THE AMEh'iCAX BTiE-KEEPEli 



129 



home, after having experienced a fair 

 season with the bees on the Apalachi- 

 cola river. Mr. S. advises us that as a 

 result of the season's operations they 

 now have to their credit 150 barrels of 

 extracted, and 20,000 pounds of comb 

 honey. We believe the apiaries produc- 

 ing this crop include about 900 colo- 

 nies. 



In response to our request for infor- 

 mation as to the proper pronunciation 

 of the word, "super," Dr. Miller, in 

 Gleanings, explains that the "u" in 

 "super'' has precisely the same sound 

 as in "cue," "bugle,'" "fury," "pure," 

 etc.; and the editor of Gleanings con- 

 curs. This being the case, it appears 

 that hereafter a word which comes 

 might)' near being "sooper' will have 

 to be substituted for "supper'' in the 

 vocabulary of some who speak as if by 

 authoritv. 



This is one of Dr. Miller's Stary 

 Straws in Gleanings: " 'As for robbers, 

 since our bees are all Italians we have 

 almost forgotten there are any. and 

 scarcely take any precaution at all, now.' 

 That's what A. I. Root said in American 

 Bee Journal, 1870, page 259. It's just 

 as true now." The Doctor promised us 

 some years ago to label his jokes in 

 the future, and as this appears without 

 the label, we are led to wonder if he 

 was serious in making the observation. 

 For persistent rol)l)ing propensities we 

 have had to do witli pure Italians which 

 we should not hesitate to match against 

 the world. 



In The Bee-Keeper for February, Mr. 

 W. W. McNeal took bee-keepers to 

 task for their untidy, careless and 

 uncleanly methods in handling and pre- 

 paring for fnarket their crops of ex- 

 tracted honey. Mr. McNeal's charges 

 have elicited some criticism of a sar- 

 castic trend upon ihe part of an ex- 

 change. Mr. McNeal's critic thinks 

 any nastiness on the part of bee-keepers 

 in this line should be detected and com- 

 plained of by the consumer, and not by 

 another bee-keeper; and further, that 

 he knows of none among us at this day 

 and age who does not take every pre- 

 caution to put nothing but the best be- 

 fore the public. Mr. McNeal's article 

 would certainly lead one to believe that 

 he has encountered an extraordinary 



case of nastmcss or ignorance. That 

 carelessness is the rule rather than the 

 exception, we doubt. Our observations 

 in this particular line have not been lim- 

 ited to a few instances. It has been 

 our privilege to witness the methods in 

 various parts of this and adjoining coun- 

 tries; and we believe that the honey 

 producing specialists as a class, exer- 

 cise the utmost care and cleanliness in 

 handling their product. When reading 

 Mr. McNeal's copy, however, we were 

 occasionally reminded, by his remar-ks, 

 of corresponding instances which we 

 ourself had met. No, Mr. McNeal's 

 picture was not overdrawn — it fell away 

 short of a faithful portrayal of careless, 

 ignorant handling of honey which we 

 had seen. We do not wonder at Mr. 

 McNeal's "ugh!" We refrain, howev- 

 er, from elaborating upon the proposi- 

 tion — it's not pleasant. It is a shame 

 to the perpetrators and' an injustice to 

 the fraternit)''; a truth, nevertheless. 

 That carelessness and ignorance among 

 us is on the increase, as might be in- 

 ferred, is quite improbable. That it 

 should be so among the readers of our 

 aoicultural literature, is incredible; for 

 it must be known that the handling of 

 such a delicate commodity as honey de- 

 mands scrupulous cleanliness, and that 

 a disregard of this demand must result 

 disasterously to the industry upon which 

 we depend for a livelihood. The incom- 

 parable delicacy of pure honey, its de- 

 licious flavor and appetizing aroma are 

 the ver3- foundation walls of our in- 

 dustry; hence the importance of their 

 preservation. We ofifer no apology for 

 referring to the matter in these col- 

 umns. We believe the evils as well as 

 the commenda1)le things should be treat- 

 ed, and treated thoroughly, through the 

 medium of the trade journals. By what 

 other means are existing evils to be 

 brought to the attention of those upon 

 whom the success of the business de- 

 pends — the bee-keepers themselves. Are 

 we here only to pat upon the back those 

 whose operations or expressions accord 

 with our personal ideas, and to turn our 

 backs upon menacing tactics which 

 promise ruin to the indu^ry in the in- 

 terests of which we were born, just be- 

 cause the offender masks as an apiarist'? 

 It is due the interests of our art that 

 a greater altitude and a broader view 

 be sought. We sympathize with Mr. 

 McNeal, and enjoin upon our younger 



