218 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar, 



he had been expecting and hoping for a good 

 honey year ; but as each year went by and 

 closed 'without seeing" Jii"^ hopes realized, he 

 was hoping that tiext year would surely be a 

 good season. lie did not know why, when 

 formerly he had produced good crops of 

 honey, he should fail now. lie attiibuted a 

 part of the cutting-off of the nectar to using 

 basswood in large quantities for sections. 

 For some reason or other, clover had failed. 

 He had had some expeiience with alfalfa, 

 and he had had great hopns that something 

 might be realized from this source ; and as 

 he closed, it was evident that his paper had 

 something of a discouraging outlook for bee- 

 keepers. 



ALFALFA. 



This having been mentioned in Mr. 

 Boardman's paper, it was discussed. Some 

 argued that neither alfalfa nor sweet clover 

 would grow in our soil very well ; and that 

 the latter, cattle w^ould not eat. (^uite a 

 number, however, testified that, under some 

 circumstances, cattle would eat it. On the 

 whole, a hopeful view was taken of the pos- 

 sibilities that might be develojied f rom af- 

 falfa and sweet clover in the way of a new 

 source for nectar. Dr. Miller, in comment- 

 ing on Mr. Boardman's ])aper, said that he, 

 like Mr. Board man. had been waiting for a 

 good season. The third year came, and he 

 secured a good crop — some ]2,0U0 lbs. of 

 comb honey, and he thought our friend 

 Boardman would come across a good season 

 yet, which would very largely make up for 

 the reverses of the three preceding seasons. 

 In fact, a good many testified that clover 

 had, for two or three years past, seemingly 

 failed, but had now begun to yield nectar as 

 a whole, and they hoped that their old-time 

 big crops would come again. 



II. F. Moore thought that bee keeping 

 was no worse than a good many other rural 

 pursuits ; they all have their poor and good 

 seasons. Sometimes farmers have three bad 

 seasons. 



THE (^)UESTI0N-150X 



was then introduced. The iirst question 

 was, '' Shall we use sections filled or partly 

 filled with foundation ? " It was answered 

 by a vote. Twenty-five members voted for 

 fiill sheets and nine for partly filled sheets, 

 and the rest did not vote either way. The 

 next question was. " Shall we advise our 

 neighbors to embark in bee-keeping V " A 

 good many spoke on this question, and 

 many said no. '• Is it advisable to shut bees 

 in their hives with wire cloth, in the cel- 

 lar? " A. I.Kootsaid, " Yes, itcan be done." 

 The general consensus of opinion was, that, 

 although it could be done, it was not ad- 

 visable — at least, not for beginners. Anoth- 

 er question was, " Are honse-apiaries pref- 

 erable to hives?" J. B. Ilains said, 

 " Hives, alwavs."' No one demurred at this 

 statement. The next question, "What is 

 the best remedy for bee-stings ?'' brought 

 out considerable discussion.' Dr. Mason 

 recommended oil of cloves, even though it 

 did ■•' come out of a bottle." Some one said, 

 "Grin and bear it." Mr. Eaton called at- 

 tention to the fact that the evident intent of 

 the question was, what to do in cases of .se- 

 vere stinging. iVlthough a strictly temper- 



ate man, he recommended whisky, and 

 cited a case where it had undoubtedly saved 

 a life. Mr. Phelps related another instance 

 of what he thought was an equally serious 

 case, but the individual lived through it. 

 Some of the friends got to arguing pretty 

 seriously. Dr. Mason said it is a well- 

 known fact, that, when a j>erson is bitten 

 by a rattlesnake, if he drinks a quantity of 

 whisky it will not produce intoxication ; 

 whereas the same person could not take 

 half the quantity without the snakebite, 

 and yet not be intoxicated, which he 

 thought is an evidence that the liquor 

 counteracts the effects of the poison. A.I. 

 Boot then cited the fact that an eminent 

 author, writing on the subject of venomous 

 serpents, for the Century 3Iagazirie, made 

 the statement that it is very doubtful wheth- 

 er liquor has any effect. The discussion 

 ran inetty liigh, when it became evident 

 that the feelings of some might be hurt. It 

 is safe to say, how^ever, that every one pres- 

 ent was a teetotaller, so far as liquor is con- 

 cerned. 

 The next subject under discussion was 



MARKETING EXTRACTED HONEY, 



by H. F. Moore. He has sold both comb 

 and extracted honey, in the wholesale and 

 retail way. to the extent of many tons, and 

 has probably had as much experience as any 

 other man in the business. He first took 

 nice samples of honey around to private 

 houses, and in a gentlemanly way asked if 

 he might have the privilege of bringing 

 them around, at another day, a bottle or 

 two of honey, naming the price. Usually 

 he would secure an order. Pt)liteness and 

 courtesy have a good deal to do in being 

 able to dispose of honey in this way. If 

 customers did not seem dispospd to pur- 

 chase, he did not urge them. Latterly he 

 has sold direct to grocerymen, putting the 

 honey up in Muth jars, and covering the 

 cork with a nice piece of tinfoil. Mr. Moore 

 is working up a reputation for his honey, 

 and grocerymen recognize that he always 

 handles nice honey, put up in nice pack- 

 ages. He has only recently begun to sell 

 to grocerymen, and has sold already some- 

 thing over 100 gross of Muth jars of honey. 

 A reporter for a Cleveland daily paper got 

 it down something over 100 bottles, and com- 

 mented on it as a fact that it was a very 

 large sale. I hope I have got it nearer right. 

 Linscraped sections, such as are covered 

 with propolis, are unsalable, said Mr. 

 Moore. In regard to " extracted " honey, 

 he did not like the name. , He prefers the 

 word " clear" honey, the same as the Ger- 

 mans use. He had experienced difficulties 

 on all sides from the AViley falsehood. In 

 many cases he had hard work in convincing 

 them that his honey w^as honest honey. 



SniPriNG HONEY 



was another topic for discussion. Dr. Mil- 

 ler was asked how he shipped that 12,000 lbs. 

 of lioney whicli he sold for cash to an 

 eastern firm. To make the combs of honey 

 more secure, he fastened a small starter at 

 the top and bottom of the sections. This 

 insured the attachment of the comb to the 

 top and bottom, and also to the sides. In 



