384 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 1 



to be suspended from the cork. After going 

 over every colony I had, and measuring over 

 800 tongues, keeping a record of every mea- 

 surement, I am certain that the heart-to-heart 

 truth of the matter is that the length which a 

 bee's tongue will reach can no more be ascer- 

 tained and measured to a certainty than a sim- 

 ilar piece of rubber. The crying need of the 

 time is for a standard reliable glossometer in 

 which the bee does the measuring ; and until 

 this is had, the results at present obtained can 

 be regarded as only temporary makeshifts. 

 Spring Grove, 111., Feb. 11. 



[See footnote to article by A. C. Miller. 

 With regard to the subject of measuring bees' 

 tongues, I may state that I have taken the 

 bees of our $200 queen, for instance, and mea- 

 sured them two or three different times from 

 as many different cages, and the results were 

 the same — jVi)- Afterward I did not know but 

 some one else would get a different result, and 

 therefore I instructed one of our men, Mr. R. 

 G. Calvert, how to measure, and then told 

 him to go and get the bees himself and mea- 

 sure their tongues. I did not tell him what 

 measurement I had secured from this particu- 

 lar colony, as I wished to see if he would get 

 as long a reach as I did. He measured one or 

 two cages of these bees, and the result show- 

 ed that he got 1%^^. 1 was satisfied. Occa- 

 sionally we find a colony where there is a va- 

 riation of T^^^ or yf {,, but not often. 



As to a glossometer and its use, here is an 

 objection that occurs to me : The bees will eat 

 through the meshes of the screen, perhaps a 

 dozen or so of them at a time. The distance 

 from the wire cloth to the honey, after it is 

 eaten down, will be the length of the tongue- 

 reach, of course. Now, suppose there is a va- 

 riation in the length of the bees' tongues of 

 that particular colony. Obviously, the gloss- 

 ometer will show only the longest tongue-reach, 

 and 7iot the average of the whole colony. 

 Some one else suggests letting the bees of a 

 whole colony reach through the wire cloth 

 screen until they have eaten the honey from 

 under it down to a certain level, and then 

 measure from the top of the wire cloth to the 

 surface of the honey. Here again we are get- 

 ting only the reach of the longest tongues, 

 and perhaps there might be only a hundred 

 bees in the whole colony that would have 

 this reach. 



I have experimented a good deal with chlo- 

 roform, and I do not find any great variation 

 in results if the chloroform is used properly. 

 I put a very little of the liquid on a common 

 handkerchief. The wet spot is placed right 

 over the wire cloth of a cage of bees. In a 

 few seconds I raise the handkerchief and look 

 into the cage. If the bees are not wholly un- 

 der its influence I let it remain a few sec- 

 onds more. But in any case the handkerchief 

 is left on only long enough to stupefy ; and, 

 while the little carcass is still quivering with 

 life, it is dissected. The head is removed, 

 and the tongue stretched on the micrometer 

 scale, as I have explained on page 101, Feb. 1, 

 and again in this issue, page 399. 



Much inquiry has come as to where these 



steel rules or scales could be had. Hitherto I 

 have referred our friends to the large hard- 

 ware stores ; but finally we have been com- 

 pelled to get a stock, and are now in position 

 to furnish them, having hundredths of an inch 

 marked on one side, for 40 cts. postpaid by 

 mail. A magnifying glass and two large darn- 

 ing-needles, and a penknife with a sharp-point- 

 ed blade, are all that is absolutely iiect-s^ary 

 to complete the work of measuring. — Ed] 



COMB HONEY VERSUS EXTRACTED. 



Comb Honey Scarce, but Extracted Becoming a Drug 



in the Market, at Low Prices; an Important 



Suggestion for the Consideration of Ex- 



tracted-honey Producers ; a Valuable 



Article. 



BY HENRY SEGELKEN. 



The season for 19U0 being practically over, 

 it occurred to us that it might be of interest to 

 bee-keepers in general to learn our experience 

 for the past two seasons regarding the sale of 

 comb honey as compared with that of extract- 

 ed. While the crop has been short for the 

 past two seasons — in fact, almost a total fail- 

 ure in many sections of the country — we had 

 no trouble whatever in securing all the ex- 

 tracted honey we could handle, and had an 

 abundant supply ; but our receipts of comb 

 honey fell off to a very great extent, and we 

 were unable to supply a large number of our 

 customers, and outside trade in particular. 



Large quantities of extracted honey of the 

 1899 crop were carried over, while, in the tarly 

 spring of 1900, the markets were practically 

 bare of all grades of comb honey, and prices 

 were well kept up. Our market, at present, 

 and we think all Eastern markets, are well 

 cleaned up of comb honey, and prices are well 

 maintained. This can not be said of extract- 

 ed. More or less will be carried over this sea- 

 son, unless sold at reduced prices. Within 

 the past two weeks extracted has declined 

 about one cent per pound, and the indications 

 point to a still further decline. 



We believe it is generally claimed among 

 bee-keepers, that, by producing extracted, 

 they can produce twice the quantity they 

 could if they were producing comb honey, and 

 that, therefore, extracted could be sold at 

 half the price of comb. Perhaps this is true, 

 and for the past few years prices have ruled 

 accordingly — extracted honey selling at from 

 5 to 8 cts , and comb at from 10 to 16, as to 

 the various qualities. It must be borne in 

 mind, however, that prices of extracted have 

 not always remained firm, while on comb they 

 have. Besides, as said above, we found no 

 trouble in securing all the extracted we re- 

 quired, and could have handled thousands 

 more crates of comb, but it was not to be 

 found. Therefore it seems to us that it would 

 be beneficial to the bee keepers if they would 

 cut off the production cf extracted honey to 

 some extent, and produce more comb. If not 

 in general, we would certainly make this sug- 

 gestion to the bee-keepers of the East, and es- 

 pecially to those living in the large buckwheat 



