226 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



July 



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PUBLISHED MONTHLY AT 



1st Nat'l Bank Bldg., Hamilton, Illinois 



Entered as second class matter at the 

 Hamilton. Illinois. Post-office. 

 C. P. Dadant. Editor. 

 Dr. C. C. Miller. Associate Editor. 

 Frank C. Pellett. Staff Correspondent. 



IMPORTANT NOTICE 



THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE of ttiis 

 Journal is Jloo a year in the United States 

 of America and Mexico; 3 years. $2.25; 5 

 years. J3.00; in Canada. 10 cents extra, and in 

 all other countries in the Postal Union. 25 

 cents a year extra for postage. Sample 

 copy free. 



THE WRAPPER-LABEL DATE indi- 

 cates the end of the month to which sub- 

 scription is paid. For instance. " deci? " on 

 your label shows that it is paid to the end 

 of December, 1Q17. 



SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS.-We do not 

 send a recept for money sent us to pay sub- 

 scription, but change the date on your 

 address, which shows that the money has 

 been received and credited. In case of 

 errors, please write us. 



Copyright: i«i7. by C. P. Dadant. 



THE EDITOR'S VIEWPOINT 



Wood and Paper Containers for 

 Honey 



The paper container for granulated 

 honey which was recommended some 

 years ago in the bee magazines, but 

 which did not seem to suit either the 

 honey-producers or the public, is again 

 mentioned in the press as a substitute 

 for glass or tin vessels which are now 

 scarce and high in price. Gleanings 

 recommends the "Aikin bag," a waxed- 

 paper product, in sizes of 1 to 10 

 pounds. Mr, F, W, L. Sladen, Dominion 

 Apiarist of Canada, recommends a 

 paraffin-coated bag of 2 pounds capac- 

 ity, measuring inside iYz inches x 3, 

 and 5Ji inches high. This is supplied 

 in flat at a low price per thousand. It 

 is opened by means of a block, as 

 shown in the engraving. 



Barrels are also recommended for 

 shipping honey in bulk. We have used 

 barrels for over 40 years, when har- 

 vesting the crop at our outapiaries and 

 would use nothing else. We find them 

 the handiest container and the cheapest 

 until we are ready to put up the honey 

 in small packages of different sizes ac- 

 cording to the retail trade demands. 

 The only container which we can com- 

 pare with barrels is a honey tank. But 

 honey tanks are not convenient to 

 haul to or from the outapiaries, either 

 full or empty, while the barrels may be 

 loaded up and taken away at once. 



Not all barrels will do. Years ago. 

 Thos. G. Newman, then editor of the 

 American Bee Journal, recommended 

 and kept for sale cheap wood-bound 

 barrels. We tried them but they were 

 a failure in our hands. Unless barrels 

 can hold the honey without leaking, 

 they are not to be used. 



The only barrels that we find satis- 

 factory are second-hand alcohol bar- 

 rels, bought and kept in a dry place 

 after they have been emptied of the 

 alcohol. Druggists and patent medi- 

 cine manufacturers can usually supply 

 them. 



Whisky barrels will not do, for they 

 have usually been charred in the 

 making. They are preferred for whisky 

 because they give it color, we are told. 

 But these barrels spoil the appearance 

 of the honey by filling it with moats of 

 charcoal which are very difficult to re- 

 move. We learned this at our expense, 

 years ago. Alcohol barrels are coated 

 inside with a very light coat of glue, 

 which fills the pores of the wood and 

 the crevices and makes them absolute- 

 ly tight, unless they have been kept in a 

 damp place or have been used for other 

 purposes. This makes them superior 

 to any whisky barrels for honey. Good 

 barrels having contained syrup or rock 

 candy are sometimes acceptable for 

 honey, 



A barrel which has been used to hold 

 water will not do. Neither will a bar- 

 rel do which has been rinsed with hot 

 water. It will be sure to leak when it 

 dries, and the honey will help dry it. 

 Before using it the hoops of the barrel 

 should be driven as tightly as possible. 



Barrels that are not glue-coated in- 

 side may be coated with beeswax or 

 paraffin. This coating makes an ideal 

 container. But it is somewhat difficult 

 to do this right, for the wax, when 

 poured in, may cool too fast and cake 

 itself inside, in such lumps as to work 

 loose from the wood. The barrel and 

 the wax must both be very hot. Put- 

 ting the barrel for a few hours before- 

 hand in the sunshine of a hot July day 

 will help, A good way also is to mix 

 a small quantity of pure lard of best 

 quality with the wax or the paraffin, 

 when melting it. The lard causes the 

 wax to stick better to the walls of the 

 barrel, and if only a small quantity is 

 used and it is free from taint, it will 

 not give any odor or flavor. Pour the 

 hot wax in the warmed up barrel, bung 

 it, and roll it about for a few seconds. 

 Then pour out the surplus. It is aston- 

 ishing how little will be required if the 

 work is done properly. 



The advantage of barrels is that you 

 can draw out your honey and put it up 

 for retail when ready, or you can ship 

 it to the wholesaler, with much less 

 trouble than if the honey has been put 

 up in 60 pound cans. In ourexperience 

 there is less leakage with sound bar- 

 rels than with cans. We have often 

 known of a 60 pound can emptying it- 

 self in transit, because the case in 

 which it was boxed became unnailed at 

 the bottom and one of the nails was 

 driven through the tin in handling. 

 Such an accident is not to be feared 

 with barrels if the bunghole is securely 

 closed. 



Of course if you have no outapiaries, 

 you may put your crop in one or more 

 large tanks and draw from these. But 

 if you let the honey granulate in the 

 t?nk, it is a rather difficult job to re- 

 move it without scratching the tin, 

 which will cause rust the following 

 years. To remove granulated honey 

 from barrels it is of course necessary to 

 take out the head. This may be done 

 with very little trouble and without in- 

 juring the barrel in the least. We will 

 give a description of the method we 

 use in our next number. 



Helping Increase the Crop 



The Government of the United 

 States is taking more and more in- 

 terest in the production of large crops. 

 Those of our beekeepers who desire it 

 can secure information on beekeeping 

 and good advice by writing to Dr, E. 

 F. Phillips, Apiarist, Bureau of Ento- 

 mology, Washington, Special pains 

 are taken to help the business of 

 honey production as well as the sales 

 of honey. 



Bee Magazines 



A friend calls our attention to the 

 fact that, in mentioning the magazines 

 of which we have complete files, we 

 did not mention the British Bee Jour- 

 nal. He wishes to know whether we 

 do not consider it worthy. Yes, it is. 

 The British Bee Journal is, we believe, 

 the only weekly bee magazine in the 

 whole world at present, and it is as 

 regular in its publication as ever, in 

 spite of war conditions. 



The only reason why we do not have 

 a full set of this magazine is that we 

 have received it regularly for only 

 about 30 years. It is now in its 45th 

 year. 



In our June number will be found a 

 biography of Edward Bertrand, taken 

 almost verbatim from the columns of 

 the British Bee Journal, This is suffi- 

 cient evidence that we appreciate the 

 magazine in question. Moreover, it is 

 edited by our old, experienced and 

 learned friend, Thos, W. Cowan, thor- 



