July 16, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



453 



whether the cane-sugar was added to the honey. In regard 

 to glucose-fed honey, I believe there is no such article on 

 the market. In regard to the detection of glucose in honey, 

 it is one of the easiest things in chemistry when present in 

 any commercial quantity. 



Mr. Wilcox — I notice in the report of the commissioner 

 of South Dakota that there is quite a variation. Now, what 

 causes that difference in the degree of variation ? 



Prof. Eaton — The variation is caused in part by the 

 varying amount of invert sugar in honey. Cane-sugar is 

 present in small quantities in all honey, from less than 1 

 percent to as high as 7 percent. 



Mr. Moore — Will you tell us what condition the market 

 is in now as compared with before your commission began 

 work^the percent of adulterated honey on the market ? 



Prof. Eaton — lean not, and I suppose it would be im- 

 possible to tell the exact percent of adulterated honey on 

 the market now or at any other time. But before the Food 

 Commission was in existence, the National Bee-Keepers' 

 Association took up the subject of adulterated honey in Chi- 

 cago, and bought a number of samples on the market indis- 

 criminately, and gave them to me for analysis, and the re- 

 sult of that work showed that at least 33' i percent of the 

 honey on the market was adulterated. The first year of the 

 Food Commission we took a good many samples of honey, 

 but, as a rule, we tried to get samples which we thought to 

 be adulterated, which looked suspicious in character. The 

 analysis proved that about a third of this also was adul- 

 terated, but I wouldn't want to say that that showed the 

 actual condition of the market, on account of the discrimi- 

 nation exercised in purchasing. This year we haven't been 

 able to find one sample of adulterated honey, but I suppose 

 there are samples of adulterated honey on the market. 



If any of the members of this Association have any 

 suspicions as regards any particular honey, or where we 

 may be able to get adulterated honey, I should be glad after 

 the meeting is over, to have you give us the names and ad- 

 dresses of the persons we could get that honey from, and we 

 will purchase a sample from them in the regular way by 

 our inspectors. No name will be given, and it will give us 

 some clew where to go to get adulterated honey. 



Pres. York — We find in certain parts of Chicago there 

 is adulterated honey, but it is labeled "adulterated." 



Prof. Eaton — I mean honey put up contrary to the food 

 laws. 



Mr. Colburn — Let me suggest a point. I don't believe 

 that there is any adulterated comb honey anywhere. We 

 had some adulterated some months ago in Chicago, and a 

 statement from some editor that you couldn't find a pound 

 of pure comb honey — we should make a distinction between 

 extracted and comb honey, so that the public will not be 

 misled. 



Dr. Miller — I think he said there wasn't a sample of 

 any glucose-fed honey. 



Prof. Eaton — X wouldn't want to say that there is no 

 adulterated comb honey, because we regard the feeding of 

 bees cane-sugar to be an adulteration, and we have found 

 and proved in Illinois that from one apiary there was that 

 kind of honey placed on the market. We bought the sam- 

 ples and proved them to be — and it was afterwards admitted 

 to be — honey that was obtained by feeding bees cane-sugar. 



FEEDING GLUCOSB TO BBKS. 



Mr. Wilcox — I would prefer to ask this question of the 

 bee-keepers. It is the simple question referred to glucose- 

 fed comb honey in Mr. Eaton's first remarks. I want to 

 ask the bee-keepers if anybody knows whether the bees will 

 store glucose. Can you make them store it, or can you 

 make them store cane-sugar in the hives ? I have been told 

 by men who have fed barrels of it, and fed it for years, who 

 positively declared that the bees didn't store it in the combs, 

 and will not store it at all. 



Pres. York — I am afraid you are expecting a great deal 

 if you want these bee-keepers to confess I 



Mr. Niver — Mr. Hutchinson says they won't take it for 

 him, and he says he would like to know if there is anybody 

 else here who has tried it. 



Mr. Abbott — They won't take it from anybody, only to 

 keep from starving. 



Mr. Armstrong — There is honey in the market labeled 

 " adulterated " that has comb in it. What is the object in 

 doing that ? It is intended to deceive, is it not ? 



Dr. Miller — When they see the comb there they won't 

 look so sharp at the printing on it. 



Mr. France — In reply to Mr. Hutchinson I will say that 

 I was considerably interested in the adulteration of honey, 

 but decided to test it before spreading it about. I took a 



colony, put them into a hive, and starved them for 48 hours; 

 then I gave them pure glucose, and they continued to starve, 

 and there was the same amount in the vessel that there was 

 before. I added one-fourth honey to that liquid ; still they 

 continued to starve, until it was one-half honey before they 

 touched it at all, and then only just enough to subsist or 

 live. 



(Contiaued next week.) 



( 



Contributed Articles 





More About Forced or Artificial Swarming. 



BY C. DAVENPORT. 



IN my previous article upon artificial or forced swarming 

 I treated the subject in a general way only, but as there 

 are a great many who will no doubt try it for the first 

 time this season, it may interest some for me to give some 

 of my experience in the matter more in detail. 



I have in the past said, and I am still of the opinion, 

 that the amateur, or those without experience, can secure 

 better results by allowing natural swarming. While quite 

 a few have reported good results from forced swarming 

 upon their first trial of the plan, there is no question in my 

 mind but what to every one who has reported favorably, a 

 dozen or more have tried it with unfavorable results, and 

 said nothing about it. From this it will be seen that I do 

 not believe with some that this method or control of swarm- 

 ing will greatly increase or revoluntionize our business. 



From careful reading of what has been written on this 

 subject, I know that some localities are for some reason 

 more favorable for forced swarming than my own is. For 

 instance, one who has had a good deal of experience reports 

 that with him these forced swarms very seldom, or never, 

 attempt to swarm out or desert after being made. Now, 

 here that is one of the main draw-backs about the plan, for 

 from 40 to 80 percent of these swarms will swarm out 

 within a day or two after being made, the number varying 

 in different seasons. In fact, I do not know but what some 

 seasons I would be safe in saying that over 100 percent will 

 swarm out, for some will come out twice, and in a few in- 

 stances I have had them come out half a dozen or more 

 times, and sulk around for a week or so in the height of the 

 white clover harvest, before settling down to work. 



If it were not for this swarming out, I could produce 

 much more honey each season than I do now. But as the 

 matter now stands, I know from actual experience that I 

 can, one year with another, make more money from one 

 yard than I can by attempting to run one or more out-yards. 

 I mean, of course, without hiring help ; and if this is to be 

 done it requires less skill to handle natural swarming than 

 it does to make forced swarms so that good results will be 

 secured. 



The last two seasons all the bees I have personally 

 handled were located in one yard. Last season there were 

 180 colonies, spring count, in this yard, and I secured about 

 13,000 pounds of honey which averaged me about 10 cents a 

 pound net. I also sold about 4fl00 worth of bees and S20 

 worth of wax. About a third of this honey was extracted 

 and the rest comb in sections. I did nearly all the work 

 myself, and I had more than I wanted to do, and more, I 

 think, than any man should do. 



I have given the results of last season to show that 

 good results can be secured from forced swarming, but I 

 had to be right there every day to attend to the forced 

 swarms, and if I had been running around to out-yards but 

 little in the way of surplus would have been secured from 

 any of them. This matter of one handling a number of 

 yards alone must depend upon locality, for no man that 

 ever lived could do it profitably here. Through June, July, 

 and August one large yard keeps a man moving lively in a 

 fair season, if he does what should be done. Last season I 

 let on shares a large out-yard to a man who has quite a fam- 

 ily of children, a number of which are nearly grown up. 

 He allowed natural swarming and also practiced forced 

 swarming, and for awhile it took him, the hired man, and 

 all the rest of the family to handle them. The forepart of 

 the season, though, was the worst for swarming, and the 

 swarms were the hardest to handle that I have ever known. 

 One of the many mysteries about our pursuit to me is, 



