racy in dimensions of hives has not been 

 attained. 



I liave a variation of V^ inch in some, 

 owing to a variation of ,V inch in the plain- 

 ing-mill dressing. It is plain tiiat a rigid 

 division board will not be interchangeable, 

 and divide off tightly any way. I have 

 devised an improvement, and lind it so val- 

 uable to me that 1 submit it to the fraternity 

 for approval. 



It is the ordinary board, }4 or % '>'• thick, 

 and sawed }i in. or % in. short, and slotted 

 by a saw at the end, so as to take in a strip 

 •of thin rubber packing, so as to project 

 about }i in. 1 prefer one at each end. It 

 makes as nearly an air tight joint as neces- 

 sary, and holds its place admirably without 

 hanging, and needs no top bar or projection, 

 and will, I believe, answer fully if the rub- 

 ber is at each, projected inward towards the 

 combs to support chaff packing in the 

 outer space, and so do away with chaff 

 •cushions for all who use movable bottom 

 boards, thus: 



It is simple and cheap. In the spring all 

 that is needed to unpack is to lift off and let 

 the chaff drop, and it is done. But reallv, 

 with a t'lQht board, chaff is not needed so 

 much, for air is a non-conductor of heat. 



I have also to suggest an improvement to 

 the shi()ping case. It is a thin false bottom 

 for sections and a frame for those who ship 

 in 3 section frames with a hole at each cor- 

 ner for the insertion of a short rubber cylin- 

 der to fit close, with a projection ]jropor- 

 tioned to the weight. The rubber can be 

 got in coils and cut off' squarely and inserted; 

 % ov }4 in. round rubber will do. This will 

 add very little to the cost of crates— far less 

 than Mr. Hoge's plan, and save much 

 weight. One inch additional depth of crate 

 will be required. The holes must not be 

 bored quite through. 



For Sections. For 3 see. frames. 



J. W. POKTER. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Extracted and Adulterated Honey. 



This is now the question of the day, and 

 a very vital one, too. 



Probably, the most useful thing done by 

 the National Society, since it was founded, 

 was the publication of " Facts for the pub- 

 lic;" from which I intend to quote, for 

 argument. 



" Comb honey is no better than extracted honey." 

 " Almost all pure extracted honey will granulate." 

 '• The granulated state is a tine evidence of purity." 



The honey question lies entirely in those 

 propositions, and if they were only properly 

 applied by all, there would be no need of 

 discussion on tlie subject. 



For instance. Prof. Cook argues that ail 

 extracted lioney, if pure, will granulate; 

 that granulation is evidence of purity; and 

 still, he advises, in the Ameuican Bee 

 JoTjKNAi., (p. 79), to melt honey before 

 selling it. 



Now, a few questions: Why does he advise 

 to melt lioney, instead of selling in the 

 granulated state? Does he not see, that the 

 moment honey becomes a liquid, it is on a 

 level with the adulterated, which is always 

 liquid, and drowned in (10 or?.') per cent, of 

 glucose? Is he not then favoring adultera- 

 tors, by making his honey look like theirs? 



Will he say that honey does not sell in 

 the granulated state? Then what will he 

 do if his honey granulates in the hands of 

 the purchaser? Would it not be better to 

 teach them that " the granulated state is a 

 fine evidence of purity?" Or, is he willing 

 to keep up a delusion, for the sake of sell- 

 ing a little honey noio, and to help injure 

 the sale of the evidently pure honey of the 

 large producer, besides running the risk of 

 having honey stanijjed as *' doctored," by 

 those tvho know that it should be granu- 

 lated, if pure? 



Nay; Is it rational to take the trouble to 

 melt granulated honey, for sale, when lie 

 acknowledges that granulation is the only 

 easy way to ascertain purity? 



I agree with the decision of the North- 

 Eastern Convention, on this subject, (page 

 9u), provided this ])aragrapli be made to read 

 as follows: 



" It was atn^eed that the elTect is very injurious, 



both to producers and consumers of honey." 



" If honey is kept from candying, it is adulterated." 



Friends, please turn to the cover page of 

 the Amekican Bee Jouknal; it tells you 

 that our old and reliable periodical is 

 devoted to the production of Pure Honey. 

 Yes, pure! And we, U. S. Bee-Keepers, 

 will stop that adulteration, in a short time. 



Friend Root seems to be under the same 

 delusion as Prof. Cook, for he says: 



" Some attempts have been made to get honey into 

 a marketable shape in its candled state; but, so far, 

 have been unsuccessful." 



We have had a honey extractor ever since 

 it was invented. In fact, we had one made, 

 according to our ideas of it, before any 

 were manufactured for sale. Since that 

 time, we have raised more extracted than 

 comb honey, and sold it in the granulated 

 state, at paying figures; except the first 

 season, when we had extracted it too soon, 

 and it was thin and watery, of poor quality, 

 and, of course, not entirely granulated.— 

 We then found some customers who did not 

 like granulated honey, or who imagined 

 that it was "doctored;" but now we find 

 that it sells better than liquid honey. 



We raised, this season, .some 13,000 lbs. of 

 honey; 9,000 or 10,000 lbs. of which being 

 extracted. One-half of it was sold in our 

 liome markets. The rest, together with 

 the comb honey, was sold in St. Louis, 



