BKE KEEPING. 99 



Question. Do you allow the bees to make their own combs ? 



MR. BEDFORD. No, we supply the foundation as it takes four times 

 as much work to produce one pound of comb as to produce the same 

 quantity of honey. 



REV. MR. BURMAN. I would like to ask Mr. Bedford if he has had any 

 difficulty with the honey in the matter of granulating. The reason I 

 ask is this. There is in the Province a colony of Swiss and they are 

 great bee-keepers. I have brought with me a sample of honey from 

 that colony which they say is superior to Swiss honey which is the best in 

 Europe. The Swiss complain that it will not granulate. That is why 

 our friends in the East mix honey with glycerine. I atn sorry to say it is 

 true and I know it for this reason, that a person who deals in Eastern 

 honey told me a little while ago that the dealers always ask what per 

 centum of glycerine you would like put in the honey and they say that 

 as a rule they put in about 18 per cent. 



There is something singular about this honey remaining liquid 

 always and I would like the bee keepers here to examine it. The Swiss 

 think that there must be some particular flower here that keeps it from 

 granulating. I got it last March and therefore it will be two years 

 old next summer. This that I have in this little glass has been exposed 

 to the air since last March. The moisture has evaporated but it has 

 not granulated. I wonder if the gentlemen here can tell us anything 

 about that and whether any particular plant would keep it from granu- 

 lating. 



MR. BEDFORD. I have heard it said, but I do not know on what 

 authority, that there are certain plants of the artemisia family in 

 California that the honey produced from will not granulate. Possibly 

 this honey was gathered from Artemisia. You know that it is very 

 plentiful here. 



MR. BURMAN. I have made a great many inquiries but these 

 people do not know enough of the country to be able to tell anything 

 that would throw light upon the matter. I scarcely think that that 

 will cause it. The Artemisia is a bitter plant and it seems hardly 

 likely that it could be that, as the flavor is not at all bitter. It seems 

 remarkable that honey that has been exposed to the air for so long will 

 not granulate and remains so soft. If we can find out what plant this 

 is it will be worth thousands of dollars to the Province. I have been 

 trying to find this out for the past year and I am now having an analy- 

 sis made for that purpose. 



MR. BEDFORD. Honey certainly does not always partake of the 

 particular qualities of any plant. The best honey that we have at 

 Brandon is produced from the Gum weed, and the plant has a turpen- 

 tine odor but the honey is quite free from unpleasantness. 



