698 



y-r...s foul-brood inspector of Wisconsin, 

 and still later liis sons have been using the 

 principle. 



Why, then, was the principle dropped by 

 so many beekeepers and retained by so 

 few? We do not know, unless it was that 

 these big hives were heavy and unwieldy, 

 because they involved extra labor in pack- 

 ing, and because they were not portable. 

 The modern tenement is made in sections. 

 It can be taken down and moved at any 

 time. 



Is the Advice to Put Comb Honey in a 

 Refrigerator Always Wrong ? A Chal- 

 lenge from Dr. Miller 



For years the recommendation has gone 

 out without a challenge, to store honey in 

 a warm dry room — never in a cellar nor in 

 a refrigerator. Any sane beekeeper who 

 would challenge that statement has nerve. 

 In a recent letter Dr. Miller refers to pages 

 659, 670, and 682 of our last issue. Then 

 he says, " 1 want to ask you to put some 

 honey in a refrigerator and then report 

 whether it gets wetter or dryer." While he 

 does not say in so many words y,'hat his 

 experience is, the inference is that it does 

 not get wetter, and that its quality im- 

 proves, because cold honey becomes thick 

 and waxy rather than thin, warm, and 

 tasteless. 



In some cellars and in some refrigerators 

 the air is almost di-y. In others the reverse 

 is true. Moreover, no matter how dry ei- 

 ther may be, the tendency to granulate is 

 liastened materially. While that does no 

 harm particularly for extracted, yet every 

 time the granulated article is reliquefied 

 some of the flavor is lost. Granulated comb 

 honey no one wants except the Jews, who 

 use it at certain seasons in their religious 

 festivals in a preparation that makes use of 

 both honey and wax. In any market gran- 

 ulated comb honey has lost a third of its 

 value, and very often it will not sell at 

 even the price of extracted. 



We would agree with Dr. Miller's implied 

 statement that both comb and extracted 

 comb ho)iey are improved if they are put 

 into a refrigerator for a few hours before 

 going to the table. They are improved in 

 that they become thick and waxy. There 

 is nothing finer to eat than a good grade of 

 table extracted honey that has been placed 

 in a window in hard freezing weather for 

 a few hours before it goes on to the table. 

 It becomes so thick and stiff it is almost 

 impossible to dip it up with a spoon. If 

 ever there was a food " fit for the gods " it 

 is cold honey. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Thank you. Dr. Miller, for bringing this 

 point up. OE course you and all others 

 would agree that the advice to keep either 

 comb or extracted honey in a dry warm 

 place of even temperature for storage pur- 

 poses is entirel}' correct. 



Crop Reports in Ontario, Canada 



The Ontario Beekeepers' Association of 

 Canada is to be congratulated on the excel- 

 lent work it is doing in securing crop re- 

 ports from its members. (See the summary 

 in last issue.) The credit for this work is 

 largely due to Mr. Pettit, the secretary. 

 The association is doing more thorough and 

 better work than is being done in any por- 

 tion of the United States or elsewhere in 

 Canada. In the last report received, dated 

 August 5, 19,107 colonies were reported, 

 comprising a large area of the province. 

 From this number of colonies there was se- 

 cui-ed up to that date 1,053,328 lbs., making 

 an average per colony of 55.1 lbs. In going 

 down the list, some counties report as high 

 as 100 lbs. each per colony. And then we 

 find 93, 107, 85, 78, 77, then down as low 

 as 14, 15, and 19 lbs. per colony, making an 

 average of 55.1 as stated. If Ontario has 

 had as much rain as Michigan, New York, 

 and Wisconsin, and the Government maps 

 show that it has had nearly as much, it will 

 doubtless still have a great deal of clover 

 in bloom. The i^resumjition is that all these 

 averages per colony, as well as the general 

 average, will go even higher. 



If we had had as thorough work done as 

 this in every slate in the Union, we should 

 be able to know by the first of AugTist, at 

 least, the amount of honey in sight, and the 

 price it would bring to move the crop. 



THE EFFECT OF THE GREAT WAR ON THE 

 PRICE OF HONEY. 



The prediction is made for Ontario that, 

 while the crop is average and the " quality 

 excellent." the " buying power of the public 

 is below the a\'erage." This is doubtless due 

 to the great war, which probably will pro- 

 duce a little more depression in Canada 

 than in the United States. But the war 

 certainly has affected the buying power of 

 the people on this side of the line, and this, 

 of course, will have a tendency to depress 

 prices on food products that are not staple 

 like meat, butter, milk, and the grains. 

 Honey, while a concentrated food, is still 

 regarded more in the line of a luxury than 

 a staple. The public is inclined to regard 

 as a luxury any non-essential when times 



