1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



137 



will ward off, and the ones we have to fear. 

 The hoverino- or flying- bees will ver}' sel- 

 dom sting-. It is the bee or two that stand 

 up high on their leg-s, twist nervously this 

 way and that, and finallj' make a sudden 

 dart — zip-ker-whizz-z-ping — that will sting- 

 any thing- in sigfht — rush into a smoker 

 when the smoker is redhot — 3'es, and try to 

 sting the barrel itself, and finally writhe 

 ill agfony on the hot metal before it will 

 ^rive up. No, I would not g-ive much for 

 any preparation in the way of apifuge as 

 a preventive of sting's to the bare hands 

 when such bees are on the war-path. — Ed.] 

 " DRU.VKENNESS is far more common in 

 the United King-dom than it is in the United 

 States, and all the difference, apparentl3% 

 is due to the difference in the consumption 

 of beer alone. Can we argue, then, as is 

 sometimes done, that beer is a promoter of 

 sobriety?" — Chicago Record-Herald. [The 

 very fact that beer contains a comparative- 

 ly small percentag-e of alcohol makes it the 

 most harmful alcoholic beverage known, I 

 believe. Pure whisky or pure brandy, 

 containing- six or seven times as much al- 

 cohol, I have been told, is not nearly as 

 harmful. The real danger from the cigar- 

 ette is not because it may be drug-ged, but 

 because it contains a very small quantity 

 of light tobacco — so small an amount that 

 the fumes of the smoke can be inhaled in the 

 lungs, while the fumes of the cigar are too 

 strong for that purpose. The effect of the 

 cigarette is ten times more stupefying than 

 that of a cigar, for that reason. Beer, from 

 its small amount of alcohol, does not intox- 

 icate unless a considerable amount is ta- 

 ken. It is the quantity that does the mis- 

 chief. It is the malt liquors, of which beer 

 and ale are the most common representa- 

 tives, which are the most harmful in their 

 general effects. Although the Filipinos 

 used stronger alcoholic drinks up to the 

 time of American occupation, yet when 

 American beer was introduced, drunken- 

 ness increased at an appalling rate. I am 

 ferninst all kinds of alcoholic beverages — 

 and particularly so am I against beer, and 

 I will vote for any measure or proposition 

 that, in my judgment, will do the liquor 

 business as a whole the most harm. When 

 I know, for instance, that certain proposed 

 legislation makes its devotees howl with 

 rage, that is the measure that ought to 

 pass. They know what will hurt every 

 time. — Ed.] 



B. P., N. ?'.— The locality for bee-keep- 

 ing within ten miles of San Francisco is 

 not good; but by going into the central part 

 of the State 60 or 100 miles southeast, along 

 the line of the railroad, some good places 

 are found. But they are pretty well taken 

 up, and you could not very well get into 

 them without buying some one out. The 

 locality on the coast south of San Francis- 

 co, or north of it, would not be desirable. 

 There are some good locations a little north- 

 east of San Francisco, about 100 miles. 



1>iczKiJsrG& 



'^//lO/f^m'NVGHBflRS FIELDS. ^^ 



And perhaps the time is coining 

 Wtien the losses we've sustained 



Will be counted greater profit 

 Than the riches we have gained. 



After the Straw relative to Colossal Ladi- 

 no had gone to press we received a card 

 from Dr. Miller telling us to withdraw it. 

 I had just translated Mr. Bertrand's letter 

 to Dr. Miller, wherein it was stated that 

 the plant in question was probably a fake, 

 and not to be found. Dr. Miller's reason 

 for canceling his Straw was a letter from 

 Mr. Bertrand stating that he had secured 

 some ladino seed, and it now appears that 

 what was thought to be a myth is at least 

 a reality if not a benefit. 



U/ 



AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 

 A very important change has taken place 

 in this journal. Instead of being publish- 

 ed at Jamestown, N. Y., it is issued at Fort 

 Pierce, Fla., the residence of the editor, 

 Mr. Harry Hill. The difficulty of editing 

 a paper at long range must be very great, 

 and this, probably, accounts for the change. 

 Another striking feature is the insertion of 

 six pages of reading-matter in the Spanish 

 language, for the benefit of Cuban readers. 

 In the February issue will be found the be- 

 ginning of the natural history of the bee, 

 in Spanish. The Spanish seems to have 

 been put in t3'pe by those who do not under- 

 stand that language. 



In speaking of the trouble that besets the 

 market in extracted honey, W. W. McNeal 

 says that only about a half of one per cent 

 of our people believe that extracted honey 

 can be obtained in a state of purity. While 

 giving the glucose-mixer due credit for his 

 bad work, he says one thing that ought to 

 be remembered: 



Now, bad as glucose may be, the germ that is sap- 

 ping the life of trade in honey find-i its abiding-place 

 in unscrupulous methods of productioti. To people of 

 taste and refinement the quality and general appear- 

 ance of extracted honey in so many instances reflects 

 on the pro ucer such slovenly habits as to be in reali- 

 ty reprehensible. 



The man who produces thin, unripe, unstrained, or 

 dirty honey, and palms it off on another is just as de- 

 serving of censure as one who puts in glucose and calls 

 it honey. The effects are the same in both cases, for 

 both rob honey of its rightful constituents. 



Referring to the comb-honey canards, 

 and the diffictilty of convincing some edi- 

 tors of the facts in the case, the editor well 

 says: 



There is also another class of editors with whom we 

 have to deal— their numbers are few. let us l)e thank- 

 ful—who assume to have personal knowledge of the 

 existence of such spurious products, and are therefore 

 unwilling to be instructed on the subject. We have on 

 several occasions, when endeavoring to impart the 

 real truth of the matter, succeeded in eliciting only 

 the sympathy of our misinformed enemy. 



