580 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 



cans and pack them into a petroleum-box, paying 

 5or6cent8 each tin and box, soldering- costing V 

 cents each tin; nails and hoop iron around the box, 

 IJ to 4 cents, making a total cost of 36 cents for 100 

 to 110 lbs. of honey. If our California bee-friends 

 could utilize the same, they could pack very nearly 

 3 lbs. of honey for a cent instead of one cent a 

 pound, as mentioned on page 765, Gleanings, 1888. 

 The tins are thoroughly cleansed by putting- ashes 

 and water, to stand a few hours, in the tins, and 

 occasionally shaking them; after having rinsed 

 them with fresh or warm water, a few drops of al- 

 cohol, lighted, finishes the whole. Can they not be 

 had in their own country at the same rate, or 

 cheaper, than some thousand miles away from 

 their starting-place? Ph. J. Baldensperger. 



Jaffa, Syria. 



It is very interesting indeed for ns to 

 know that, away across the ocean, yon 

 have just about the same experience and 

 difficulties we have to meet here. I am glad 

 that you enjoyed friend Secor's poem. I 

 felt a little anxious to know how it would 

 strike our German readers. I hope that you 

 and your friend hoth recovered after read- 

 ing it. So you enjoy raising vegetables, as 

 well as myself. You speak about the pe- 

 troleum - cans of California. Why, my 

 friend, the most common object to be found 

 in any part of California is those empty pe- 

 troleum-cans, and they have been for years 

 utilized, or at least a great many of them, 

 for honey-cans. Our carload of honey that 

 came from California was put up in just 

 that way. Even brand-new cans can be 

 used now, at considerably less than a cent a 

 pound per package. We now sell two of 

 the cans, packed in a box, the whole ar- 

 rangement brand-new, for only (>5 cents, in 

 100 lots. Friend Woodberry, of Glendale, 

 Cal., gets rid of the coal oil by simply mak- 

 ing a hole in the corner, opposite the screw 

 cap. After stacking them up in the dooryard 

 for several weeks, the oil is entirely evapo- 

 rated. There must, however, be two open- 

 ings. 



* i ^ 



WHAT IS THE FINEST HONEY? 



PRESIDENT MASON ANSWERS SOME HARD QUES- 

 TIONS. 



fHESE questions have been handed me to an- 

 swer in Gleanings. The first is, " Is clover 

 honey superior to all other honeys? and if 

 so, why? What makes it so?" 

 This question might be answered by the 

 word )«), and truthfully so by a great many lovers 

 of honey, and then others would just as truthfully 

 say yea. If a person's taste or preference is to 

 constitute the basis for judging, we can have about 

 as many negative and ailirmative answers as there 

 are kinds of honey. Some have so strong a prefer- 

 ence for buckwheat honey that all other kinds are 

 not worthy to be compared with it, and some par- 

 ties in this region think nothing in the line of hon- 

 ey is as good as some kinds of honey-dew. 



To be a first class judge of anything requires a 

 certain something that I don't know how to de- 

 scribe, and which but few seem to possess. Au il- 

 lustration has just come to my mind. I'm almost 

 afraid to give it, for I may bo wrong; but that isn't 

 what 1 care so much about. Our sisterhood of bee- 



keepers may take me in hand, and give me a good 

 shaking-up, but I'll run the risk. 



For several years I've had charge of what is 

 known as the " exhibit of canned goods," at the Tri- 

 State Fair at Toledo. It consists of canned fruits, 

 preserves, pickles, etc., and it is quite an extensive 

 display; and I have found it quite difficult to se- 

 cure competent judges. It has been my experi- 

 ence, that, as a rule, it is somewhat difficult for 

 ladies to agree as to which specimen is entitled to a 

 first premium, and this is my reason: Each one 

 will " positively declare " that the one that comes 

 the nearest to her taste, or to what she has been ac- 

 customed to have, is the best, and does not take 

 into account certain qualities that make it far su- 

 perior to any other specimen. 



Bee-keepers would scarcely be ready to admit 

 that such as prefer buckwheat honey to all others, 

 are good judges of honey, unless that preference is 

 made subservient to gitod judgment. 



In " Langstroth on the Honey-Bee," recently re- 

 vised by the Dadants, it is said that "The whitest 

 and best - flavored honey ... is that gathered 

 from white-clover blossoms," but no reason is given 

 why it is best-fiavored. I believe that white-clover 

 honey is the best, not because it is the whitest or 

 has a better flavor: for to me bass wood (linden) 

 honey is the best-fiavored; and toothers, raspberry, 

 buckwheat, mangrove, orange, or some other hon- 

 ey is the best-flavored. I have had hundreds of 

 pounds of basswood honey that was whiter than 

 any white-clover honey 1 ever saw. There is some- 

 thing in the composition of clover honey that 

 makes it more satisfying to the taste, that I can 

 not describe, and is beyond the " ken " of science. 



The second question is, 



AVHAT SHOULD GUIDE JUDGES IN J UDGING HONEY? 



If judging honey at fairs is what is meant, it 

 might be said that the premium-list should be the 

 guide. For instance, the Buffalo International Fair 

 premium-list says: " Display of comb honey, largest 

 and most attractive," and the same in regard to 

 extracted honey. In these, color and quality are 

 not taken into account. 



In the next premium it says, " Sample of comb 

 honey." Here color and quality are the leading 

 objects, and quantity and attractiveness are subor- 

 dinate. Good judgment is quite a desirable com- 

 modity in judging honey. 



The third question is, 



IF JUDGING BV POINTS OF A MAXIMUM OF 20, HOW 

 WOULD YOU ALLOT THE POINTS? 



I don't think I would use a maximum of 20 points 

 in judging honey. I should prefer not less than 30 

 or 40 points for extracted, and 100 for comb honey. 

 For extracted honey, take into consideration the 

 color and quality, the receptacle, and attractive- 

 ness of the display. 



For comb honey, consider the size 1 , shape 2 , color, 

 and cleanliness of the sections^; color of honey 4 ; 

 quality'-; fullness of sections'; how filled at the 

 edges 7 ; evenness of comb"; empty cells"; general 

 appearance 10 



Judging by points takes more time, but will gen- 

 erally give better satisfaction than any other meth- 

 od, and can be applied to most things exhibited at 

 fairs. The number of points can readily be ar- 

 ranged on any article by any person competent to 

 act as judge. A. B. Mason. 



Auburndale, ()., June 26, 1889. 



Many thanks, friend M., for your valuable 



