-rmm^ mm^mmi^mn mmM jOixsmnmiL. 



167 



ing fermoiitation, particularly when 

 stored in damp rooms. When used for 

 making vinegar, som' honey will " fill 

 the bill," but when used for cooking, 

 and in most medicinal preparations, it 

 behooves the apiarist to guard against 

 the many evils that may result from 

 supplying other than a prime article, 

 if he desires to maintain the present 

 increasing demaud for his product,and 

 raise it to the ilignity of a staple arti- 

 cle. 



When well-flavored extracted honey 

 is put upon the market in a way that 

 its purport is assured, the confidence 

 of consumers will be fortified to the ex- 

 tent that the odium of adulteration 

 will become a secondary consideration. 

 With the abundant supply of extracted 

 honej- at all times upon the market, at 

 prices that place it within easy reach 

 ■of any reasonable consumer, there 

 seems to exist no cause for its adulter- 

 ation, unless it be the promptings of a 

 genuine infatuation to damage the in- 

 terests of an hone.st industry ; and 

 wrong without the least shadow of a 

 cause ; to put it a little more forciblj- — 

 the result of habitual malignancy ! To 

 charge the crime of adulteration to 

 anj' particular class who are concerned 

 in the production and handling of ex- 

 tracted honej-, would be unjust, as the 

 " cranky" habit of mixing is too deeply 

 inured in the intricate mechanism of 

 productive and commercial doings to 

 admit of being classified. The com- 

 paratively low price to which extracted 

 honey has fallen, has, in a great meas- 

 ure, check-mated the adulterator of 

 that product. 



As the mixing process by which ex- 

 tracted honey is adulterated, is mostly 

 performed after it leaves the possession 

 of the producers, as I am informed, an 

 effort on their part to wholly prevent 

 adulteration would be futile. The 

 somewhat uncertainly defined adage, 

 that an}' person has a right to do what 

 he pleases with his own, looms up in 

 opposition to inter-meddling from 

 others. 



There seems to be one way by which 

 the much-to-bo-desired result might, in 

 a measure, be accomplished, and that 

 would be an association of producers 

 and their factors, having for its object 

 tlie control of the preparation and 

 sale of honey ; guaranteeing the con- 

 tents of all receptacles by a trade- 

 mark, authorized only by the associa- 

 tion. Could such, or a kindred pro- 

 cedure, be consummated, the associa- 

 tion could, when desirable, invoke the 

 National authority for support. When 

 this is done, extracted honey will 

 come to the front, where it now oc- 

 cupies a place on the back-shelf, under 

 the counter, or some other out-of-the- 

 way place, unseen by many would-be 

 consumers. 



EXTRACTED HONEY AS A SWEETENER. 



With the great majority of sugars, 

 syrups, and confections, represented 

 by authority to contain ingredients 

 that render tlicm noxious food sub- 

 stances, there appears to be no excuse 

 for reulaeing them with honey, which, 

 when handled as suggested in the fore- 

 going, can be no other than the purest 

 sweet obtainable. There are but few 

 household requirements that honey 

 will not supply, where a sweetening 

 substance is needed ; in fact, so broad 

 is its theatre of usefulness, as an article 

 of domestic economy, that no family 

 with a supply of extracted honey need 

 make use of any other sweetening. 

 When the price of "strained" Ifoney 

 ranged from 30 cents to 50 cents per 

 pound, its trade-value placed it beyond 

 the reach of the poor, and often those 

 of moderate means ; but now when 

 extracted honey, from the favorite 

 blooms, can be obtained plentifully 

 at from 8 cents to 12 cents per pound, 

 there is no expediency for neglecting 

 to use a pure, health-giving sweet, in 

 place of those of doubtful reputation. 



West Cumberland, Maine. 



Sti-an$;e, timl and Sweet. 



" Three things are strange to me : 

 The kiss of the west-wind's breath, 

 The wonder of life and death, 

 And the thoughts that the future hath. 



Three things are sad to me; 

 The earth on a new-made grave. 

 The sob of winds in a cave, 

 And a heart that never gave. 



Three things are sweet to me : 

 The song of a bird that flies, 

 The blue of the summer skies. 

 And the light in a young wife's eyes." 

 —Campl)ell. 



SEPARATORS. 



Superiority of Sliced Wood Sep. 

 arator§ Over Otiiers. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY CHARLES B. ISHAM. 



On page 101 is a question on " Mak- 

 ing wooden separators." Some of the 

 replies given are so at variance with 

 the experience of myself and honey- 

 producing neighbors who have been 

 extensively using sliced separators for 

 the past several years, that I think it 

 may be interesting to mention a few 

 facts which have been fully confirmed 

 by years of practical use in producing 

 large crops of comb honey for the 

 wholesale city markets. 



I believe that I vvas among the first 

 to use and bring to the notice of honey- 

 producers the utility of sliced wood 

 separators ; also to advocate their pref- 

 erence to tin for this use in the apiai^'. 



When my attention was first called 

 to a sliced board of proper thickness, I 

 was at once convinced of its practica- 

 bility, and in [)artnership with a friend, 

 we made them for our own use, besides 

 furnishing considerable quantities to 

 others, all of wjioni, so far as I know, 

 were well pleased with their utility. 



The editor, and perhaps some of the 

 readers of the American Bee Journal, 

 may recollect of my writing several 

 articles some j-cars ago, advocating the 

 use of wood separators in preference 

 to those cut from tin. Among the rea- 

 sons then advanced were, that they 

 were warmer, cheaper, lighter, and 

 when cut 1-16 of an inch thick, or 16 

 to the inch, tliey gave a better en- 

 trance to the sections ; that later in the 

 season the bees would travel on them 

 instead of the combs, in passing from 

 the lower to the upper cases. 



By practicing what we call " deal- 

 ing the separator," sections without 

 any insets can be used and filled with 

 comb flush to the edges all around. In 

 no other way can this be accomplished 

 only b}' using board separators about 

 one-fourth of an inch thick. 



When cut from well-seasoned, live, 

 cured lumber, they do not warp or 

 split to any amount to speak of, and 

 are tougher than sawed ones, as the 

 process of steaming and drying gives 

 additional strength and hardness to 

 the lumber. 



The machine that we first used, cut 

 them with a twist, but we never slice 

 them with a .straight cut, so that when 

 clamped and dried, there are about as 

 flat as a board, and equally as desira- 

 ble and convenient to put in place as 

 tin. 



What has had a great tendency to 

 bring them into disfavor, is a quality 

 of cheaper make, cut by basket ma- 

 chines from unseasoned lumber, which 

 have given dissatisfaction, and have 

 been the means of quite a number dis- 

 carding their use entirely. 



When I first commenced to use 

 wood separators, I had a large quant- 

 ity of tin ones on hand which were 

 soon discarded and laid to one side. I 

 have some thousands cut from wood, 

 which I have had in use from the first 

 we made, whfch are, tliough stained, 

 just as good as they ever were, and it 

 is the exception to find one which has 

 been badly gnawed hy the bees. I do 

 not know of any apiarists in this part 

 of the country who are now using 

 those made from metal. 



All the sections I now use are dove- 

 tailed and sliced ; we also slice the thin 

 boards for shipping-cases, at a great 

 saving of lumber. 



I consign, by freight, most of my 

 honey to commission men in the large 

 cities, and generally obtain very satis- 

 factory prices. The cleaner and newer 



