376 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 



the honey, put up in small receptacles. Another 

 of our beekeepiug' friends has been putting up 

 pint Masons (holding IK lbs.) for 20 cts. each, by the 

 dozen. If he gets his jars for 6 cts. each by the 

 gross he is lucky, leaving 14 cts. forl'/^-lbs. of honey, 

 and labor of filling, etc. Now, we have disposed of 

 nearly 39,000 lbs. of honey in the past two years, and 

 the bulk of it has been sold at 18 to 30 cts. per lb., 

 and we charge extra for the glass jars. We have 

 sold honey thus in Cleveland, Canton, Akron, Mas- 

 sillon, Newark, Zanesville, Columbus, Findlay, Tif- 

 fin, and several other Ohio towns, and in Logans- 

 port, Lafayette. Ft. Wayne, and Indianapolis, in 

 Hoosierdom. The above is our uniform experi- 

 ence. 



It is next to impossible to find a lot of comb hon- 

 ey that has no pollen in some of the cells. In some 

 way I can not explain, this is an attraction for the 

 moth, and many a disgusting task I have had of 

 cleaning them out of a lot of nice comb honey. To 

 avoid this, sulphur them, of course; but just when 

 to do this with most profit to all concerned, I know 

 not. Perhaps some brother who has had experi- 

 ence in this particular line will kindly inform us. 



One thing in regard to the general appearance 

 and quality of honey. Let our beekeeping friends 

 remember that grocers as a rule will have nice, 

 neat-looking white honey or have none at all. 

 What kind of appearance do you suppose honey 

 presents with all the bee-glue on it, as when re- 

 moved from the hive? In several instances I have 

 seen comb honey that had been shipped to market 

 in the very cases that held it on the hive, with all 

 the unsightly bee-glue adhering. Why, such a 

 thing is as much behind the advanced spirit of the 

 times as the stage coach or the wooden plow. Let 

 us all remember that beauty and neatness are 

 prime requisites for succets in any line of goods 

 we present to the public. People living in our 

 cities have the importance of this matter impressed 

 on them at every hand, and here competition is 

 swift in inventing new and artistic effects. Our 

 farmer friends must bear in mind that this is the 

 class of people who approve or condemn their 

 methods, and use no charity in so doing, but adopt 

 the rigid rule of comparison. 



Once for all, let me say, send no dark honey to 

 our city markets. Practically, no one wants it; 

 and you can make more money out of it by feeding 

 in spring to your bees or marketing to private 

 families through the country. 



The only way to fight these infamous lies, in cir- 

 culation about the bee-business, is for each one of 

 us to write articles for our home, county, and local 

 papers, where our word is taken as authority. The 

 persistence and scope of these misstatements, no 

 one can fully realize who has never sold honey in 

 the cities and away from home. There would be 

 100,000 lbs. more honey eaten per year if all who 

 like honey had confidence in what is offered them. 



An eminent financier has said, " Confidence is the 

 life of trade," and this is eminently so in the bee 

 and honey business. My brother said once, "If 

 any one ever ate any good honey, and had the 

 slightest suspicion that we sold it, he will buy more, 

 without question." H. F. Moore. 



Cleveland, O., Apr. 4. 



Friend M.. you do not mention our re- 

 ward cards for these people, but I suppose 

 you have them. I am glad of your caution 

 in regard to unfinished sections of the pre- 



vious year. This has been quite thorough- 

 ly discussed in our conventions, but a great 

 many don't seem to get hold of the whole of 

 it. i am sure the old honey, section and 

 all, had better be thrown away, unless every 

 particle can be cleaned out of the cells by 

 the bees, so as to leave nothing that can 

 start the new honey to candying. Throw- 

 ing honey out by means of the extractor 

 will not answer. It must be given to the 

 bees to clean off afterward. Our experience 

 with dark honey has been just about what 

 you say. Nobody wants it at all. 



^ I ^ 



A HOME-MADE EXTRACTOR. 



ITS MERITS AND DEMERITS. 



I INCLOSE with this a photograph of my extract- 

 or. It is composed of eight pieces, all of which, or a 

 substitute for mostof 

 ihem, are generally 

 obtainable by what I 

 call an amateur bee- 

 keeper; for instance, 

 a hickory sapling, a 

 few boards nailed to- 

 gether, and the cor- 

 ners cut off, take the 

 place of the wheel; 

 and with '/2inch lum- 

 ber a box might be 

 made to take the 

 place of the can, or 

 the can might be 

 made from two old 

 five - gallon square 

 honey-cans. For my 

 device I took a long 

 stout pole. The wheel I used was the front wheel 

 of a light wagon. I cut the pole down to 7 feet, the 

 height adapted to my cellar. la the bottom of the 

 pole I drove an iron plug 54 inch in diameter, allow- 

 ing it to extend about J^ inches outside. I then 

 bored a l,V-inch hole through a piece of hard wood, 

 long enough to be nailed on two joists overhead. I 

 then bored a % hole in a piece of hard wood, one 

 inch thick and a foot long. I drop a piece of thick 

 tin into this to form a resting-place for the spindle; 

 and having got the pole plumb, I screwed this to 

 the floor. I then put the pole through the wheel, 

 the inside of the hub toward the bottom of the pole, 

 and placed it in position. I next bored a hole 4 

 inches from the bottom, stuck the end of a ten-foot 

 sash cord through it, knotted it, and attached a 3- 

 inch ring to the other, and wound the cord around 

 it to try how would work (see cut). The rest will 

 be evident from the cut. 



We will suppose a friend should call to see me 

 during a honey season, and I should like to give 

 him a taste of honey, none in the house. Well, 

 such is my disposition that, if I had a regular ex- 

 tractor stored away, I would get it down to extract 

 a single frame, to stand treat. Nearly the contents 

 of a 3-lb. frame would stick to it, and a nice job to 

 clean it, while the other can would not waste 3 

 ounces Hnticy could be cleaned with a quart of 

 water, and dried in less than half an hour. 

 Philadelphia, March 8. S. Stout. 



Friend S., the arrangement vou give is 

 substantially very old. The '' Rapid " hon- 

 ey-extractor, in the British Bee Journal, 



