188.' 



GLtlAKlNGS IK iiEE CijLTijm. 



m 



FALSE STATEMENTS IN REGARD TO THE HON- 

 EY BUSINESS or OUR COUNTRY. 



As a protection to our bee-kpeping popvilation, we propose in 

 this department to publish the names of newspapers tliat per- 

 sist in publisliinjc false statements in lenarrt to tlie purity of 

 honey which we as bee-lceepers put on the marliet. 



E are pleased to notice some kind 

 words from the Prairif F<irmei\ in 

 regard to the way in whieli bee-keep- 

 ers have bejen wronged by newspa- 

 per stories about the adulteration of 

 honey. It is pleasant to know that at least 

 one of our agricultural papers feels like help- 

 ing to right so great a wrong. 



One of our correspondents sends us the 

 following clipping from the Anaheim, (.'al.. 

 Gazette of July is : 



The Massaehusptls State Board of Health, from 

 receut investig-atifni, finds that there is very little 

 pure honey in the .^tule. That sold in little glass 

 jars is not honey at nil, but simply glucose, witli 

 just a little of the honeycomb put in. 



The above has been going the rounds for 

 some little time, and we should like to have 

 the matter investigated. In the lirst place, 

 what is the Massachusetts Slate I5t)ard of 

 Healthy Can any of our friends who live in 

 the above State tell us about it? Next, is it 

 true that the Itoney offered for sale in tlie 



firovision stores of Massacliusetts is. very 

 ittle of it, pure honey? Will the bee-keep- 

 ers t»f that State "please look into the 

 matter? It seems to me it is a gross misrei)- 

 re.sentalioii. If it is indeed true, that Wias- 

 sachusetts is Hooded with spurious iioney. 

 then the bee-keepers of the State, assisted 

 by the bee-keepers of othei- States, if need 

 be, should look to it that good pure iioney 

 \fe offered at a reasonable jirice b\ all who 

 make it their business t(j ileal in honey. We 

 shall be ver,\ glad indeed of heli> to get 

 more facts in the matter. Kach State in 

 the Tnion has a <liity to perform in this 

 matter. Who will help to remove this stig- 

 ma from tiie liee-keeiiers of Massachii.setts? 



BKES AND FRITIT. 



1 inclose ynn a new remedy for killing- heos when 

 troublesome to fi-uit, which you will please insert in 

 Gr^EASiNfiS, lor the amusement of our bee-lceeping- 

 friends. It is taketi from our local paper, and is 

 the funniest thing- relating to bees which I have 

 ever read. Oh how it made me lauKh when I read 

 it ! T want to add, that •' many fruitgrowers" dutt't 

 adopt the " ingenious and elticacious" plan, or else 

 what a glorious time the bees would have! 



The irrepressible conflict between the Iru it-grow- 

 er and the bee-keeper is again to the fore. Though 

 grapes are not ripe, the bees are busily at work 

 harvesting them, to the annoyance and loss of the 

 vineyardists; and unless the owners of the depre- 

 dating- bees corral them, we are leiiuested to give 

 warning that the l)ees will be warred u()ou. 



The ingenious and etiicacious way ot killing bees 

 which many fruit-growers here adopt is to attract 

 the bees to vessels of honey on which common Hour 

 has been sprinkled. This fiour adheres to the feet 

 of the bees, and is thus carried to the hive, where it 

 ferments and asphyxiates the inmates. 



—Anaheim Gazette, Juhj IS, 188:>. 



Now, I want to ask a question. Suppose l)ees take 

 a load of some liquid or fruit-juice that has been 

 poisoned with strychnine or arsenic, will it kill them 

 before they are able to store it in the hives, or can 



they carry it in and store it in sufficient iiuaiitities 

 to hurt human beings, if eaten? 



1-Alfrf.d W. Hrvi), Ifi— :.'.•. 



Anaheim, v ( al., .fuly ;», ls8.-.. 



Friend II., no doubt tlie extract you send 

 us will provoke a smile from many bee-keep- 

 ers, and yet there is stmiething sad about it 

 to me, to think that we must have ditliculty 

 and disagreement.— Hees will usually die be- 

 fore they get to the hive, when poisoned 

 with Paris green or other arsenical prepara- 

 tions ; but I should think it quite probable 

 that, when the distance is short, they might 

 carry enough into the hives to make the 

 honey dangerous for people tt» eat. 



A BEE-CONVENTION IN SYRIA. 



iN IXTEUF.STINC I.FTTKR FROM FRANK IIKNTUN, I X 

 REGARD TO .\ P IC I' I.TU H E IX PAI-ESTINK. 



E had a bee-convention in Syria; or, rather, 

 we've been having a series of them here 

 recently. Thisma.vseem rather surprising 

 news tu people of the Western World, who 

 suppose.Syria is beyond the pale of civiliz- 

 ation. Uiit though the country is in many ruspects 

 behind Europe and America, modern methods in 

 bee culture have now taken permanent root here. 

 The gatherings have been quite informal In their 

 natuie, as close application of parliantentary rules 

 ill the conduct of such meetings is not the way of 

 till- country: moreover, of the seven or eight ditfer- 

 eiit languages represented by the members of the 

 convention, four had to be employed in the talks on 

 l.ees; namely, English, French, German, and Arab- 

 ic. Perhaps some of the friends in other countries, 

 will, tliid with but one otHciai lauiiuage in their con- 

 ventions it is still ditheull to get on harmoniously, 

 will wonder what we could do with such a Babel of 

 tongues. Nevertheless we got on quite well, and 

 the interchange of ideas will no doubt prove of 

 great value to man.\ ot the participants. At one of 

 the meetings a president was unanimously elected, 

 but he hasn't yet called anybodj to order. Proba- 

 bly the most important work done by the conven- 

 tion was the adoption of a standard frame for Syr- 

 ia, to be known as "the Syrian Standard Reversible 

 Frame." All bee-keepers in countries where sever- 

 al sizes of .frames have come into use will compre- 

 hend at once the wisdom of such a step while mov- 

 able-comb bee-keeping is yet in its infancy in these 

 parts. The frame adopted measures U\ Inches 

 t = 36.'> mm.) in length, and 8^^ inches ( = 223 mni.i in 

 depth. All members of the convention, which in- 

 cluded two Americans, one Frenchman, one Ger- 

 man, one Italian, and a number of Syrians, follow 

 American methods altogether in their apiaries, if 

 we except one, a Syrian peasant who has but one 

 frame hive as yet, and for the present retains na- 

 tive hives— long cylinders made of clay or of wick- 

 er-work, and also earthen water-jars. Into both sorts 

 of which the bees are put after the receptacle has 

 been laid on its side. 



Among other topics which were discussed at our 

 meetings, migratory bee-keeping (already largely 

 practiced here) and hives adapted to it received 

 much attention; also in connection with this the 

 various bee-ranges of the country were discussed. 

 Orange-blossoms furnish the chief spring harvest, 

 I though almond, apricot, and other fruit-blossoms, 



