1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



427 



ing for his bee-brush danghng down by his 

 side. In this constant changing of tools he 

 necessarily wastes time. There should be 

 a division of labor by which one man will 

 do one class of work and another one anoth- 

 er, each provided with the necessarv tool 

 for performing his division of the work. 



Mj\ Crowther does not say just how, but 

 we imagine that one of them handles the 

 smoker and opens the hive; possibly the oth- 

 er manipulates the frames with a hive-tool, 

 then botn are free to shake the combs in the 

 hive, or in front of the entrance. The man 

 with the wheelbarrow has nothing to do but 

 brush the few remaining bees from the al- 

 ready shaken combs and carry them to the 

 extracting-house. 



We wish to call attention to this method 

 of taking off the combs, because we believe 

 that it economizes labor. The late Mr. E. W. 

 Alexander pursued a plan somewhat similar; 

 but instead of using a wheelbarrow he em- 

 ployed a comb-carrier. The uneven, hilly 

 character of the ground on which his apiary 

 was located made this almost a matter of ne- 

 cessity. 



There are a number of other practical sug- 

 gestions all through this article, and we 

 commend it to the careful reading of every 

 one of our extracted-honey producers at 

 least.— Ed.] 



HONEY VERSUS CANE SUGAR. 



BY MRS. B. R. WINSLOW. 



I 



I At various times we have had calls for a brief and 

 yet comprehensive statement on the general subject of 

 honey as a food; why it is superior to other sugars, and 

 how it can be used in general cookery. The following 

 article is not only accurate as to facts, but is so well 

 stated that we suggest that our readers, especially those 

 who sell honey, get the same published in their local 

 papers. It is brief and to the point; and almost any 

 editor would be glad to publish it if a polite suggestion 

 is given from a resident bee-keeperto that effect. — Ed.] 



A child's craving for sweets of some kind 

 shows a real need of the system in that di- 

 rection; but, unfortunately, the sweets at 

 hand and usually given to supply this need 

 are not wholesome, and serve no oetter pur- 

 pose than to please the child's taste. In fact, 

 the work of changing the cane sugar into 

 grape sugar so that it may be assimilated is 

 often too great a tax upon the child's stom- 

 ach, and sickness results. This, however, is 

 not the case with honey. The bees have 

 fully prepared it for immediate assimilation, 

 and it is ready to be taken into the system 

 without taxing stomach or kidneys. Doctors 

 frequently order honey for those whose di- 

 gestive organs are too weak to convert cane 

 sugar into grape sugar properly. The whole- 

 someness of honey, however, is not disputed 

 by those who know any thing about the prod- 

 uct of the hive. The principal difficulty in 

 the way of its substitution for the sweets usu- 

 ally craved by children is the apparent lim- 

 itation of its use. The child has an inordi- 

 nate longing for cakes and candy, and that 

 is not always satisfied by bread and honey; 

 therefore, to take the place of cane sugar, 



honey must be prepared in the same man- 

 ner as cane sugar. It must be made into 

 cakes and candies and other dainties dear to 

 the children. The object of this article is to 

 supply housekeepers who desire to substi- 

 tute honey for cane sugar, in the diet of their 

 children, with a few simple recipes, obtain- 

 ed from practical experience, for making 

 this wholesome sweet into a variety of pleas- 

 ing confections. 



A few suggestions on the care of honey 

 may be of benefit to those who are so situat- 

 ed that it is cheaper to buy in quantities. 

 The worst place to store honey, or even to 

 keep it for a short time, is in the cellar or 

 any damp cool place. Honey, when extract- 

 ed from the comb, readily absorbs moisture, 

 becoming thin, and (in time) sour. The very 

 best place to store honey is in the attic, up 

 next to the roof, where it is hot. During 

 cold weather, honey that is kept any length 

 of time has a tendencj^ to granulate, turning 

 to a white, semi-solid granular condition. 

 This is called "candied honey," and it fre- 

 quently "candies" so solid that it must be 

 dug out of the bucket with a knife. It is a 

 simple matter, however, to restore it to its 

 former condition. Place it in hot water, 

 never over 160°, and let it stay until it has 

 liquefied. It may take an hour or it may take 

 a whole day. 



In the following recipes quantities are 

 given in pints and pounds because the suc- 

 cess of honey recipes depends upon the right 

 proportion of the ingredients. All cups are 

 not the same size, and do not hold the same 

 quantity of material, therefore it is best to 

 use a standard measure. 



The simplest honey cake is the honey gin- 

 ger-snap 



One pint of honey; ^4 lb. butter; 2 tea- 

 spoonfuls ginger. 



Boil together for a few minutes, and allow 

 it to get nearly cool. Add enough flour to 

 make a stiff dough, and roll out tnin; cut in- 

 to round cakes and bake quickly. 



Another simple cake is the honey cookey. 

 The recipe is given for a large quantity be- 

 cause they win keep indefinitely, and they 

 are nice to have in tne house all the time for 

 the children to eat between meals. If they 

 are wanted in smaller quantities the recipe 

 can be reduced a half or even one quarter. 



One pint honey; 1 quart sour milk; 1 tea- 

 spoonful soda. 



Mix well together and add sufficient flour 

 to make a soft dough. Roll moderately thin 

 and cut into round cakes. Bake in a slow 

 oven to prevent burning. 



A richer cookey is made by the addition of 

 butter and eggs. One pint honey; V^ pound 

 butter; 4 eggs; '/2 pint buttermilk or clabber- 

 ed cream; 1 quart flour; 1 teaspoonful soda. 



Mix the honey and the butter and the eggs 

 well and add the buttermilk. Sift in the 

 flour and soda, and mix well. Mix in enough 

 flour in addition to the quart to make a cookey 

 dough that will roll out well without sticking; 

 cut in round cakes and bake in a slow oven. 



In the line of confections, some sugar must 

 be used to make the honey "candy;" but the 



