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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



would cause about forty-'leven other 

 tyes or strains to bob up and demand 

 recognition. 



After all, I have all alons thought 

 pretty much as Mr. Hutchinson ex- 

 presses himself on page 383, viz : " I 

 have little faith in judging of bees by 

 looking at them at Fairs." If we could 

 all agree on a standard, it would not be 

 quite so hard ; still I could take hybrids 

 to a fair and enter them as Italians, 

 that would show up as well as those 

 that carried off the prize at Springfield 

 last Fall. See my article on page 479. 



Mr. Draper, as a member of the com- 

 mittee, appointed by the State conven- 

 tion last December, to draft a premium 

 list, objected to offering premiums on 

 single nuclei of bees. He would have it 

 the "best display of bees," etc. I am 

 not sure but the principal objection to 

 that is, the precedent is all against it. 

 The difficulty in fixing a standard, and 

 the uncertainty in judging of quality, 

 are all in its favor. 



The principal reason for showing bees 

 is to make an apiarian exhibit attrac- 

 tive, imposing, interesting, educating. 

 To offer premiums on a general display 

 of bees would bring as many and fine 

 ones to a Fair as any other method, 

 while rules and standards could be much 

 more satisfactorily adjusted. But so 

 long as the premium is to be awarded to 

 the best nucleus, I see no reason to re- 

 cede from my scale of markings. 



That one given by Messrs. Trego, I 

 deem very defective. They would give 

 30 points to size of bees, and only 20 to 

 color, etc. What can we tell about the 

 comparative size of bees in a glass cage? 

 Is there any difference in the size of-a 

 golden Italian and a rabid hybrid ? How 

 much of a figure does that cut in deter- 

 mining race, purity or value? In fact, 

 the only points by which we judge bees 

 except as we observe their habits are 

 color and markings. Yet they would 

 reduce the scoring in this case down to 

 20. 



To give only 5 points to style of hive is 

 also a great mistake. In framing that 

 code of rules I early settled upon this 

 general rule, viz : An exhibit in any 

 class should be marked on a scale of 

 100, that scale to be as nearly as pos- 

 sible subdivided as follows : Quantity, 

 40; quality, 40; style of display 20. 

 That rule cannot be exactly adhered to 

 in the case of nuclei of bees, but the 

 last item can be more nearly than either 

 of the others. 



Now, th(i manner of arranging or 

 putting up anything for exhibition is no 

 slight affair, and in case of bees where it 



is so difficult to judge of quality, and so 

 much depends upon mere attractiveness, 

 the style of house in which they are 

 made to dwell, should not be so lightly 

 esteemed. Style of hive is style of dis' 

 play, and should not be marked on a 

 scale of less than 20. 

 Mechanicsburg, Ills. 



Classification of Honey, Etc. 



C. L. BUCKMASTER. 



There is a great deal said on this sub- 

 ject, yet there seems to be no conclusion 

 reached. There is no need of a classifi- 

 cation in regard to variety of honey. 

 All that is needed is 1st, 2nd and 3rd 

 class honey, having reference to the 

 way the honey is put into the sections, 

 and the condition of the sections. Who- 

 ever heard of second quality basswood 

 honey, or second quality white clover? 



Now there might be different qualities 

 of honey-dew, but who would try to sell 

 the black stuff for anything but honey- 

 dew ? I believe the quality of honey 

 taken from the apple-tree bloom a thou- 

 sand years ago is exactly the same as it 

 is now. I shall have my labels read, 

 1st class, 2nd class, or 3rd class honey ; 

 and leave a blank for variety. 



STANDARD SIZE OF SECTIONS. 



There ought to be a standard size for 

 the honey section, and that size ought to 

 contain, when filled in first-class style, 

 just 16 ounces. The 4JCx4Jixl%, 

 when filled in first-class style, with sep- 

 arators, just holds 12 ounces. The bee- 

 keeper cannot sell this for a pound 

 package, and if he did, he would not be 

 dealing honestly every time he sold one. 

 Full weight is the only way to do busi- 

 ness, and he who tries to do business 

 with a short yard-stick, or a false gal- 

 lon, or with light weights, will never 

 succeed. 



What would you think of a man that 

 retails 4 J^x4j^, seven to the foot sec- 

 tions, for one-pound sections? You 

 know that if you were buying you would 

 be getting only one-half pound of honey, 

 and your groceryman was lying just 

 one-half a pound. Of course he would 

 not deceive you, but how many innocent 

 and ignorant are there who would be 

 deceived ? 



If the bee-organizations of the United 

 States do adopt a standard section, it is 

 to be hoped, for the common honesty of 

 the craft, that they select one that will 

 hold 16 ounces of honey. 



