GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



The temperature when we started was 

 between 80 and 90, and the air very warm 

 and sultry. However, the brood was unin- 

 jured; and so far as I could judge, the 

 brood-chambers did not show any effects 

 from the confinement. This was contrary 

 to my expectations, and must have been 

 due to our faithful and frequent watering. 

 Practically no black bees or their crosses 

 were dead; but among the strong Italian 

 -eolonies we found quite a number of dead 

 bees. I told Mr. Diemer before we left 

 that I expected this, as I have always no- 

 ticed that Italians, when excited and unable 

 to get out of the hive, may turn and sting 

 one another to death. However, this was 

 not a serious loss, and the trip was a decid- 

 ed success. It was not long after the bees 

 were unloaded and the hives opened that 

 we sought a well-earned rest. 



Brantford, Ontario, Canada. 



BEEKEEPING AND SCHOOLTEACHING 



BY B. D. ROBERTS 



In view of the now inadequate wages 

 of the country schoolteacher, and the short 

 term of school, it becomes necessary for 

 the great majority of pedagogues to seek 

 summer employment. At present, it seems, 

 farming is the chief resort of those who 

 do not "take the road," canvassing. But 

 fai'ming can not be carried on successfully 

 during vacation alone. Thus, with the 

 capital which is necessary, and the hired 

 heljD which is often insufficient, the net 

 proceeds are greatly diminished. Again, 

 farming is open only to the men, while a 

 great many of our teachers are women. 



To such a somewhat cultured class of 

 men and Avomen there is open no more gen- 

 tlemanly, lucrative, and yet recreative oc- 

 cupation than beekeeping. It is true, at- 

 tention is required in early spring; but by 

 the proper use of Saturdays and evenings 

 it is possible to get along till vacation. 



Beekeeping offers the ideal field for ex- 

 ercise of the teacher's scientific and ex- 

 perimental tendeucips, and can not but be 

 a success when attempted with his usual 

 energy. The small capital, the compara- 

 tively sure returns, the unlimited field and 

 the iileasant out-of-doors work, would sure- 

 ly' appeal to the teacher were his atten- 

 tion but once attracted, and yet in none 

 of the teacher's periodicals have I seen 

 the subject mentioned, even in an adver- 

 tisement. Nor is this a one-sided proposi- 

 tion. Teachers, as a class, represent some 

 of the best mental energy in our land, and, 

 with their organization and co-operation, 

 which would certainly be extended to their 



vacation pursuits, could they once be in- 

 terested, they would not be such a des- 

 picable addition to beedom. Through 

 their joining the ranks, the honej' market 

 would not be loaded, but rather livened, 

 for they could and would, since it would 

 then be of personal interest to them, cre- 

 ate a great demand for honey among the 

 younger generation, and at the same time 

 do their duty by exiDounding the truth 

 concerning this paragon of sweetness. 

 Knox, Ind., Aug. 8. 



BAD TASTE CAUSED BY DEAD BEES IN HONEY 



BY BENJAMIN C. AUTEN 



When raw fruit is put uj) in jars for 

 exhibition purj^oses, the experts in charge 

 of the work spend weeks testing and chang- 

 ing the solutions in which they are pre- 

 served, so as to get the density exactly the 

 same as that of the enclosed juices of the 

 fruit to be preserved. If it is too liglit in 

 density, the fruit will burst; if too dense, 

 it will shrivel. This is because, when two 

 fiuids of different densities are separated by 

 a membrane, the two fiuids interchange 

 until the mixture each side is of the same 

 density, the less dense fluid going through 

 faster than the heavier one. 



In an article by a prominent honey- 

 producer, published two seasoais ago, the 

 writer did not deem it necessary, when ex- 

 Iraetiiig, to keep the robbing bees which 

 fell into the vat constantly skimmed out, 

 taking it for granted, I presume, that the 

 bees were clean and would do no harm if 

 taken out at the end of the day or at the 

 close of the job. How clean bees may be 

 is not necessary to consider. As soon as a 

 bee is in the honey it begins to slu'ivel, this 

 shriveling being due to the escape of the 

 body fluids through the membranous walls 

 of the insect into the honey; and, though 

 honey is a i^owerful preservative, it can 

 not prevent the occurrence of chemical 

 changes in the animal matter (though it 

 may prevent actual decay) which can be 

 of no advantage to the honey as a food. 



As a matter of fact, I have bought ex- 

 tracted honey which had a flavor almost 

 exactly analogous to the odor which comes 

 from decaying bees in hives in which 

 ihey had frozen out. Is it not possible that 

 here arises a part, at least, of the popular 

 prejudice against extracted honey"? 



Carthage, Missouri. 



[It is not always possible to prevent 

 some bees from being in the honey, but it 

 is surely best to skim them out several 

 times a day, at least. — Ed.] 



