600 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOLFIINAL. 



the bees could procure any substance 

 which could possibly produce this 

 effect. 



What, then, is the duty of bee-keep- 

 ers in such cases V Poisonous honey 

 is not infrequently met with. I have 

 myself been made sick by honey sev- 

 eral times durinct the past 20 or 25 

 years. Once the cause was clearly 

 traced to the so-called mountain 

 laurel (likododendronmaxiiniim) which 

 blooms in July and August. Another 

 time it was honey-dew, and many 

 complaints have been made the past 

 winter of the same result. If there 

 are all these risks and dangers, must 

 not honey-producers take pains to 

 avoid them, for the safety of the pub- 

 lic ? If a person sells poisonous honey, 

 and death ensues, clearly a mtn-al and 

 a legal liability attaches to him. This 

 is a very serious consideration. It 

 has long seemed to me that a new de- 

 parture must soon be taken by bee- 

 keepers, and tliat is to own their own 

 farms, and cultivate the best honey- 

 producing plants for the forage of 

 their bees. xVnother duty, clearly, is 

 to avoid the use of all known poison- 

 ous plants by the bees. 



[This matter was briefly mentioned 

 in last week's Bee Journal, on page 

 588. We there remarked that bee- 

 keepers should exercise due care, and 

 that where poisonous plants are found, 

 bees should not be kept.— Ed.] 



For the American Kee Journal. 



St. Joseph.Mo., Bee and Honey Show. 



E. T. ABBOTT. 



The St. Joseph Exposition for ISSo 

 was a grand success. We had the 

 largest and finest display in the bee- 

 department that we have ever had. 

 The Hoard gave us all the space we 

 wanted, and every one had a chance 

 to display his goods to the best ad- 

 vantage. Too much cannot be said 

 in praise of the othcers of the Exposi- 

 tion, for the liberal treatment which 

 bee-men have received at their hands. 

 About ?800 in premiums was offered 

 in this department, and the list was 

 well represented. 



Mr. Armstrong, of Jerseyville, Ills., 

 took the first premiums oh the best 

 colony of Italian bees, comb honey, 

 beeswax, his bee-hive, and a nuniber 

 of other things. The " St. Joseph 

 Apiary " carried off ttie first premium 

 on extracted honey, case for display 

 of honey on sale, Syrian, Cyprian and 

 Carnlolan bees, and several small 

 premiums. 



Mr. Alfred II. Newman's Excelsior 

 honey-extractor took the first pre- 

 mium. The '■ Berlin Fruit-Box Co." 

 got the first premium on honey-sec- 

 tions. a!id Mr. Mutli took the hrst 

 premium on his •'Perfection" bee- 

 smoker. The "glass front " bee-veil 

 had no trouble in winning tlie first 

 premium, and Mr. ^Vlley's drone-trap 

 was honored with a diploma. 



Tliere were two large dis|)lays of 

 apicultural literature on wlii<:h" Mr. 

 Parker was awarded the first, and 

 the '• St. Joseph Apiary '' the .second 



premium. The Superintendent of the 

 department had a large photograph 

 of Mr. Langstroth framed and set up 

 in a conspicuous place, accompanied 

 by a slip of paper on which was writ- 

 ten, "llev. L. L. Langstroth, inven- 

 tor of the movable-frame hive." 

 Many stopped to look at his genial 

 face, and, we trust, went away with 

 the impression that in a certain sense 

 he might be called a benefactor of his 

 race. 



We hope that next year the readers 

 of the Bke Journal will remember 

 the St. Joseph Exposition, and cgme 

 with their bees, honey, etc., and help 

 to swell our display. We are confident 

 that thev will not regret it if they do. 



St. Joseph, X5 Mo., Sept. 8, 1885. 



Fall 'Work— Marketing Honey. 



C. H. DIBBERN. 



Now is the time for the bee-keepers 

 to see that all is right with the bees. 

 Examine every colony that does not 

 work like neighboring colonies ; see 

 that they have queens and brood in 

 compact form ; also that they have 

 sufficient honey for the coming win- 

 ter. Colonies that are now found 

 queenless should be given laying 

 queens, as it is now too late to try to 

 have the bees rear queens from eggs 

 given them. If no queens are at hand 

 it will be better to unite these queen- 

 less ones with some other having a 

 queen, but somewhat deficient in bees. 



This is easily done by thoroughly 

 smoking both colonies, and then shak- 

 ing the bees off the frames from both 

 colonies, on a sheet, mixing them as 

 much as possible. Hive them as you 

 would a swarm, using all the combs 

 containing brood, also giving them as 

 much honey as will winter them. 

 Place the colony thus united, on the 

 stand occupied by the one having the 

 queen, and set up a broad board over 

 the entrance to cause the bees be- 

 longing to the other hive to mark 

 their new location. Remove the old 

 stand of the old colony, and destroy 

 all the land- marks about the old loca- 

 tion. All such work as handling 

 frames, opening hives, and taking off 

 honey, should be done during the 

 September honey-flow, when bees are 

 peaceabfe and less inclined to rob. 



Give them only as much surplus 

 room as they will occupy readily. 

 Take the sections from such colonies 

 as are not at work in them, and give 

 them to those that require them, so as 

 to get all filled. We cannot expect 

 bees to giilher honey much later in 

 this latitude than Sept. 20. Usually 

 we have a frost about this time, but 

 if not, the last of the flowel'S are going 

 out of bloom, and there is nothing to 

 gather from. 



The season has not been a very 

 favorable one; yet thebee-keeper who 

 has made tlie most of everything will 

 have some honey to sell. We have 

 the consolation of knowing that what 

 honey has been secured is very nice, 

 as we have not been troubled with 

 the honey-dew nuisance in this 

 locality. 



Now is the time to get honey ready 

 for market. This requires a great 

 deal of care and work. The honey 

 should all be assorted into at least 

 two grades, white and yellow ; some- 

 times it is also necessary to make a 

 third, or dark grade. The white is 

 usually classed as white clover, the 

 yellow as goldenrod, and the dark as 

 buckwheat, as a majority is, perhaps, 

 gathered from those sources. The 

 price of the diifereut grades varies 

 somewhat, but a fair difference would 

 be about two cents ; thus, if white 

 honey is worlh IS cents, yellow should 

 be worth 16 cents, and dark 14 cents. 

 Extracted honey sliould sell for about 

 two-thirds as much as the same grade 

 of comb honey. 



Having assorted the honey, every 

 particle of propolis should be scraped 

 from the sections. Care must be used 

 not to injure the sealed honey, or it 

 will surely leak out, daub up the 

 crates, and disgust the groceryman. 

 These sections should now be crated 

 in crates having glass on two sides, 

 and holding 20 to 24 pounds. The 

 crates should be of new wood, neat 

 and light, and branded with the pro- 

 ducer's name and address. It is rul- 

 able to put the finest combs next to 

 the glass, but the inside must be of 

 the same grade, and the bee-keeper's 

 name on the crate should be a guar- 

 antee that such is the case. The bee- 

 keeper should ever aim to create a 

 demand for his honey by its superior 

 quality, and by his honesty and fair 

 dealing. 



Now, having our honey ready for 

 the market, the question arises, what 

 shall we do with it V I say, do not be 

 in a hurry to take it to the nearest 

 railroad station and ship it to New 

 Fork, or some other large city. Those 

 cities are nearly always well supplied, 

 and prices are not always satisfac- 

 tory, and returns are often a long 

 time delayed. There are but few 

 localities in the West where all the 

 honey that can be produced cannot be 

 sold in the nearest town or city. Take 

 a sample crate or two of honey and 

 call at every desirable grocery and 

 take orders. Do not take a large 

 load, as you will thus create the im- 

 pression that there is a heavy crop, 

 and grocerymen will want to buy at a 

 small price. Do not be anxious to 

 sell to every store-keeper a lar^e 

 amount; it is better to sell him a 

 crate or two, so he will want more 

 when you call again. 



Many grocerymen will say that they 

 caimot handle honey till cold weather 

 comes, on account of the flies. Show 

 them how easily they can keep the 

 flies and dust out of your nice crates, 

 and they will readily take hold of it 

 and become regular customers, even 

 during the hottest weather. In mak- 

 ing sales, cash should be insisted 

 upon, even if you spend part of the 

 money for groceries afterwafds. 

 Every storekeeper with whom it is 

 desirable to deal, ought to be able to 

 pay the cash for a few crates of honey. 

 When it is once understood that 

 honey is " cash," there will be little 

 trouljle in settling on that basis to the 

 advantage of all concerned. 



Milan,~o Ills. 



