260 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



New York Honey House. 



By an advertisement in last month's 

 Journal our readers were informed | 

 that H. K. & T. B. Thurber & Co. were 

 prepared to receive consignments of 

 honey. Several inquiries as to the 

 reliability of that firm led us to make 

 examination, and discover that they 

 are possessed of over a million dollars 

 as capital to do business on, and are 

 abundantly able to do the square thing 

 to all who may consign honey to them. 

 From a friend in I^ew York we also 

 learn that they stand high as to busi- 

 ness integrity; and that Mr. T. B. 

 Thurber is President of the iSTew York 

 Board of Trade. We say this only that 

 bee-keepers may be fully posted as to 

 tlie standing and reliability of the men 

 they deal with. 



Since our last issue, Messrs. Thurber 

 have contracted for the entire crop of 

 Capt. Hetherington, of Cherry Valley, 

 N. Y.. which is estimated at from 100,- 

 000 to 1-50,000 pounds. This is perhaps 

 the largest single transaction in honey 

 ever made; and will give Messrs. Thur- 

 ber the control of the honey trade of 

 America. 



Let us say to bee-keepers: Don't ask 

 for advances on your honey — sell out- 

 right. In the long run, all will find it 

 to their advantage to do so. Holding 

 honey on commission and selling after 

 advances have been made on it will not 

 generally be as pleasant as a low figure 

 and a sale outright. 



Separating Honey from Wax. 



A correspondent sends to the Cincin- 

 nati Gazette the following directions for- 

 separating honey from wax: 



Put the honey, comb and all, in a tin pan 

 on a moderately warm stove, adding to each 

 pound of honey a tablespoonful of water. 

 Stir it occasionally with a piece ot wire 

 when the contents of the pun are perfectly 

 liquefied. It must not boil. Set where it 

 can cool undisturbed; then pass a knife 

 carefully around the pan to detach the cake 

 of wax on the top, and rapidly, with great 

 care, lift oft' the cake. Don't let it drain in- 

 to the pan an instant, but place it in another 

 utensil. 



Any one thus clarifying honey, will find, 

 on putting aside the cake of wax, that the 

 impurities adhere to the cake of wax, while 

 the honey beneath is clear. It the honey 

 should, in time, candy, heat it with a very 



little water sugar. Keep in jars tied up in a 

 cool X'lace. Break up the wax cake and 

 wash it in cold water till cleansed of honey, 

 then melt and strain it. To bleach the wax, 

 boil it, after straining it, for an hour in 

 plenty of water, in which use a few drops 

 of chloride of soda. When quite cold, lift 

 ott' the wax and leave it to dry and whiten 

 in the open air. 



Finn Hive. — Keyes & Finn have 

 sent one of their "Porous, double- wall- 

 ed bee hives" to this office. It was 

 often called for by our visitors, and 

 ■jio-iw they wall be able to investigate it 

 fully and freely. It has Myalls 3 inches 

 thick, 9 frames, llixl2 inside, and 6 

 boxes. It is also accompanied by their 

 " combined chaff ventilator and feed 

 box." This we add to our museum 

 with pleasure. 



1^ Last year the all-absorbing ques- 

 tion was: "What shall we do with our 

 honeyV" This year the wail comes 

 from the Pacific Coast, and the all- 

 absorbing question is: "What shall we 

 do with our bees?" Thus do the ever- 

 varying echoes salute our ears as " the 

 seasons come and go" and the "ponder- 

 ous wheel of time" moves steadily on- 

 ward. What shall be the variation for 

 next year no mortal now can tell. 



Honey Pkoduct of Southern Cali- 

 fornia.— The San Diego Union publishes 

 a review of the prospects of the honey crop, 

 and says : 



Reliable information from all parts of the 

 county and the lioiiey-producing sections of 

 adjoining counties, warrants the belief that 

 the California honey crop of 1877 will be 

 nearly a total failure. In San Diego Coun- 

 ty, which last year produced 1,277,155 lbs., 

 we shall not suft'er as much as neighboring 

 counties, but the extreme dryness of the 

 winter, the cold, late spring, and finally the 

 recent extraordinary heated term, have 

 nearly destroyed bee food everywhere. In 

 the range extending from the coast back to 

 the Cuycamaca Mountains, from San Luis 

 Rey River, bees have to be fed. Many 

 apiarists have lost largely. In the mountain 

 ranges, where there has been food and 

 winter rains, the bees will make a small 

 amount of surplus honey. Other ranges 

 will at best, support themselves. Spruig 

 flowers and white sage are a total failure. 

 The sumac and greasewood, now coming 

 into bloom, are the only dependence to 

 carry the bees through the season. As 

 above stated, the situation in other counties 

 is worse than here, and although it may be 

 safely predicted that the lioney surplus of 

 the present year will be hardly sufficient to 

 supply the San Francisco market. 



