134 



GLEAN IN G8 IN BEE CULTURE. 



J^ES. 



your Simplicities. It is true, that Mr. Bing-ham 

 practiced laying his hive upon its bacls for making 

 certain examinations and clipping cells, and he 

 illustrated the performance to me in his apiary, 

 but he didn't first shake out the bees, nor is his 

 construction especially adapted for working from 

 both sides, as I have made mine. 



I feel indebted to Mr. Bingham for what he has 

 done by waj' of clearing our minds of false im- 

 pressions against extremely shallow combs. The 

 claims of my invention are on page 14 of my circu- 

 lar, and I think both you and Mr. B. will see that 

 none of them are anticipated in his hive. If you 

 think I am mistaken with regard to his hive satis- 

 factorily carrying out the functions of mine, I 

 would suggest using some of each, side by side. 

 In doing so, please use both styles just as we make 

 them. Do not inadvertently wrong us by any al- 

 terations. 



I have devised some ten or twelve different ways 

 of constructing my hive without the outer case; 

 like Mr. B., making the ends of the frames take the 

 place of the ends of the ease; and I have abandon- 

 ed them all for what I believe to be vei'y good rea- 

 sons. You can have the reasons and the models 

 any time you wish to print them. 



In the A. B. J. Prof. Cook said: "If any one 

 honestly believes it, let him say it is a worthless 

 hive and system. But, alack the day when any 

 considerable number of bee-keepers say it is not 

 Mr. Heddon's." Jas. Heddon. 



Dowagiac, Mich., Jan., 1887. 



VOLATILE OIL IN HONEY. 



THAT WHICH GIVES FLAVOR TO HONEY. 



XN all discussions in regard to ripening honey, 

 j^[ one essential fact has been entirely ignored, 

 ^l and yet the quality, if not entirely, is more de- 

 "*■ pendent on it than on any other. That honey 

 must be of a certain consistency, is conceded 

 by all; so quality first and quantity next is what we 

 are all in pursuit of; and how to get the latter 

 without failure of the first, is yet an open question. 

 Admitting proper consistency, quality, then, is due 

 to its peculiar flavor, which is derived from the 

 nectar of the flower. 



All flowers and plants possess a peculiar and dis- 

 tinct odor, which is due to a volatile, or essential 

 oil, peculiar to itself, and this same oil we find in 

 the nectar of the flowers; this it is that gives honey 

 its distinct flavor. When flowers are macerated in 

 water, then distilled, the essential oil of the flower 

 passes off' with the steam, and, if condensed, the 

 oil is found in minute quantities floating on the 

 water; and this, as its name indicates, is very vol- 

 atile; and, if exposed to the atmosphere, in time all 

 evaporates. Thus the flavor of the honey is de- 

 pendent on the quantity of this oil present in it. 

 Some flowers possess more of it than others; and, 

 as a natural result, we find some honey with more 

 of a distinct flavor. If the retention of this oil is 

 desirable, then that method by which there is the 

 least loss is the one we are in search of. That we 

 have not yet attained this, is evidently a fact; but 

 that it is attainable is beyond question, and I doubt 

 not but that careful experimenting will yet give us 

 a standard to go by. G. W. Brodbeck. 



Indianapolis, Ind., Jan. 30, 1887. 



Friend B.. while some of this volatile oil 



is a good thing, I believe 1 should, as a rule, 

 prefer that the bees evaporate out the great- 

 er part of it. Honey newly gathered from 

 basswood has altogether too much volatile 

 oil to please most pt^ople, and the same may 

 be said of tlie horsemint of Texas, and many 

 other kinds of honey. If letting the honey 

 get tlioroughly ripened deprives it of this 

 volatile oil, I should say let the oil go. 



pa^Meg MB Dwindle? 



PERTAINING TO BEE CULTURE. 



We respectfully solicit the aid of our friends in conducting 

 this department, and would consider it a favor to have them 

 send us all circulars that have a deceptive appearance. The 

 greatest care will be at all times maintained to prevent injus- 

 tice being done any on". 



DELOS STAPLES AND THE BLUEBERRY-BUSINESS, 

 AGAIN. 



"T^D. GLEANINGS:— I notice that the blue- 

 '^^ berry man has commenced advertising un- 

 t^'r dcr a new name and address; but when the 

 ■^"^ circulars come to hand they come under the 

 name of L. D. Staples. See inclosed circular, 

 just received. On account of new subscribers, 

 would it not be best to caution readers of Glean- 

 ings? I lost some four or five dollars by investing in 

 blueberry plants with Staples. I could get no sat- 

 isfactory answer from him. I inclose an advertise- 

 ment cut from one of the Jan. monthly agricultur- 

 al papers, and have seen it in at least one other. 

 Exter, Pa., Jan. 31, 1887. P. Sutton. 



I too, friend S., have noticed the blue- 

 berry advertisement, and I judged it was 

 probably Mr. Staples under another address. 

 Below is the advertisement mentioned in 

 the letter: 



BLUEBERRY. A valuable fruit to grow for 

 pleasure or profit. Price list free to all. An 

 agent wanted in eveiy town. Complete outfit 

 furnished free. Address, Willow Ridge Fruit- 

 Farm, Portland, Mich. 



I will explain to those who have been vic- 

 timized by Mr. I). L. Staples, that he does 

 not send "out any plants at all. He sends 

 only some dry sticks, with a pretense of 

 putting a little moss around them. They 

 never grow, and he never makes any thing 

 right. Will our friends of the agriculturjil 

 press please pass him around ? The circu- 

 lar, sent in response to an answer to the ad- 

 vertisement above, brings the old blueberry 

 circular, signed L. D. Staples, Portland, 

 Mich. He was so thoroughly advertised 

 under his old name and address that he 

 thinks to get new victims by the " Willow 

 Ridge Fruit-Farm '" dodge. By the way, we 

 are very much obliged to the friends for 

 promptly forwarding any thing that seems 

 to have the semblance of a swindle. Let 

 us help all honest men to live ; but at the 

 same time let us help all swindles to die, 

 and that quickly. 



Since the above was in type I notice sever- 

 al of the agricultural papers have also tak- 

 en the matter up. Now, is it not time, dear 

 friends, that a complaint be sent to the 

 Postmaster-General, and that a protest be 

 made against delivering mail matter to Mr. 

 Staples? He has swindled enough people al- 

 ready. 



