30 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1 



fit for use the second time; but on further inves- 

 tigation we found that, after they had been emp- 

 tied, there was some hot water put into them to 

 rinse out what honey remained, which was put 

 into a large vessel, and we were informed this 

 was used to help make gingersnaps, as that form 

 of cake, because of its color, will absorb a good 

 many things without observable detriment; there- 

 fore on cutting open some of the cans we found 

 that they had rusted on the inside, while free 

 from it on the outside; and we do not know of 

 any thing that injures honey more quickly than 

 rust. 



We have always discouraged the use of cans 

 the second time, and have never offered them for 

 sale, although we get a good many of them sent 

 to us that have been used the second and perhaps 

 more times. People who sell second-hand cans 

 to producers of honey avoid buying honey in 

 those cans themselves, giving as a reason for it 

 that they are afraid the cans are rusted on the in- 

 side; and another reason is, they can't sell them 

 so well when they have been used more than once. 



From our experience of more than thirty years 

 as honey-dealers we are ready to assert that the 

 producer who buys second-hand honey-cans to 

 put good honey into is losing money thereby, for 

 his honey will not bring as much, as a rule, in 

 old cans as it will in new. Even if the honey is 

 of choice quality, the best buyers are afraid that 

 it may be injured. 



Chicago, 111. 



[Mr. Burnett is one of the largest dealers of 

 honey in the United States, and his statements 

 should have considerable weight. On the other 

 hand, we should be glad to hear from the other 

 fellow — the producer. — Ed.] 



JAPANESE CLEMATIS. 



Preventing Robbing by the Use of Wet 

 Hay Over the Entrances. 



BY W. C. FURNAS. 



I am sending you an enlarged photograph of a 

 bee on the flowers of the Japanese clematis — 

 Paniculata I believe it is called. 1 have never 

 seen this vine mentioned as a honey-producer; 

 but when in bloom here, from about Aug. 15 to 

 Sept. 1 it is fairly alive with bees from nine 

 o'clock until noon. The bees get from it a 

 greenish pollen, and nectar also, I suppose. They 

 were so thick over the vine that I frequently had 

 two or three at one time in the field of an eight- 

 inch lens two feet distant, and several of my ex- 

 posures show two or more bees; but they woik 

 in such nervous, frantic haste that it is difficult to 

 get a proper focus. I also send a photo showing 

 the vine where the pictures were taken. 



This beautiful vine is much used in my locali- 

 ty for shade and decorative purposes, and is said 

 to be perfectly hardy everywhere. I have no 

 means of knowing how much honey it really 

 yields. There are perhaps some hundreds of 

 vines within reach of my bees, but I do not sup- 

 pose there is enough bloom in any locality to 

 make any considerable difference in a honey crop. 

 I consider it of interest as one source which 

 might help tide over times when there is general- 

 ly a dearth of nectar, and it must be interesting 

 to any bee-keeper to see the way the bees work 

 on the blossoms. 



The last view is a fair illustration of the meth- 

 od so often described and advocated by Dr. Mil- 

 ler and others, of stopping robbing by closing 



THE JAPANESE CLEMATIS AS SHADE FOR A PORCH. 



