 

 somewhere else. We have recently had 

 some little experience in well-drilling, and 

 I greatly enjoyed having long talks with the 

 drillers, who had been at it all their lives. 

 They said, that, although they could not un- 

 derstand it. yet practical experience seemed 

 to decide that there is just as good a chance 

 of getting water on high ground, or even on 

 a hill, as anywhere else ; therefore there is 

 no propriety in choosing a low spot to dig a 

 well. Better take high ground, even if you 

 do have to go a little deeper. No doubt 

 thousands of good people— yes, tens of 

 thousands of innocent and unsuspecting 

 children— have been sent to untimely graves 

 by carelessness in regard to our drinking- 

 water. Many say they can not afford to 

 have a well as they would like ; but, my 



