214 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL* 



March 16, 1905. 



ratored honey, when sold in markets where they care nothing 

 for quahty but are stricter on the matter of weight. 



I have in mind a carload of honey that went east within 

 the past three years, to a large wholesale dealer and jobber. 

 In the car were a few hundred cases of almost perfect honey, 

 fit for exhibition purposes, and weighing from 31 to 23 pounds 

 net, average per case. The balance of the car was made up 

 of unseparatored honey, many sections being so bulged and 

 pussy that they would vary from 12 to 30 ounces, but, as a 

 whole, would weigh from 22 to 25 pounds net, per case ; 

 but it was almost impossible to take a section from the case 

 without breaking the cappings. 



When loading the car I thought how I wish it was all 

 like the first, then I knew my fastidious buyer would be 

 pleased. But imagine my chagrin when the buyer drew on 

 me for damage on the first-mentioned honey, and has never 

 ceased to sing the praises of the bulged and pussy stuff, 

 saying it brought him from 25 to 50 cents per case more 

 than the "light honey," as he called it. This honey was sold 

 to the jobber by the case. 



Now, most writers, and some editors, teach that he did 

 right — that comb honey should always be sold by weight, 

 claiming their conscience bothers them if they know a cus- 

 tomer gets an ounce more or less than actual weight. Right 

 here I want to plead guilty that my conscience is not so 

 tender, and that I believe in paying a premium for quality. 

 Hence I buy my oatmeal by the package, and my pills for 

 their quality instead of how many there are in a box. 



And if I have two cases of honey, one weighing 22 

 pounds net, and it is perfect, and the sections can be handled 

 like a child's toy blocks ; and another weighing 25 pounds 

 net, but is bulged and cannot be handled without causing 

 it to leak, I claim that right to offset quantity with quality. 

 And if you are not going to allow us this privilege, 

 won't you please have the manufacturers make a little differ- 

 ence in the size of the sections so that each will have a fair 

 chance ? 



Tell the board of experts, who say marketable honey 

 cannot be produced without separators, that it is produced 

 and sold by the carload, and even preferred (in some mar- 

 kets) to the finest separatored honey they can show up. 



These conditions will exist so long as both use the 

 same size section-box, and so long as honey is doled out by 

 the ounce and no premium paid for quality. 



We can only deal with these conditions as they exist, 

 and the facts are simply this, that there are 24 (so-called) 

 one-pound sections in a case, and people have been taught to 

 expect (approximately) 24 pounds of honey. Without sepa- 

 rators, they can get it, but with separators 22 pounds net is a 

 high standard of excellence for a carload of 30,000 pounds of 

 No. 1, and 20 pounds net for No. 2. 



Then why not adopt a universal standard of weight 

 and excellence? It would surely increase the sale of honey, 

 because dealers would push the sale of it. 



I have known many dealers (retailers) who abandoned 

 the handling of comb honey, because of its mussiness, for 

 it would daub up the counter and everything near it. Still, 

 it had the one merit of being heavy honey. Juggle with 

 these conditions as much as you please, and the fact will 

 remain that 23 pounds of nice, separatored honey is truly 

 worth more than 24 pounds, or even 35 pounds, of bulged 

 and leaky stuff — and yet the "stuff" brings the most money. 

 For years I have been producing both kinds, and care- 

 fully watching the market demands, and I must confess I 

 hardly know now which to adopt, whether to use all sepa- 

 rators and produce the lighter but more fancy honey, or 

 throw away all separators and produce all heavy honey. 



I find the extreme East and Northern markets prefer 

 quality to quantity, while the more Southern and Western 

 markets prefer quantity to quality. I have come to these 

 conclusions after handling from two to five carloads per 

 year for the past five vears. Boulder Co., Colo. 



# 



Species and Races of the Honey-Bee— 

 Other Matters. 



BY PROF. A. J. COOK. 



One of our most prolific writers, in scientific entomology, 

 is Dr. William H. Ashmead, of the United States National 

 Museum. He has been one of the leaders in systematic work 

 in the Order (Hymenoptera) which includes our bees. This 

 gives his opinion great weight in this Order, and so we are 

 greatly interested in his revision of the genus of the honey- 



bee. In Volume 6, No. 3, of the Procedings of the Washing- 

 ton Entomological Society, published in May, 1904, he gives 

 his views of this group, which must interest all who care for 

 bees or give study to these interesting insects. 



Dr. Ashmead divides the old Linna'an genus Apis into 2 

 genera: Apis and Megapis. This latter is a new genus, and 

 IS appropriately named, as the prefix means "large." The 

 form and position of the eyes and ocelli and the wing struc- 

 ture, give warrant to this change, in the opinion of Dr. 

 Ashmead. On page 46 of the latest edition of my Bee-Keepr 

 er's Guide, (1904 edition), the reader will find the species 

 and races described. 



Two species are included in this newly-founded genus. 

 One is the much discussed "dorsata," which we will now 

 know as "Megapis dorsata," instead of "Apis dorsata," the 

 name which we have used to designate it in the past. This 

 species is found on the islands off Asia from Ceylon, where, 

 as we know, Mr. Benton found it, to our own lately acquired 

 possessions, the Philippines. The bees are very large, black, 

 with yellow bands crossing the abdomen. In some cases 

 nearly the entire abdomen is said to be orange-yellow. The 

 other is Megapis zonata, also found in the Philippines, an'd 

 in some other islands. These are blacker than are the others, 

 but not as large. The first two segments of the abdomen are 

 lined with whitish. 



_ In the genus Apis, Mr. Ashmead places Apis mellifera, 

 which, as we know, has been carried to all parts of the world. 

 I suppose it originated in Asia ; Apis cerana, of China and 

 Japan; Apis nigrocincta of China, Malay Peninsula, the 

 Philinpines and India ; Apis Indica, of India ; Apis nigri- 

 tarum, of Africa ; Apis unicolor of Madagascar, and Apis 

 florea of India. Dr. Ashmead suggests that the last should 

 nally be separated, and though while he gives it as be- 

 longing to the genus Apis, he suggests that it be removed 

 to a new genus and suggests the very appropriate name of 

 Micrapis. While the changing of names and the undue in- 

 crease of names in describing and writing of plants and ani- 

 mals, is not to be encouraged, yet I believe that these changes 

 of Dr. Ashmead are warranted, and that we may well use 

 these new names in our future references. 



GOVERNMENT AID TO APICULTURE. 



I read with much interest Mr. Benton's address at the 

 St. Louis Convention. I think it was correct for the most 

 part, though in one or two points I know the truth to be a 

 little different. The Late Dr. Edwin Willets thought that 

 the Department of Agriculture should do more for bee-keep- 

 ers. As Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, he sent Dr. Riley 

 to visit me to confer as to aid that might be given. I sug- 

 gested that experiments in growing honey-plants exclusively 

 for honey, and the importing of foreign bees, were hopeful 

 lines for research. I also urged strongly that Mr. Benton be 

 secured to do the latter. I urged that his experience would 

 specially fit him for this work. He was then in Europe and 

 I suggested that the work could be cheaply done. There was 

 an attempt to carry out both of these suggestions. Mr. Ren- 

 ton was engaged, but Dr. Willets wrote me they found that 

 they could not send a man abroad. Lately a more wise and 

 liberal construction, or better laws have been framed, so that 

 now we have men sent to all parts of the world to get bet- 

 ter plants and animals, if they are to be found. 



I stated that I did not believe that it would pay to plant 

 especially for honey, but that much of it was being done, 

 and that careful experimentation could alone determine. It 

 would pay to settle the matter once for all. I commenced 

 the work, carefully prosecuted it on an extensive scale, and 

 I think settled the matter, thus doing what was proposed. 

 This work was carried on by me aside from my regular 

 college work which was severe besides, and was done by 

 me entirely as a labor of love, as I never received one cent 

 for doing it. I found I was unable to do more, and thus 

 refused further work. 



APIARIAN EXPERIMENTS NEEDED. 



I am glad that the Department has concluded to take up 

 the work again. Surely the matter of bee-keeping is import- 

 ant enough more than to warrant research along lines that can 

 not well be carried on by the practical man. I believe the 

 two lines that should receive attention are these: Importa- 

 tion of new races and species, and the improvement of those 

 that we have ; and the study and prevention of diseases that 

 destroy our bees. The first promises much. We have made 

 wonderful advance in improving other races of our donies.- 

 ticated animals, and our plants as well. It is said that the 

 corn has been bred up in Illinois so as to make it produce 

 ten more bushels to the acre. Who knows but what our 



