350 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



May 



appliances alike, so as to simplify the working 

 of them as much as possible. All hives, frames, 

 cases, and sections, necessary for the season's use, 

 should he prepared ready for use before the season 

 begins. A great reduction in the cost of produc- 

 tion may be made by a proper and economical 

 arrangement of the apiary, and its appliances to 

 simplify the work to be done. A. D. Stocking. 

 Almena, Mich. 



THE NE-WT BOOK. 



A REVIEW BY R. L. TAYLOR. 



in NEW work on " The Production of Comb 

 k Honey," by W. Z. Hutchinson, has lately is- 

 v' sued from the press; and, coming as it does 

 from the pen of one who has had so much 

 experience in apicultural matters as Mr. 

 Hutchinson, and who has made this branch of the 

 business a special study, it deserves more than a 

 passing notice. 



In make-up and typography the work is above 

 criticism; and coming in covers made ajipropriate- 

 ly in close imitation of bright comb foundation 

 makes it altogether tasteful and unique in appear- 

 ance. In style it is concise, lucid, and to the point. 

 One determined to find a point to criticise might 

 complain at the redundancy of italics; and perhaps 

 the discussion might, with advantage, have been giv- 

 en a wider range; however, taking the title literally, 

 the author has discussed it from his standpoint in 

 all its material bearings. From the time of build- 

 ing up the colonies, in prepartion for the honey- 

 harvest, to the removal of the honey from the 

 hives, the ground is well covered. 



If I have not misunderstood the author hereto- 

 fore, he has made a marked advance toward the 

 doctrine of spring protection of bees, and urges 

 strong arguments in favor of thorough early pack- 

 ing to insure rapid breeding, and a strong force of 

 bees at the opening of the honey-harvest. While 

 some stand off and jeer at one who changes his po- 

 sition, and will not themselves move when increas- 

 ed light reveals their feet sinking in mire, T am al- 

 ways hopeful of getting some valuable Information 

 from one who shows a ready disposition to put aside 

 previous error. 



I accept Mr. Hutchinson's doctrine; but as to 

 method, 1 prefer, as being more convenient, good 

 division-boards and chaff or sawdust In the super. 

 The author, as one of his chief points, discusses the 

 methods of hiving swarms in hives without founda- 

 tion in the brood-chamber, so as to secure worker 

 brood-combs, and an increased amount of comb 

 honey, and sets forth all the requirements so fully 

 and clearly that no one who reads the work need 

 fail of success in pursuing the same plan. With 

 Mr. Hutchinson the only thing that stands in the 

 way of complete success in securing the entire ex- 

 clusion of drone comb from the brood-chamber are 

 the old queens, and he objects to destroying them 

 on account of the additional labor thereby imposed. 

 I think, however, that a queen that is even two 

 years old, and has passed the time in the current i 

 year when bees from her eggs can be profitably 

 reared for honey-gathering, can be profitably re- 

 placed by a young queen; and I believe it maybe 

 done at that season of the year at v^ery little cost. 



In addition to the methods advised in the book, 

 for clearing the bees from the cusps iq removing 



honey from the hive, I would strongly advocate a 

 good quill with which to brush off quickly the bees 

 which cling to the bottom of the case as it is raised 

 from the hive; and I would not overlook the utility 

 of the tent with a hole in the top, in ridding the 

 honey of the few bees remaining. The idea of us- 

 ing a tent for this purpose originated, 1 believe, 

 with myself, and I consider it a valuable aid to one 

 who has a good honey-house, and almost indispen- 

 sable to one who has not. 



For comb-guides in brood-frames, Mr. Hutchin- 

 son has found no good substitute for starters of 

 foundation. I have tried a small three-cornei-ed 

 strip of pine tacked to the center of the lower side 

 of the top-bar, the lower corner of the strip having 

 been previously dipped in melted wax. From the 

 limited experience I have had with it I am disposed 

 to think it a good substitute. 



The value of a book does not depend on the num- 

 ber of words it contains, high authority in bee-lore 

 to the contrary notwithstanding; and it does not 

 necessarily cost less labor to write a few words 

 than to write many; but there is no froth nor sur- 

 plusage in Mr. Hutchinson's work, and, judged by 

 the true standard of substantial worth, it must be 

 considered a great success, and no one of the class 

 to whom it is dedicated can attord to ignore it. 



Lapeer, Mich., Apr. J7, 1887. R. L. Taylor. 



SOME USES FOE HONEY. 



HOW TO PRESERVE FRUIT WITH IT, ETC. 



fOR jam, honey can be used instead of sugar 

 with several kinds of fruit. For this purpose, 

 clover honey is preferable to honeys of 

 stronger flavor. With cherries, raspberriest 

 and blackberi-ies, honey gives as good satis- 

 faction as sugar, as far as the flavor and the keep- 

 ing qualities of the jams are concerned; peach-jam 

 for which honey is used, ferments too readily; but 

 honey is superior to sugar to make grape-jam. 

 Grapes, canned alone or put up with sugar, will 

 have crystals of tartaric acid forming among them, 

 after being put away for a few months. But when 

 grapes have been boiled down with honey the crys- 

 tals do not form until a year or more after the jam 

 is made, if thej' appear at all; and, further, for 

 flavor and consistency, honey-jam is superior to 

 sugar-sweetened jam. 



SEEDLESS GRAPE-JAM. 



Push the pulps out of the grape skins, and keep 

 them in separate ve.«sels; weigh them, and allow 

 % of a pound of honey to each pound of fruit. 

 Put the pulps in a granite or a brass kettle, and al- 

 low them to boil until the seeds are well loosened, 

 then strain through a sieve. Return the thick juice, 

 thus obtained, to the kettle with the skins and hon- 

 ey, and allow the whole to boil from three to five 

 hours. The riper the grapes are, the better the 

 jam is. 



In our little town, honey is considered a supreme 

 remedy for colds and coughs. I find that there are 

 as many ways of using it as there families who 

 make use of it, though the favorite way among my 

 neighbors is to apply it exteriiallj to the chest and 

 throat, mixed with that old - fashioned panacea, 

 goose-grease (whether cures effected by this reme- 

 dy are " faith cures " or not, I can not say). Some 

 use honey made into candy; others mix it with an 

 equal proportion of butter, and swallow the miX' 



