1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



611 



feels that there are some exceptions that should 

 be taken to this article. It reminds me very 

 much of one ascending Pike's Peak, in Colo- 

 rado. After ascending two-thirds of the way 

 up to the peak, one looks across a beautiful 

 stretch of country, and certain impressions 

 are formed ; but on reaching the top, and get- 

 ting that grand extended view for many, many 

 miles, quite a different impression is formed. 

 In looking over the city of New York in ref- 

 erence to the honey-producing capacity, our 

 friend's conclusions are correct, and especially 

 so with regard to the buckwheat honey, of 

 which Northeastern Pennsylvania and New 

 York produce over half of the United States 

 supply. The reason why extracted buckwheat 

 honey is not profitable to produce any more 

 in the Eastern markets is because, first, the 

 biscuit trust can buy a better grade of honey, 

 for the same price, than buckwheat has always 

 been sold for in the past. Second, two years 

 ago a patent discovery was made by which 

 large producers in New York city can turn 

 out an adulterated article by the carload, and 

 make it sugar in four days after it is manu- 

 factured, which looks and tastes exactly like 

 the genuine buckwheat honey, and can be 

 told only by chemical analysis. Therefore, it 

 follows that buckwheat comb honey is the 

 only way that buckwheat honey will sell at 

 all, unless at very low figures. 



Now, then, ascending the mountain a little 

 bit higher, on looking over the vast area of 

 the United States in reference to its honey pro- 

 duction in relation to comb and extracted 

 honey, we advise the bee-men to go on just as 

 they have. About four years ago this sum- 

 mer, Wisconsin had hard trouble to dispose 

 of its crop of comb honey at 8 cts. a pound, 

 and it was very pretty at that. S nee Colora- 

 do, Utah, Arizona, and other new places have 

 come to the front in producing alfalfa comb 

 honey, there has always been sufficient comb 

 honey to go around. With all the human cry 

 last fall of a short crop, the writer knows of 

 two cars, one sent to Philadelphia and the 

 other sent to New York, that could not find 

 buyers, and had to be stored for future offer- 

 ings. 



One reason that comb honey has been scarce 

 with the dealers is because they were not will- 

 ing to pay the price. This year, with the 

 prospect of an immense crop from California, 

 and these new places heretofore mentioned, 

 that seldom fail with an average crop, the 

 prospect is that comb honey will be a drug on 

 the market ; and the bee-man should remem- 

 ber that comb honey, if not sold before the 

 following season, is not worth very much. 

 The average price for which California comb 

 lioney has sold on the Philadelphia market 

 with a good yield, has been 7 and 8 cts., a 

 comb running a little short of a pound. Now, 

 then, how should bee-keepers fare who have 

 always been able to get on the average 7 cts. 

 per lb. for fancy white-clover extracted honey, 

 and some years even more, if they turned 

 around and changed their hives to produce 

 comb honey, and we should have a big season, 

 and they could not sell it at an average price 

 ■of 10 cts., and would have to carry it over, 



and probably realize about 4 cts. per lb. for it? 

 I would say in conclusion to our fellow hon- 

 ey-producers, do as I propose to do — raise 

 comb or extracted honey in proportion as they 

 have in the past years, and not be carried away 

 with the high price comb honey would bring 

 one year in ten. 

 Jenkintown, Pa. 



RAMBLE NO. 187. 



An Experience with the Ferris Wax-extractor. 



BY RAMBI^ER. 



"Good morning, Mr. McCubbin ; glad you 

 came around. I've just been over all of our 

 colonies of bees, and cleaned house, as I call 

 it. There was an everlasting amount of brace- 

 combs and bits of comb at the ends of the 

 frames. Why, it seems to me there was a 

 poun-d of wax daubed around in useless places 

 inside those hives." 



"And, Rambler, you have got all these 

 boxes full— had no idea there was so much. 

 I suppose you will now render it out." 



" Well, no ; not just yet. I think I will 

 wait until I can use the sun extractor. I no- 

 tice an April sun is not a good wax-worker." 



" But, Rambler, why not use my Ferris wax- 

 extractor ? You know there is one in the back 

 room." 



" Yes, yes. I have noticed your old Ferris 

 concern ; but, I'll tell you right now I wouldn't 

 give a row of pins for it." 



"You wouldn't, hey ? Say, Rambler, did 

 you ever use one ? " 



"No, and I don't want to. Why, I have 

 used no end of these steam wax-extractors. 

 If a man has just one swarm of bees and a 

 milk-pan full of combs it might be of use, 

 for the women-folks could put it on the stove 

 and then it would take all day to render it." 



"Well, Rambler, you have a great amount 

 of prejudice. I don't see that this Ferris ex- 

 tractor is any slower than any other way of 

 boiling in water. Then you must know that 

 mine is the first one sent to California." 



"Is that so, Mr. McCubbin? Ha, ha! 

 Well, it ought to be the last one. No, sir ; 

 you can't fool me on these steam wax-extract- 

 ors ; besides, I have a brand-new way for ren- 

 dering wax, that will just paralyze Ferris and 

 his extractor. I don't mind if I reveal the 

 plan to you. You know when we boil all this 

 stuff in an open boiler, the refuse, instead of 

 staying at the bottom, where it ought to, 

 comes to the top, and wax and refuse have a 

 remarkable affinity for each other ; and, even 

 in your much-vaunted steam -extractor, much 

 wax goes into the slumgum. Now, my plan 

 is to put all of that refuse into the bottom of 

 the boiler, leaving nothing but wax on top. 

 The boiling water will eliminate every parti- 

 cle of wax from the refuse, and there is abso- 

 lutely no waste." 



" Well, Rambler, that is a very pretty the- 

 ory ; but did you ever make it work ? " 



" No, but I am just ready to. The plan is 

 very simple. I place a roller, or, rather, a 

 large tin spool, in the bottom of the boiler, I 



