Aug. 23, 1900. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



533 



who rise up and say they've been using 'em any time for 

 the last 10 years ! They do move terribly slow, do those 

 ' smart Yanks ;' but once earn the name of being an early 

 riser, you know, and you may sleep till mid-day." 



" Yes," says another, " Ernest Root is getting, I see, to 

 be quite an inventive genius in his way ; and he has found 

 out at last, and is cackling over his discovery like a hen that 

 has just laid its first egg— that narrow sections, used with 

 cleated separators, need no openings or scallops — the way 

 Jimmy Topham has been using 'em for years, by planing 

 down his 2-inch sections, you know (the only size you can 

 get from those wretched English supply men). It is a mys- 

 tery to me that the plan was not long ago conceived and 

 adopted by that smart, practical bee-keeper, Mr. B. Taylor, 

 who first gave us the idea of the cleated separator." 



" Again," chips in another, " look at their score or two 

 of complicated, fussy, bee-irritating feeding-devices — es- 

 pecially Golden 's ; and compare any one of them with your 

 own simple device, Mr. Deacon, of the drawer under the 



flight-board, why ." But I didn't hear any more, for 



modesty compelled me to leave the room. Anyhow, I don't 

 think that the average American is one jot more practical 

 than is the average Englishman, or the average German, or 

 the average Frenchman. Nor, I am sure, will any intelli- 

 gent American put forth such a boastful claim. There are 

 practical and non-practical, wise and foolish, good and bad, 

 pretty and ugly, nice and nasty, men and women among all 

 nations. 



I hope I have given no offense ; if I thought I should be 

 doing so I would rather have left the above sentences in the 

 ink-pot. And, now, as the said ink-pot is about dried up, I 

 must perforce dry up, too, and conclude with the opinion 

 that the time is near at hand when economic management 

 will open bee-keepers' eyes, first, to the necessity, and, 

 secondly, to the positive advantage, of using very much less 

 foundation than they at present use. South Africa. 



Care of Honey — Seasonable Sug-g-estions. 



BY MOKLEY PKTTIT. 



EVERY one aims, or should aim, at excellence in what- 

 ever he or she undertakes. The adage, "There is 

 always room at the top," is true in every trade a?nd pro- 

 fession. To this rule apiculture is no exception, and those 

 devoted to the production of honey will excel by supplying 

 the very best comb and extracted on the market. Extracted 

 honey is judged by color, flavor, and specific gravity, or 

 "thickness." In saying " color," we might say lack of 

 color or transparency. This may be maintained by care- 

 fully excluding all darker varieties from the white. The 

 other two qualities are secured by leaving it with the bees 

 as long as possible or convenient. Some of our best men 

 do not extract until the close of the honey-flow. By this, 

 however, basswood and clover are not separated, and in 

 opening hives after the close of the honey-flow, there is 

 danger to the inexperienced of robbing. 



As soon as possible after extracting put up the honey 

 in the packages in which it is to be sold, leaving it exposed 

 to the air as little as possible. Not that it will " work " or 

 spoil, but it has great affinity for water, and the exposed 

 surface soon becomes quite thin from contact with atmos- 

 pheric moisture. Then, if left in a deep tin, holding, say 

 400 or 500 pounds, the thicker portions sink and the thinner 

 rise until it becomes graded from very thick at the bottom 

 to quite thin on top, and is difficult to secure a uniform 

 sample without a great deal of stirring. Stirring, again, 

 hastens candying, and candied honey, altogether quite as 

 good as, and by many preferred to, the liquid article, will 

 not pour, and is much more difficult to dip into vessels for 

 sale. 



There is even yet some doubt among the uninitiated 

 about the question of candied honey, many regarding it 

 with suspicion. Impress upon all buyers the fact that 

 candying, or becoming white and solid similar to lard, in 

 cool or changeable weather, is a proof of purity, altho in 

 rare cases the best extracted honey, in its natural state. 



does not candy even under these conditions. To reliquefy, 

 set the can on wooden blocks in water over a slow fire. 

 Remember that honey that has been slightly overheated 

 has a burnt taste, is darkened in color, and will not candy 

 again. On the other hand, if the granules are not all 

 melted it candies again very soon. This suggests a point, 

 in the case of extracting-combs, bearing on the subject. 

 Before they are stored for winter have them thoroly cleaned 

 by the bees, so there may be no adhering honey to granu- 

 late and set the next season's honey candying early. 



For the very reason that all honey becomes hard in 

 cold weather, the best package for retailing is one having a 

 wide, open top, to allow the honey to be dug out, and that 

 may be heated in water if it is to be liquefied. Glass makes 

 a very attractive package, as it shows up the transparency 

 of the contents to good advantage. Altho not quite the 

 handsomest shapes, fruit sealers are the best sellers, as 

 every housekeeper has use for them when empty. Less ex- 

 pensive and more convenient vessels are tin pails of 3- 

 pound, S-pound, and 10-pound capacity. They may be 

 secured with slip covers for the home market, or self-seal- 

 ing covers for shipment. The most popular package for 

 shipping large quantities is the 60-pound tin, crated singly. 

 It is about the right weight for one man to handle, and be- 

 ing square, does not waste space. Have a supply of labels 

 which are distinctly your own, and not like those of every- 

 body else, and put them like a trade-mark on every package 

 of first-class honey. Do not injure your reputation by sell- 

 ing dark honey with your label on it, for many will not un- 

 derstand that it is not your best. 



With comb honey, carefully scrape all wax or stain 

 from the sections, leaving the wood smooth and white. 

 Grade the sections into two or three classes, according to 

 whiteness of capping and honey, and extent to which the 

 sections are filled and capt. Do'not spoil the market with 

 poorly-filled or uncapt sections, but extract them and give 

 to the bees next season. They will be filled much more 

 quickly than sections containing foundation. Very neat 

 and attractive show-cases of whitewood with glass front 

 may be obtained from dealers in bee-keepers' supplies. 



Now, as to the best way of disposing of honey, I would 

 say do not be in a hurry to sell at a low figure. Stimulate 

 the home market in every way. Supply your grocers and 

 get them to work up a good trade among their customers. 

 Many never buy honey because it is not brought before 

 their notice. Invite any friends who call to sample your 

 honey, and get them to bring their neighbors and buy. 

 After you have sold all you can at home, sell to those whose 

 business it is to find larger markets elsewhere. — Farmer's 

 Advocate (Canada). 



Relationship of Bee-Life to Agriculture. 



BY F. GREINER. 



I WILL give in the following a synopsis of an address 

 delivered before the Australasian Association for the 

 Advancement of Science, by Prof. Albert Gale, on the 

 subject of " Color of Flowers, and Its Influence on Bee- 

 Life." As far as practical and advisable I will give the 

 Professor's own words. Some things may not be new to 

 the readers, but it will help to show them the state of affairs 

 over there : 



" As I proceed I think I shall be able to show that bee- 

 life and blossoms are so closelj' associated that, to interfere 

 injuriously with either will at the same time injure both. 

 Animal Ijfe can not exist without the vegetable kingdom. 

 Some forms of vegetable life can exist without the presence 

 or animal life, but others would cease to exist without the 

 presence of some forms of insect life. Nearly all insects 

 aid more or less in fertilizing the vegetable kingdom. 



" Pollen is the fertilizing and vitalizing agent in re- 

 producing all classes of vegetables. It is produced in 

 abundance by all flowering plants, both by those of con- 

 spicuous and inconspicuous blossoms. As a rule, incon- 

 spicuous flowers are wind-lovers, and those of more gaudy 

 tints are insect-lovers. It may.not be generally understood 

 that there are male and female elements in the vegetable 

 organism just as in the animal organism. Agriculturists 

 and those engaged in vegetable culture do not as a rule 

 know that plants are reproduced on precisely similar lines 

 as animals. Not one out of a thousand has sufficient 

 knowledge of his occupation to understand that there exists 

 a sexuality in plants, and that fertilization is as necessary 



