iSG 



GLEAHIKGS IN BEE CTJLTL'RE. 



Dec. 



Dear Sir:— City Bee-Keeper, in October No. of 

 ti LEANINGS, is right in saying that honey contains 

 ])ollen, as it has been shown by optical and chemical 

 nnalysis; but not in consiilerabe (jiiantities, as analy- 

 sis has shown not much over 1 to I'A per cent ; andit 

 depends on what flowers the nectar was gathered 

 from to i>rodiice the honey. I say produced, as it has 

 been shown by analysis that honey is a produ(;tion of" 

 the bee and not, as is generally supposed, iilentical 

 with the nectar of flowers. More than lialf of the 

 sweet matter contained in the nectar is in a state of 

 cane sugar, while this sugar is generally absent or in 

 a very minute proportion in honey. The nectar con- 

 tains no glucose, while honey contains it in excess. 

 It City Bee-Keeper tinds more than 15 to 55 ]>er cent, 

 ;iccording to the honey, of glucose, he may rest assured 

 that the honey is adulterated with glucose. I will 

 shortly give more explanation in regard to the differ- 

 ence between the nectar when collected from llowei's 

 and honey after being deposited in the cells. 



I will conclude by stating that the Grand Southern 

 State, and Industrial Exposition will be held in Kew 

 Orleans on Feb. itith, 1870, and continue 10 days. And 

 as apiculture is taking a new impetus in this state, I 

 think it would be well for apiarians to expose their 

 .ipiarian supplies to introduce them. 



To those who arc not able to attend the exposition, 

 I offer my services to represent their hives, extract- 

 ors, etc. For my part I have nothing but honey to 

 expose. I use Novice's Standard hive and extractor, 

 hut will not expose them unless Novice sends me one 

 for that tmrijose. Paul Viallon. 



P. S." I'.Iy object in offering my services to bee-keep- 

 ers, is not to make nioney, as l" offer them gratis, but 

 to stimulate bee-keeking in tlie south. 



Bayou Goiila, La., Oct. 18th, '75. 



We cto know that ti great variety of syrups 



fed to bees Uisic precisely the same after liaviiii;- 



been taken from the cells, but do not know 



about the chemical composition being altered. 



'Sugar fed to bees is never made into honey. 



We are quite willing that our goods shall 

 be exhibited if the owner thinks them worthy, 

 but we prefer letting them make their way on 

 their own merits. 



A. I. ROOT, Dear Sir:— I commenced an Aijiary last 

 spring by buying a swarm in a box hive. While wait- 

 ing for it to swarm I i)urchased two j'oung swarms 

 and pnt them in frame hives, bnt I have nothing from 

 the box; been waiting and watching for a swarm up 

 to the present time, but none yet, unless it came out 

 while i was celebrating on the 5tli. I left them at 10 

 to 12 o'clock, they appeared as though they might 

 have swarmed and gone to the woods, but am "not cer- 

 tain. If it did swarm at that time it ought to have 

 sent out another before this time, lor the hive is strong 

 in bees and stores, even crowded ; l)ut they act queerly 

 to me. I can see no reason why they do not swarm. 

 There has been much swarming" here this season and 

 the honey harvest continues gooil. They seem to ))e 

 very much excited, running over the outside ot the 

 hive with their wings raised and chasing each other 

 around; so cross can not go near them. Thej' play 

 out in the afternoon, have plenty of <lrones and appear 

 to be carrying out immature ones, as I lind them in 

 front of the hive. Do you think they are (Jueenless? 

 If they are, and have not swarmed at all, they ought 

 to have brood from which to raise another. If they 

 have swarmed they mjiy be without Queen or brood, 

 the young Queen perliaps having been lost. 



N. A. PiiULtDEN, Ann Arbor, Mich., .July 2:.'d, "75. 



The above gives a very fair sample of the 

 inconveniences of a box hive. Had it been a 

 frame hive our friend could have looked it 

 over much easier than to have written us for 

 advice. There is probably nothing wrong 

 with the bees more than that they have filled 

 their hive, and concluded to take it easy, cal- 

 cnlaling that you can neither make thera 

 swarm nor gather honey unless they choose. 

 Why did you not transfer them and malx them 

 do something? If we lived in Mich, we should 

 try to give our bees a proper understanding of 

 what was expect&tl of them. 



I rec'd your July sample of Gi-eaninos.> Tlien for- 

 warded S5.0() by mail in registered letter, v.'hich you 

 rec'd. Now I want and sliuU insist, on ail the Journals 



or their equivalent. You there offer in your clubbing- 

 list, the Bee World and National Jiee Jtnirnul, whicl>j 

 have not yet been received. Jekemy Lake. 



North Eastoii, Mass., Nov. 1st, '75. 



Friend Lake we hardly think you naean to 

 write uiikindly, but when one is doing the 

 very best he knows how, do you know how 

 such harsh expressions hurt':' Your letter 

 reached us on the 21st of Oct., and we prompt- 

 I3' sent orders to all the other Journals ; as 

 such things unavoidably take tin^e to get 

 round, it is not very strange that all had not 

 reached you at the date you write, especially 

 the Bee World, as it is so fav South. When you, 

 think you have waited long enough, drop us a 

 postal of course. lint please speak pleasantly. 

 Yon perhaps do not realize that we make it a 

 study to avoid mistakes and misunderstanding,, 

 and that when anything does get wrong, we at 

 once set al)out righting it. Anythiug on our 

 price lists, we can usually forward promptly, 

 but after we have sent the orders for other 

 Journals, we have done all that we can do. 

 At the very low price we offer honey labels, 

 there is often a delay in their manufacture, 

 and as a stock cannot be made up ahead, they 

 are at some seasons unavoidably delayed from 

 one to three weeks. It is only by careful prompt- 

 ness, that we can feel that pride and independ- 

 ance that every business man should feel, aiul 

 harsh words are never needed to such an one. 



FRIEND N'OVICK :-Did you ever make honey 

 vinegar l-' I think it has been made froni washings of 

 cappings. and I liave seen a recipe in Adair's Annals^ 

 5 lbs. of honey to 20 gallons of water, but Burch ir^ 

 his book "Money in the Apiary,'"' sayis 5 gallons of 

 honey for a barrel. Now 5 gallons of honey equals'' 

 about (>0 lbs., rather dear vinegar. I have some very 

 dark old honey, would it make good vinegar? I wisU 

 vou would teli ns '-what you knovs' about it." 



J. H. Maktin, liartford, N. Y., June 12th, '75, 



As good cider is usually sold here for aboi^t 

 f|2.00 per barrel, or less than 7 cts. per gallon, 

 we can hardly imagine how honey can be used 

 profitably for vinegar. Where it is for any 

 reason rendered unfit for market, it can be 

 saved until the proper time and fed to the bees. 

 For this purpose or at least for spring feeding, 

 it is worth nearly as much as sugar syrup, say 

 7 cts. per lb. Such refuse we have alwayr-i 

 found to work in nicely in the spring. In 

 washing honey utensils we frequently get ;i. 

 solution of honey so diluted that it would sour 

 if we attempted to keep it, and in such casesrv 

 we can probably do no better than to work it 

 into vinegar as we would cider. Also, if we 

 are so unfortunate ;is to have extracted any 

 honej^ so thin as to have it get sour, it will 

 perhaps be best to make it into vinegar. The 

 proportion Mr. ]'>urch gives is correct, about 

 one of honey or molasses to live of water for 

 good vinegar, but cheai) molasses will probtibly 

 do equally well. So long as your honey can 

 be sold for, say 7 cts. per lb., it Avill not pay to 

 make it into vinegar, unless it gives some qual- 

 ity that will enable it to command an extr;t. 

 price in the market. 



DO TOADS EAT KEES ? 



Last Slimmer, in the montli of Aug., I think, at dusk, 

 on a very warm sultry evening, as I was walkinu; 

 among my bees, I discovered one hive in quite an up- 

 roar, and could not see the cause until I made a clos<- 

 inspection. It was a I^angstrotli hive and on the por- 

 tico was perched an enormously large toad, facing and 

 snapping at the bees, but it was too liark for me to set- 

 whether he took them in liis mouth. 1 went to the 

 house for a lantern but when I returned it was all quiet 

 and his toadship gone. ^Ym. Pavne, Spencer, Ohio, 



