December, 1916. 



American Hee Journal t 



405 



■^^D 



to make them brown. No doubt those 

 who are directing the campaign for the 

 greater use of honey, could induce the 

 makers to include honey in the recipe. 



Another chance for increased sales 

 is through the people who are con- 

 stantly on the road giving demonstra- 

 tions in all kinds of baking. A baking 

 powder crew was here this summer 

 and drew a crowded house every day 

 for a week, and I know there was an 

 instant demand for every article they 

 used in their recipes, but not one recipe 

 called for honey. One of their num- 

 ber informed me that the matter 

 had been taken up at headquarters, 

 and no doubt they would be in- 

 structed to use a honey recipe. These 

 things may greatly increase the general 

 use of honey, but I want to dispose of 

 my entire crop locally, and I think I 

 can solve the problem. 



Considerable has been written about 

 the value of honey as a food for chil- 

 dren, but I think a little inquiry will 



them a 5-pound pail of honey to get 

 their appetites started than to sell an 

 equal amount to a domestic science 

 class or demonstrating crew. 



Another point : If you live in or 

 near a community of foreign born peo- 

 ple, pay them special attention and you 

 will find them your best customers; 

 they are usually familiar with and ap- 

 preciate extracted honey, and often 

 prefer the darker grades. 



[The foregoing article has excellent 

 suggestions. There is an increase in 

 the demand for honey, evidently due to 

 the increased advertising by the bee- 

 keepers generally. The leaflet, " Facts 

 About Honey," which is being given 

 away in tens of thousands to the con- 

 sumers, is helping greatly. This agita- 

 tion should be continued until honey 

 becomes a staple and an article of daily 

 consumption. — Editor ] 



FIG. 



-THE COCOONS ARE PLACED BETWEEN THE TOP-BARS AND 

 UNDER THE COVER 



The Action of Naphthalene on 

 Insect Life 



BY A. F. BONNEY. 



LAST season I found that naphtha- 

 lene repelled insect life (moths) 

 from hives, and that it seemed to 

 kill the moth larva;, but I was puzzled 

 to find that the bees were, or seemed 

 to be, immune, that a strong odor of 

 the drug would not drive them away 

 from honey or injure them. An editor 

 jumped to the conclusion that naphtha- 

 lene will not kill bees, notwithstanding 

 that it is reputed to be "deadly to most 

 insects." 



This season I took the first oppor- 

 tunity to investigate. I find that bees, 

 the wax moth, flies, and some beetles 

 shut up for a time in a place where the 

 odor of the drug is persistent, will 

 surely die, but allowed to come and go, 

 bees will fly about a hive in which 

 there is a smell of naphthalene and live. 



Now the philosophy and toxical 

 chemistry of the matter is this: Naph- 

 thalene is quite volatile, and the warmer 

 it gets the more of the drug there is 

 suspended in the air. Insects shut up 

 with the stuff will become covered as 

 soon as the interior of the box cools, 

 even the inside of the breathing tubes 

 will be coated. This means death. In 

 the same way the worms and cocoons 

 are covered, the poison is absorbed 

 and the insect dies. I thought there 

 might be a mechanical effect, that the 

 insect was coated with an air-tight 

 cover of the drug, but this is not likely. 



Its repelling property is, I think, due 

 entirely to its odor, and coal tar creo- 

 sote, formaldehyde or phenol would 

 give the same result. Bees will fly 

 freely in quite a strong odor of the bi- 

 sulphide, as others have, no doubt, 

 noticed. 



That naphthalene will kill the moth 

 larvae I now have no doubt, and I keep 

 some in all stacks of hives. A handful 

 of the powdered stuff is all right, and 

 will make a very dense atmosphere. 



Buck Grove, Iowa. 



convince you that most children are 

 not very fond of honey, and their appe- 

 tite for it is quickly satisfied ; it doesn't 

 furnish the growing child with the ele- 

 ments it most needs, something for 

 growth of bone and muscle. The one 

 person to whom I believe honey is of 

 the most value as a food is the hard 

 working man or woman who has 

 reached or passed middle age. I be- 

 lieve there is a sound reason for this, 

 and it is with this class of customers 

 that I believe the local market for ex- 

 tracted honey, if offered them at a fair 

 price, may be enormously increased. 



People at this age have lost some of 

 their power of recuperation ; their 

 digestion is not what it once was, and 

 digestion as well as labor is a tax on 

 their energy. For them honey is one 

 of the best foods; it is easily assimi- 

 lated, and with so slight a tax on the 

 digestive organs, furnishes them with 

 what they most need, force or energy, 

 and heat, and they soon acquire what 

 almost amounts to a craving for honey. 

 They might see it on exhibition every 

 time they enter a store and not be in- 

 clined to buy, and I believe as a sound 

 business principle I would rather give 















FIG. 5.-IF LEFT UNDISTURBED. THE COMBS WILL BE ENTIIRELY DESTROYED 

 AND NOTHING WILL REMAIN BUT THE WEBS OF THE WAXMOTH 



