1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



681 



while the honey from other sections will not 

 take more than can to can." I think this dif- 

 ference is largely due to the fact that the taste- 

 less honey was thrown out by the extractor as 

 fast as it was brought in, and then evaporated 

 by sun heat. The heat of the sun dissipated 

 the flavor. With me the honey is allowed to 

 remain on the hive until it is heavy in body. 

 Honey with an objectionable flavor I have cor- 

 rected by heating, thus evaporating the rank 

 taste and odor. 



If it is desired to have the bees build comb 

 while storing honey, I find placing a frame 

 with a starter only, in the center of the brood- 

 nest, where the cells will all be worker, a bet- 

 ter plan than to " cut deep " in extracting. 

 The cappings are worth but 26 cts. when melted 

 into wax, while the drawn combs are worth 

 ?1.00 a pound. I do not mean that old combs 

 are worth this per pound, as they are heavy, 

 but light new combs the same weight as the 

 cappings. 



Lumber boiled in linseed oil is almost water- 

 proof. Why not make hive-covers of the ven- 

 tilated type, and boil all the parts in oil ? It 

 would cost a little more at the start, but the 

 wood would absorb but little paint, while the 

 covers would be almost indestructible. If you 

 would test the matter, take two pieces of a 

 section ; boil one in oil, and soak the other in 

 water ; now expose the two to the sun's heat, 

 then soak both in water, and observe the dif- 

 ference when exposed to the sun. 



Mr. Root's description of the 50-cents-an- 

 acre lands of Florida, with water on tap, caus- 

 ed me to ask, " Why don't they raise alfalfa, 

 and feed it to stock? " Land of that descrip- 

 tion is worth a hundred dollars an acre for al- 

 falfa, anywhere in the United States. Alfalfa 

 would in that climate produce four to six crops, 

 and make four to eight tons of hay to the 

 acre. Fed to stock it would bring, in cattle or 

 pigs, $5 to $10 a ton, at the least. Hogs 

 thrive as well as cattle on green alfalfa, and 

 do well on it when dry, if cut and steamed. 



There may be sections where comb honey 

 can be produced to as great a profit as extract- 

 ed. Where this is the case, comb honey 

 should be given the preference, as it commands 

 a better sale, and can not be injured by the 

 substitution of glucose. With me, while all 

 stands produce a certain amount of extracted 

 honey, only the very strongest will build 

 comb honey ; and the proportion of comb, 

 when compared with what they would produce 

 of extracted, is so small that extracted at 5 cts. 

 a pound pays better than comb at 25. For 

 this reason starvation would stare the bee- 

 keeper in the face who ran all for comb hon- 

 ey, in this section. What is wanted is not less 

 extracted honey, but less glucose sold for ex- 

 tracted honey. 



Murphys, Cal., May 15. 



[Very possibly your method of making a 

 rabbet would be an improvement ; but I 

 should expect checking or splitting at the 

 nails in time, in your climate — the nails that 

 secure the rabbet in position. 



The next time bottlers of honey tell you 

 that they can take one can of honey and 



three of glucose, etc., quietly give me their 

 names, if you can get them to make the 

 statement in the presence of several witnesses. 

 They are just the chaps we should like to get 

 hold of. I am aware that your California 

 pure-food law has recently been made a dead 

 letter ; but if we get strong enough evidence 

 we may be able to do something, even under 

 the law, emasculated as it is. 



I have no doubt that hive-covers boiled in 

 linseed oil will prove to be very durable. 

 This suggestion may be worth a great deal to 

 the bee-keepers of California and Colorado, as 

 well as other States where the climate is very 

 dry and warm. 



If extracted honey brought 5 cts., and comb 

 honey 25, I do not see why it would not be 

 more profitable to produce the latter, twice 

 over. — Ed.] 



MARKETING HONEY ; MARKET QUOTATIONS 

 IN GI.EANINGS ENDORSED ; SEI^LING OUT- 

 RIGHT AND SELLING ON COMMIS- 

 SION; ORTHODOX ADVICE. 



" You know, Doolittle, that you told me to 

 grade, crate, and get my comb honey ready 

 for market a few weeks ago." 



"Yes, I remember." 



" Well, I have it all done, and now I come 

 over to have you tell me how I'd best mar- 

 ket it." 



"In telling you regarding this matter I 

 would say that much depends upon the 

 amount of honey you have and your sur- 

 roundings. If not more than from 100 to 500 

 pounds, probably you can dispose of it in our 

 nearby towns and to the farmers." 



' ' Perhaps I might dispose of part of it that 

 way." 



"Yes, I think you can ; but before dispos- 

 ing of any of it you wish to know what to ask 

 for it, not selling it too low, nor ask so much 

 for it that you can not dispose of it at all." 



"But how am I to know about what price 

 to place on it?" 



" To know in this matter you should take 

 some paper which gives a reliable report as to 

 what honey is selling at in our large cities ; 

 and I know of nothing more accurate as to 

 reports, or that takes more pains to ascertain 

 the truth in these matters, than Gleanings 

 IN Bee Culture." 



" I am glad to hear you say this, for I take 

 Gleanings." 



"Very well. Find the quoted price for 

 each grade of honey which you have, in the 

 city to which you would send your honey, did 

 you ship any away, and then figure the' ex- 

 penses for freight, cartage, and commission 

 out, and you will have what it is worth at 

 your nearest railroad station. For example, 

 the rates on comb honey from Skaneateles to 

 New York city is fifty cents per 100 pounds. 



