5S 



February, 1914. 



cakes, honey candies, honey-canned 

 fruit, etc., that the women had entered 

 at the Washington State Fair. They 

 surely attracted much attention, and 

 will help to show other women just 

 what can be done with honey in the 

 kitchen. Why, I can almost taste yet 

 the many delicious things that were 

 made witli honey, and which it was my 

 duty (as well as pleasure) to sample at 

 this particular fair. It is one of the 

 best ways possible to increase the use 

 of honey in baking and preserving. 



I wish also to mention the several 

 most excellent displays of mounted 

 nectar-yielding plants. As I recall it, 

 one e.xhibitor had over 100 different 

 specimens. They were very attractive. 



The more I attend fairs and come in 

 close contact with the apiarian exhibits, 

 the more I am convinced that many 

 beekeepers are neglecting a splendid 

 opportunity to advertise the products 

 of the apiary when they fail to take 

 advantage of the chance to show large 

 numbers of people the value of honey 

 through exhibits at fairs. Also, every 

 exhibitor of honey, bees, etc., should 

 have a small leaflet to hand out to visi- 

 tors, showing various ways in which 

 honey can be used, and also bearing 

 the name and address of the exhibitor, 

 so that the recipient may order in case 

 honey or further information is de- 

 sired. 



From the various fairs that I have 

 attended in widely scattered parts of 

 our great country during the past 20 

 years, and also from the excellent api- 

 arian displays I have seen at these 

 fairs — from Toronto on the north to 

 San Antonio on the south, and from 

 Buffalo on the east to North Yakima 

 on the west — I am led to conclude that 

 almost everywhere is a good location 

 for beekeeping. All it needs is the 

 right kind of beekeepers to go in and 

 possess the land with its nectar already 

 there awaiting the bees to gather it. 



Sandpoint, Idaho. 



Let Us Not Exaggerate 



BY J. CREPIEUX-JAMIN. 



WK read from time to time, in the 

 bee-papers, that a friend of the 

 lioney-bee has died at a very 

 advanced age, and that the se- 

 cret of his longevity was to 

 take a spoonful of honey every morn- 

 ing. It is so simple that one is aston- 

 ished to hear of any beekeepers dying 

 at middle age; evidently they must be 

 vicious people. 



This idea of theextraordinary power 

 of honey is so deeply anchored in the 

 mind of many beekeepers that I do not 

 approach this subject without appre- 

 hension. I have gathered together cir- 

 culars and articles extolling the virtue 

 of honey. The collection is under my 

 eyes; I see in looking it over that it 

 will be difficult to convince some peo- 

 ple, and I would not like to displease 

 them. Truly, honey is an aliment so 

 rich and so delicious that by its un- 

 questionable qualities it deserves to be 

 placed in the front rank of edible 

 products; but it is needless to claim 

 for it universal qualities against disease 

 or even death. 



"The daily use of honey is a brevet 



American HQe Journal 



of long life." "Eat honey daily and 

 you will never be sick." " Honey pro- 

 tects the health and cures disease." 

 " Honey as food, and not as medicine, 

 eases digestion, strengthens the bron- 

 chial tubes and preserves persons 

 from gastritis, enteritis, colds, bron- 

 chitis," etc. ! 



We find almost everywhere in api- 

 arian literature the assertion that honey 

 is a sovereign remedy in throat trou- 

 bles. If they said that it is "useful" 

 they would be nearer the truth. When 

 we speak of throat troubles, colds, 

 bronchitis, etc., we give too general 

 enumerations. One speaks thus of the 

 diseases of the respiratory organs 

 when one does not know them. It is 

 thus that they were mentioned some (10 

 years ago, before the discovery of 

 microbiology. But now we make a 

 distinction between the ditTerent ba- 

 cilli, and we also distinguish specific 

 bronchial troubles produced by the 

 special germs of diseases of which they 

 are a symptom, bronchitis caused by 

 grippe, measles, whooping-cough, tu- 

 berculosis, etc., as well as the non- 

 specific bronchial troubles caused by 

 the common microbes of inflammation. 

 And as to the throat itself, it is the 

 seat of numerous diseases, which dif- 

 fer greatly in their form and their ori- 

 gin. The pharynx may be suffering 

 in one or another of its parts, tonsils, 

 palate, whence are produced the divers 

 quinsies and amygdalitis. 



In view of the complexity of causes 

 and effects, the use of honey as a pre- 

 servative or a remedy appears insig- 

 nificant ; very unwary is he who counts 

 upon its decisive action. Honey is a 

 first-class food, but a medicine of low 

 value; it is sometimes softening and 

 laxative, but that is small value to- 

 wards a cure and far from a cure-all. 

 I do not see the need of diminishing 

 the legitimate interest in honey by at- 

 tributing to it qualities which it does 

 not possess. The result is to cause a 

 shrug of the shoulders by every man 

 who is informed on medical subjects. 



This little weakness of exaggeration 

 is not confined to the beekeeping 

 world. We read not long ago of an 

 American lady who draws the attention 

 of the world because she possesses a 

 number of millions, and who is said to 

 preserve her health in old age by eat- 

 ing onions every day. In Provence 

 and Algeria they prefer garlic for 

 many reasons; garlic is stimulating, 

 diuretic, and a vermifuge. An athlete 

 preserved his strength by eating nuts. 

 Others praise sugar. Truly, honey is 

 better, and for good reasons. But here 

 comes a centenarian who gives his 

 secret: Drink a glass of water every 

 morning when getting up. It was dis- 

 gusting to be informed by the cente- 

 narian of Darnetal, that a glass of 

 brandy, from time to timt, in the 

 morning, is not injurious. Happily for 

 common sense and good e.xamples, the 

 majority of centenarians, when inter- 

 rogated, declare that sobriety and ab- 

 stinence from alcohol have been most 

 useful to them in maintaining their 

 health. 



There are also centenarians who 

 owe their long life to the observance 

 of 10 to 15 precepts. Upon examina- 

 tion, we acknowledge their correct- 

 ness; they praise hygiene, peaceable- 



ness, regularity, wisdom in every form. 

 They are well, not because of a single 

 alimentary habit, but because of several 

 good habits, moral as well as physical. — 

 Tratislalci/ from 1.' ApkuUurc XouTelie. 



Economical Bee-Hive Construc- 

 tion and Manipulation 



BY J. E. IIAXD. 



DURING the past few years 1 have 

 devoted my best energies to 

 simplify methods, and minimize 

 labor by the development of 

 principles, and methods for the 

 prevention of swarming by rendering 

 conditions unfavorable to the develop- 

 ment of the swarming impulse. Ma- 

 nipulation is but another name for 

 labor, and while we may by e.xcessive 

 manipulation discourage swarming, the 

 chances are even that we have also 

 discouraged honey production by plac- 

 ing the colony so far from a normal 

 condition as to render it practically 

 unproductive during an ordinary clover 

 harvest. Viewing it thus, it is neither 

 desirable nor profitable to prevent 

 swarming unless it can be accom- 

 plished spontaneously. My labor has 

 not been wholly in vain, especially 

 since my investigations have led me 

 into broader fields of observation and 

 research along the line of economical 

 bee-hive construction and manipula- 

 tion ; and I believe, to the discovery of 

 principles for the spontaneous preven- 

 tion of swarming, as well as for mini- 

 mizing expense for equipment. 



L.SRGE BROOD-CH.^MBERS. 



In touching upon this important sub- 

 ject I do not wish to convey the idea 

 that some particular form of hive will 

 give vastly superior results in honey 

 production, but rather to show where- 

 in a properly proportioned general pur- 

 pose hive is best suited to the needs of 

 the masses, when viewed from the 

 standpoint of economy and utility, the 

 two essential points of bee-hive con- 

 struction and manipulation. Since the 

 Langstroth frame has stood the test of 

 time until it has become the standard 

 for America, there is little room for 

 improvement here, and the only ques- 

 tion that remains is how many frames 

 shall we use in a hive ? The correct 

 answer to this question will determine 

 the proper size of hives, concerning 

 which there is still a wide diversity of 

 opinion. The tendency is toward large 

 brood-chambers; the 8 frame size has 

 few advocates, and the lO-frame size is 

 being discarded for something larger. 

 This movement is not a mushroom 

 growth, but it is the result of a gradual 

 development actuated by stern neces- 

 sity, and based on sound principles of 

 economy and general utility. 



Since it is generally conceded that 

 horizontal contraction and expansion 

 of the brood-chamber is the correct 

 principle, it should be of sufficient 

 capacity to develop the fertility of the 

 most prolific queens ; for no one who 

 would consult his financial interests 

 can alTord to curtail brood-rearing in 

 a cramped brood-chamber. Viewing 

 it thus, it is evident that the 10-frame 

 hive is out of proportion, as well as 

 entirely too small for best results as a 



