580 



T'MM MB^mmieMK mm^ joiwrnmrni^. 



-- — ■>— - — -ait«>«^*^»^A^AJfcJ 



-■'— ■'-^^^•^*^«*>« 



^■^*-~-^-^-^-^-' 



HumbiiSi^ and Falsehoods, es- 

 pecially as relating to bee-keeping, are 

 ever relentlessly pursued by the American 

 Bee Journal. What the Christian Woman 

 (a splendid periodical published in Phila- 

 delphia, Pa.) thinks of our efforts in the 

 direction of hunting down lies about our 

 pursuit, is told in the following graphic 

 language : 



The American Bee Journal is sharp, and 

 swift in pursuit of humbug and falsehood. 

 The newspaper sensational articles on 

 manufactured honey, on glucose, and par- 

 affine comb are proved to be purely imag- 

 inary ; or evidences of reporters being 

 hoaxed ; but no matter, such reading makes 

 people stare and wonder, and sells the 

 newspapers. The average reader loves to 

 be stunned by finding mare's-nests and 

 mule's-colts. Print the most astounding 

 statements about things, and particularly 

 about prominent public personages, and 

 specially particular about ministers, and 

 discriminately severe upon Protestant 

 clergymen, and never contradict them 

 where proved to be falsehoods, and you 

 have the popular and great daily ! 



Following the daily, the weekly paper 

 culls the lies and the sensations, selecting 

 the worst and most interesting slanders, 

 and then the staid and permanent Ency- 

 clopedia embalms the corpse, and future 

 essayists cite the statements as standard 

 truths. But one thing is certain, that all 

 ■who read the American Bee Journal will 

 have their minds settled in regard to the 

 "glucose and paraffine comb" story. 



"If, therefore," says the Journal, "you 

 are extracting, beware of extracting too 

 closely." The practice is bad in regard to 

 honey, and worse respecting the papers. 



Oraii^Se-BIossom Honey. — Many 

 of the vile compounds found on grocers' 

 shelves are labeled " Orange-Blossom 

 Honey." This cognomen was invented to 

 deceive. There is no such thing as pure 

 orange-blossom honey — it is always mixed 

 with something else. The Rural Calif or- 

 nian, which can always be relied upon for 

 true statements about honey, says : 



At the time the orange trees are in bloom 

 there is also a great variety of other tropi- 

 cal plants in blossom, and the bees gather 

 from all these, not working exclusively on 

 the honey. Honey stored at this season of 

 the year is of very rich quality, and com- 

 mands a high price. When quoted at low 

 rates, it is prima facie evidence that it is 

 not the genuine article. 



At the Paris Exposition, English 

 and American bee-keepers were far in ad- 

 vance of their Germau associates in the 

 business ; and America was far in advance 

 of England— especially in the matter of 

 apiarian literature. There were twenty 

 American apiarists represented. — Ex- 

 Change. 



Honey Kruit-Cakc.^One pint of 

 honey, one pound of butter, 10 eggs, one 

 tea-cup of .sour-milk, one tea-spoonful of 

 soda, 5 pounds of currants, 5 pounds of 

 raisins, 3 pounds of citron, one table-spoou- 

 ful of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg, and 

 l}i pounds of flour. 



Teasel Honey. — In New York this 

 honey has a wonderful reputation. Bees 

 usually gather a bountiful harvest from 

 the teasels, and the honey is very light in 

 color, and pleasant to the taste. 



A correspondent asks for a description of 

 the teasels, and how they are cultivated. 

 This will be answered most fuUy by the 

 following from an exchange : 



The accompanying engraving fairly rep- 

 resents in shape and size the merchantable 

 portion of the plant known as Fuller's 

 teasel (Dlpsacus Fnllonum). It is used in 

 woolen factories to raise a nap on cloth. 



It is extensively grown in some parts of 

 Onondaga county, N. Y. ; also in Oregon, 

 and possibly a few in Massachusetts and 

 Connecticut. But three-fourths of all that 

 is used in the United States are grown in 

 and immediately around Skaneateles, N.Y. 



The plant is biennial as a rule, but stunt- 

 ed plants sometimes survive five or more 

 winters. The gi'ound for their culture is 

 prepared as early in the spring as possible ; 

 seed is sown in drills about three feet apart 

 and lightly covered. The seed germinates 

 slow, and the plant is about like a young 

 clover plant when it comes up. 



Careful hand hoeing and horse cultivat- 

 ing follows at sufficiently short intervals to 



keep all gi-ass and weeds in subjection. Of 

 late, some of the best growers have planted 

 a very thin crop of corn in the rows, leav- 

 ing the stalks to hold the snow in winter, as 

 two or three degrees below zero is suffi- 

 ciently cold to kill a teasel plant if in no 

 way protected. 



The second year, during the month of 

 May, they are cultivated, and soon after 

 begin to throw up a centre stalk which 

 grows very rapidly, reaching a height of 

 four to six feet by July 15. 



About this time the "king" (or head of 

 the centre stalk) begins to blossom. It is a 

 burr in all respects like our eugraving.ouly 

 a little larger. There is a blossom for every 

 hook ; they begin to open in the centre of 

 the head first, blossoming toward the tip 

 and base, ending at the base. 



On each side of the main stalk, laterals 

 shoot out (from four to one dozen) each 

 one bearing a burr or head at each ex- 

 tremity ; these are called mediums, on ac- 

 count of beiug less in size thau the "king.s," 

 and larger than the buttons. "Buttons" 

 are the smallest heads on the plant, and 

 gi'ow on side shoots from stalks bearing the 

 mediums. 



As above stated, the "kings" blossom 

 first and in bloom about one week, by this 

 time the most forward of the mediums be- 

 gin, and later the buttons ; in all, the plant 

 is in bloom three to four weeks. The har- 

 vesting is begun when the blossoms have 



fallen entirely off of about one-third of aU 

 the burrs. 



The harvesters are supplied with gloves, 

 small knife, and a large basket, into which 

 to put the burrs as they are cut. As the 

 blossoms fall, the field is gone over again, 

 each time cutting all that are ready ; th& 

 entire harvest consuming about twenty 

 consecutive days. 



They are carted from the field to barns 

 and sheds, and spread on scaffolds to dry — 

 no artificial heat is used. A free circula- 

 tion of air is seemed by opening the doors 

 and windows. 



As soon as dried they are ready for the 

 middle man who cuts off the long, coarse 

 spikes at the base, cuts the stem to an even 

 length (three inches) and sorts them, mak- 

 ing ten or more sizes ; hand packs them in 

 large cases, when they are ready to ship to 

 the woolen manufacturer. 



They are sold by weight, ten pounds be- 

 ing called one thousand. An acre of land 

 will produce from 100,000 to 250,000, 

 according to the strength of soil and care 

 in cultivation. The honey-bee, too, gathers 

 a bountiful harvest of the very best honey. 



Antidote tor Ants.— I tried several 

 methods to prevent ants molesting bees, 

 and found the following far the most satis- 

 factory, writes Prof. A. J. Cook to the New 

 York Trihunc. By the use of a crowbar 

 make a hole in the middle of; the ant-hill, 

 down to the bottom, which is easily found 

 by the more open or less compact earth. 

 Then turn into this hole a gill of bisulphide 

 of carbon, and fill and crowd down with 

 earth. As the liquid is very volatile, and 

 cannot pass out of the now compactly filled 

 hole, it quickly evaporates and kills all the 

 ants. If clay be near, always use this to 

 crowd into the hole, as it is more impervi- 

 ous than is sand, though by firmly pressing 

 with the foot the sand can be made to hold 

 the liquid. Kerosene may be used instead 

 of the carbon, but it is far less effective. 

 So, too, of carbolic acid. By means of 

 syrup, so covered by gauze that bees are 

 excluded, the ants can be trapped in great 

 numbers and destroyed. I have often done 

 this, and by adding Paris gi-een have pois- 

 oned the ants. 



Killinsr Bees for their honey, or 

 "brimstoning" them as it is now called, 

 was unknown in the days of Aristotle, 

 Varro, Columella and Pliny, and must have 

 originated in the dark ages, when the 

 human family had lost in apiarian pur- 

 suits, as well as other things, the skill of 

 former ages. We are told that the old 

 cultivators took only what their bees could 

 spare, killing no colonies, except such as 

 were diseased, or from any cause must die 

 anyway —Exchange. 



Xlie Citizen Soldier has the place 

 of honor in "Frank Leslie's Popular 

 Monthly " for September, the frontispiece 

 of which is a fine equestrian portrait of 

 Col. Appleton, Seventh Regiment, N. G. S. 

 N. Y. There are, as usual, short stories, 

 poems, literary and descriptive essays in 

 abundance. 



