486 



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mA^A^A^M 



perforated zinc excluder on the new 

 hive, and place the brood-chamber of 

 the parent hive on the excluder above 

 the swarm. A colony managed in this 

 way will not attempt to swarm, and 

 will work all right. Colonies that have 

 very old queens that they wish to 

 supersede, are very hard to satisfy 

 short of superseding the old queen. — 

 G. W. Demakee. 



This is a sort of variation from an 

 old plan that has been mentioned sev- 

 eral times in the bee-periodicals. It 

 will probably work well enough if one 

 has the time and patience to bother 

 with it. Whether it would prevent 

 swarming again, or not, is a matter of 

 great uncertainty. " It might, and 

 then again it mightn't." — J. E. Pond. 



The method is not new, and it has 

 been practiced with varying success 

 for a long time. It is a laborious 

 method, and does not invariably pre- 

 vent increase. — The Editor. 



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HONEY. 



IVIiat is Hoiiey ? Is it Digested 

 Nectar ? 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY DR. J. "W. m'KINNEY. 



As all apiarists are interested in the 

 honey product, they cannot fail to 

 take deej] interest in everytliing per- 

 taining to the subject of its production, 

 its purity and use. All alilve feel a 

 deep interest in maintaining the true 

 facts as to the production of this, the 

 most delicious of all sweets. There- 

 fore, I am led to call in question the 

 statement made in the article appear- 

 ing on page 375, written by Prof. A. J. 

 Cook. 



As much as I admire the writings 

 and opinions of Prof. Cook, I must en- 

 ter a protest against the idea as ad- 

 vanced by him, in reference to the 

 production of honey. In the article 

 referred to, entitled "Bee-Glands," we 

 find this statement, when speaking of 

 the probable function of certain glands 

 in the honey-bee : "All honey is com- 

 pletely or partially digested nectar." If 

 this be true, then honey is not the pure 

 essence of sweetness distilled through 

 the nectaries of flowers ; but is largely 

 the product of the glands of insects ; 

 for the Professor says, just preceding 

 the above quotation, that the "cane- 

 sugar of nectar is changed to the 

 grape-sugar of honej'," by the action 

 of these certain bee-glands. 



We have always been led to believe 

 — and the facts on investigation prove 



it true — that syrup made from cane- 

 sugar and given to the bees, will be 

 deposited in their comljs just as taken 

 from the feeder. So, also, the nectar 

 taken from flowers is deposited with- 

 out change. 



As evidence of the foregoing fact, 

 we see that nectar gathered by the 

 honey-bee and deposited in combs, re- 

 tains its color, flavor and aroma 

 peculiar to the vegetable bloom from 

 which it was gathered by the bee. All 

 the change that can be perceived hj 

 any test from the time the nectar is 

 gathered, deposited in the comb, and 

 sealed over, is the evaporation of a 

 portion of water it contained. This is 

 done after being deposited in the comb 

 by the heat in the hive and the fanning 

 process by the bees' wings, and not bj' 

 the digestive process of the insect. 



Digestion in all animals is a function 

 by means of which alimentary sub- 

 stances, when introduced into the 

 digestive canal, undergo ditt'erent 

 alterations. The object of this is to 

 convert them into two parts — the one 

 a reparatory juice, the other, deprived 

 of its nutritious properties, to be re- 

 jected from the body. 



Nectar is gathered by the bee and 

 received into a sac closed at its 

 lower end, l.ying above and behind the 

 digestive canal, in which condition it 

 is carried to the hive and deposited in 

 the comb, without change bj' the pro- 

 cess of digestion. 



The digestive function in the honey- 

 bee is called into action on honey and 

 pollen when taken into the digestive 

 canal for the purpose of furnishing 

 food for their larv£e, and for sustaining 

 their own existence, or for tlie elaboi'a- 

 tion of wax. 



When digested for food for their 

 larvaj, we see that in appearance and 

 taste the honey and pollen has under- 

 gone a very great change. It is now a 

 white, opake substance, with a slightly 

 sub-acid taste. 



When honey is taken in abundance 

 for two or three days, and perfectlj- 

 digested and assimilated, we then have 

 the elaboration of wax. 



In no sense can we conceive of the 

 digestive organs of the insect being 

 brought into requisition in the produc- 

 tion of honey. Just as sipped from the 

 nectaries of flowers, with whatever 

 peculiar characteristic the nectar maj' 

 have — whether from white clover, with 

 its delicious flavor and slight tendeacy 

 to granulate, or from the Spanish- 

 needle, with its golden color and 

 aromatic flavor, and no tendency to 

 granulate ; or from the boneset {eujja- 

 lorium perfolialum) with its pungent 

 and bitter taste — it is carried home to 

 the hive, and there deposited in the 

 combs. 



When reflecting upon the number of 

 trips made by the bees each day dur- 

 ing a good flow of honey, we must re- 

 gard the time entirely too short for 

 digestion to take place, did the nectar 

 enter into the digestive canal when 

 gathered. Including the time going 

 to and coming from the fields, and 

 the time occupied in filling its honey- 

 sac, there is only from 25 to 30 min- 

 utes consumed by the bees. 



If syrup is fed near the hive, only 

 from 10 to 15 minutes time is consumed 

 in making the round-trip. Could diges- 

 tion be so rapid as to change the cane- 

 sugar to the " grape-sugar of honey" 

 in so short a time ? Certainly not. 



With all due respect, then, I would 

 suggest that the bee-fraternity be al- 

 ways on guard against a " scientific 

 pleasantry," as its eft'ect is sometimes 

 baneful. 



Camargo, Ills. 



HINTS. 



How to ]nal<e Lazy Bees Oo to 

 ■\Vorit — Honey Pacliages. 



Written for the Prairie Farmer 



BY MRS. L. HARRISON. 



Bees have been living this season, 

 one day with Dives, antl the next with 

 Lazarus ; consequently, the honev' will 

 not be so fine as it would have been 

 had the flow been continuous. One 

 season the honey came so fast that the 

 bees were saving of their wax, and the 

 comb was so delicate and thin, as to 

 be almost imperceptible. This was 

 during clover bloom. Owing to tlie 

 heavy rains that have fallen so often, 

 and so abundantly, clover bloom has 

 lasted much longer than usual. 



L.azy Bees. 



Bees are proverbially industrious, 

 but now and then a colony will be 

 found that does not deserve the title. 

 I have been watching with interest a 

 very large colony with the surplus- 

 boxes full of bees ; also the portico and 

 the outside of the hive covered to the 

 top. They have been loafing for more 

 than a fortnight, and the honey in the 

 surplus-boxes increased very slowlj-. 

 I was tired of such folly, and moved 

 their hive and put in its place a hive 

 containing young bees and a virgin 

 queen. 



I obtained these bees in this way: 

 A colony swarmed, and, as I do not 

 desire increase, I hived them and 

 moved the old colony, putting the 

 sw.arm where it stood. The next day 

 I took out all the combs belonging to 

 the old colony, brushed oft" the bees, 

 and extracted the honey. There was 

 no young brood, as the colony had 

 swarmed before, and there was a num- 



