TMK MMERICKK mWrn JOHJItlfJEI^. 



149 



Now if I ever should make such contra- 

 dictory statements, I believe I should be 

 willinR to admit that whoever exposed me 

 was doing just what Mr. MeKnisht avers, 

 when lie says, " Verily, the Doctor is briug- 

 ing things to an unpleasant crisis." 



So the "responsibility" is not on Mr. 

 Pettit, after all, for Mr. McKnight is its 

 "father" Instead of Mr. Pettit, as 1 had 

 supposed. It was Mr. Pettit and the man- 

 aging committee I began on, and Mr. 

 McKnight stepped ia between, and " takes 

 the consequences." 



Yes ; I do " bear in mind " that it was the 

 exhibit as a wliole, "and not of the merits 

 of linden alone," that was spoken of ; but 

 that only makes the matter worse for Mr. 

 McKnight, who further says, " We took the 

 position that we can beat the world — in 

 the high grade of quality of our honey pro- 

 duct." Yes, sir ; and then denied it ! and 

 "that's what's the matter!" The matter 

 of quality has already been discussed, and 

 Mr. McKnight has admitted the truthful- 

 ness of my statements, so 1 need say noth- 

 ing on that score. 



Yes, 1 did know that the claim that 

 "Ontario lies within the United States" 

 was a mistake, and I am not sure but that 

 his statement, " that the delegates, one and 

 all, would rather be situated outside the 

 'honey-belt' than in the Union," is also a 

 mistake. 



Since the appearance of my article that 

 Mr. McKnight "goes for," 1 have received 

 several letters about it, and one of them 

 from Canada, starts out in this way : " Dr. 

 A. B. Mason, Sir :— If you ever dare to set 

 your foot in Canadian territory, we shall 

 shake the fun outof you, as we do the honey 

 out of the linden trees here," etc. 



That looks rather threatening, but just 

 bear in mind that I am not afraid of any, or 

 all the Canadians that breathe, and if 1 am 

 able, I will be at the International Conven- 

 tion at Brantford, and if I do not have a 

 "glorious good time" with Messrs. Mc- 

 Knight, Pettit, Cornell, Jones, and a few 

 score more of Canada's whole-souled bee- 

 keepers, it will not be my fault. Mrs. 

 Mason says she is going with me to keep me 

 straight. Slie is getting into quite a habit 

 of doing that way, or I do not know what 

 would become of me. 



I want to assure Mr. Pettit, and all other 

 Canadians, that I have none but the kind- 

 liest feelings towards them, and that for 

 Mr. McKnight " with all his faults, I love 

 him still," and am still in " the field." 



Thanks, Mr. Editor, for your kindness in 

 allowing Mr. McKnight and myself this 

 privilege. A. B. Mason. 



Auburndale, O., Feb. 21, 18^9. 



As further controversy would be useless, 

 we close it while both disputants feel so 

 kindly towards each other. 



An ''Explanation'' Explained. 



—Mr. Allen Pringle, of Selby, Out., on Feb. 

 25, 1SS9, writes as follows : 



"I rise to a point of order," to make a 

 personal explanation in self-defense. The 

 part of Mr. Holtermann's explanation on 

 page no, which refers to myself, is mis- 

 leading ; and without imputing any inten- 

 tion to misrepresent or mislead, 1 must set 

 myself right m this matter. 



In defending himself against Mr. Mc- 

 Knight's charge of suppressing my essay in 

 his reports to the American Bee Jouhnal 

 and his own bee-paper, Mr. H., to show that 

 there was no " personal pique," refers to 

 the fact that he " paid my membership fee 

 before the election of officers, so that I 

 would be eligible tor office." It is quite true 

 that Mr. II. kindly advanced my fee with- 

 out my knowledge, in my absence from the 

 meeting ; but it is also true that I had never 

 been in the habit of sending my annual 

 membership-fee until after the annual 



meeting : and as soon as I became aware 

 of what Mr. H. had done, I remitted the 

 money to him, tliat lie had, of his own ac- 

 cord, advanced, thanking him for his kind- 

 ness. 



Had I been on the lookout for office, my 

 menibershipfee, and very likely myself, 

 would have been on hand ; but believing in 

 the principle that the office should seek the 

 man, rather than the man the office, I have 

 not only sought no offices in my life, but 

 have almost invariably refused them when 

 offered to me. 



Of course I noticed the omission from 

 Mr. Holtermann's reports to both bee-peri- 

 odicals, of which Mr. McKnight complains, 

 but thought little, and said nothing about it, 

 knowing that the world would move along 

 as usual, and supposing that Mr. H. knew 

 the reason for such omission, whether any- 

 body else did or not. I must now, how- 

 ever, accept his explanation of that omis- 

 sion. Ai.len Pringle. 



Selby, Ont, Feb. 35, 1889. 



Oetting tlie Honej' Out of the 

 Capping§. 



Writfoi Jor the American Bee Journal 



Query 617.— What is the best and the most 

 practical way of getting the honey out of the 

 cappings from extracting-combs ? — J. M. 



Use a good strainer ; then rinse and 

 make vinegar, — A. J. Cook. 



I use a large can with a perforated 

 bottom, and .allow the honey to drain. 

 —J. P. H. Brown. 



An uncapping-can that will allow 

 the hone}' to drain oft' below, is as 

 good as anything that I know of. — 

 Eugene Secor. 



A gauze-wire receptacle in a warm 

 room, and let them drain for several 

 days J. M. Hambaugii. 



By pressure, properly applied. Put 

 thom in a bag ; use a clean, flat piece 

 of board as ii lever. — WillM. Baknum. 



Drain out what you can handily get, 

 then put the rest in a sun wax-extrac- 

 tor, and that will separate the wax 

 from the honey ])erfectly. — G. M. Doo- 



LITTLE. 



Carefully melt them, let them cool, 

 anil then take the wax from the top. 

 You can let the bees do it, if yon arc 

 not afraid of robbing.— H.D. Cutting. 



Let it drain through a wire-cloth 

 strainer, turning it or stirring it up a 

 time or two.— M. Mahin. 



Heat o'entlv, but enough to melt the 

 wax in a solar wax-extractor or otlicr- 

 wisc, an<l when cool, the wax may be 

 lifted off the honey in a cake. — R. L. 

 Taylor. 



Drain thom through a sieve or cap- 

 pini'-can, in a warm place. What little 

 remains may be washed out for vinegar 

 ]nirposes, or for metheglin.— Dadant 

 & Son. 



Lot it drain on wire-cloth, about J 

 mesh to the inch. The little honey 

 left after draining for 8 or 4 days, can 

 be washed ofV and used for making 

 vinegar. — P. L. Viallon. 



After letting them drain in the un- 

 capping-ean, take tliem out and place 

 tlicm in pans or other shallow vessels, 

 and give the bees access to several of 

 them at one time, at a jieriod when 

 there is little or no honey in the fields. 

 — Miss. L. IIaiuuson. 



Put the eappings in a solar wax-ex- 

 tractor, after allowing them to drain 

 thoroughly. The honey drained out is 

 of full quality — that from the wax- 

 extractor is slightly injured in quality 

 by the heat.— J. M. Shuck. 



I know of nothing better than the 

 so-called solar wax-extractoi". It brings 

 out the honey in the nicest shape, of 

 anything I know of.— J. E. Pond. 



Let the eappings drain well, and 

 then wash and use the sweetened 

 water for vinegar ; or, after draining, 

 set them where the bees can clean 

 them up. There is no danger of ex- 

 citing robbing, if placed some distance 

 away from the apiary. — A. B. Mason. 



I sh.ave the caps oft" into a box with 

 a wire-cloth bottom, set over a tin-pan 

 m.ade for the purpose. When all has 

 drained oft', or say the next morning, 

 empty the eappings into the sun wax- 

 extractor, and you will soon have a 

 nice cake of wax. with tlie balance of 

 the honey under it. — C. H. Dibbern. 



Most of it will drain ont, with time 

 enough, in any receptacle, with per- 

 forated or wire-cloth bottom ; then 

 soak and drain out the lialance for 

 vinegar or bee-food. It will drain 

 faster, and perhaps without soaking, in 

 a cool cellar.— C. C. Miller. 



When taking honey with the extrac- 

 tor, the capi)iiigs are dropped into a 

 box supported by legs of convenient 

 hight. The uncappiug-box has its bot- 

 tom inclining downward tovvard a 

 common centre, which is a stpiare hole 

 covered with tinned wire-cloth, with 

 about 8 meshes to the inch. A large 

 tin-jian catches the drip. After the 

 eappings have been drained 24 hours 

 or longer, they are put into the solar 

 wax-extraetor,\vhich is adjusted nearly 

 level, until all the honey is run out. It 

 would wake up most bee-men to see 

 how much honey I save in this way. — 

 G. W. DemaIvEE. 



Stir the eappings up loosely, filling 

 a common flat pan a little less tlian 

 level full of them ; put this pan into 

 the oven, leaving the door |)artly open, 

 so as to bring only a slow heat upon 

 the top. By-and-by both honey and 

 wax will be liquid. Set it away care- 

 fully, and let it cool. When the wax 

 ha.s hardeneil, and the honey is still 



