158 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



proval upon first thought, and es- 

 pecially when the design is to displace 

 a commodity against which no com- 

 plaint is made. 



The "snow-white" section is too well 

 established to ever be entirely aban- 

 doned, nor is it desirable that it should 

 be, yet we think the attractiveness of 

 our product might be enhanced by 

 some variations in color as well as in 

 design of sections. We once saw a 

 small display of honey in black-walnut 

 sections, and the effect was very pleas- 

 ing. Glass sections, though not adapted 

 to general use, have been exhibited 

 with pretty effect in public displays to 

 some extent. 



Sections of the four-piece variety 

 made of chestnut would be a decided 

 novelty on the market, and novelties 

 take the public eye. 



MILKWEED HONEY. 



There are few plants in the north of 

 which the bees are more fond during 

 their season of bloom than the milk- 

 weed. From a limited experience with 

 this plant we had formed an opinion 

 that the honey yielded was of a dark, 

 rather reddish color, good body and, to 

 our taste, not unpleasant, though pro- 

 nounced flavor. 



Much has been written in times past 

 concerning the plant, especially in re- 

 gard to the peculiarity of its pollen 

 masses, which are so constructed as to 

 attach themselves to the feet of the 

 workers, forming an accumulation 

 from which the bee is unable to extri- 

 cate herself, and by which she is so en- 

 cumbered that it is impossible to as- 

 cend the combs or hive-walls with her 

 load of nectar, and is in consequence 

 ejected from the hive. But no one to 

 our knowledge has told us anything of 

 the quality of milkweed honey; hence 

 there has been nothing to disturb the 

 opinion as stated above, which was es- 

 tablished as a result of having har- 

 vested something over a ton of honey, 

 supposed to be gathered from this 



Scpiemlur 



source, until recently, when we callev> 

 upon Mr. John F. Eggleston, of Vro- 

 man. Pa., who keeps about 125 colonies 

 and has, he says, lots of milkweed 

 within his range. Mr. Eggleston quite 

 positively opposed' our idea as to the 

 quality of the honey, claiming that it 



Milkweed.-( \^,l<pHts ) 

 SO nearly resembles white clover that 

 the two may only be distinguished by 

 the sulphur-colored cappings always 

 in evidence when bees are at work on 

 milkweed, and in support of his posi- 

 tion invited us to the honey-honse, 

 where a number of completed supers 

 were examined and the lemon-tint 

 pointed out, while the honey was as 

 light as any clover we had ever seen, if, 

 indeed, it was not genuine clover honey. 



Mr. Eggleston's argument was pretty 

 strong, though not altogether convinc- 

 ing. We are less confident of our opin- 

 ion, however, and earnestly in quest of 

 knowledge. 



The honey value of the milkweed and 

 the quality of the honey yielded, is a 

 problem now open. \ 



