170 



TEE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



While we wish our new-comer every 

 success, and extend to him the right 

 hand of fellowsliip, he must not be 

 disapi^ointed if he finds he is just 

 launched into a mere pasture where he 

 has to pick and pull for a living as 

 well as other mortals. 



FROM DAILY PAPER. 



No need of bees. "S'ugitr honey" takes the 

 place of the genuine product. 



At a recent meeting of one of the 

 foreign societies of applied chemistiy, 

 reference was made to a product whit-h, 

 under the name of "sugar honey," 

 has been introduced as a substitute 

 for the natural produce of the bees. 

 The substitute is sold at a much lowei 

 price, and is said to consist of invert 

 sugar, water and a very small quantity 

 of mineral acids and matter. 



It is said to possess the characteris- 

 tic taste and odor of bee honey. 

 Neither dextrine, cane sugar nor any 

 other abnormal constituent was de- 

 tected by direct investigation or by 

 submitting the "honey" to fermenta- 

 tion. Une of the chemists present at 

 the meeting expressed an opinion that 

 if the manufacture of this article was 

 taken up by capable hands, the work of 

 the bee in respect to honey making 

 would become superfluous and be 

 chiefly of value on account of the wax 

 produced. 



NEW YORK SUN. 



Brown's Queer Bee Tree. 



Galeton, Pa., Oct. 31. Joseph 

 Brown, who works in the lumber woods 

 near here, came into town yesterday 

 and got William Squires to go with 

 him to Bald Hill to help him gather 

 the stores from a bee tree he said he 

 had discovered on his way in from the 

 woods. 



"I heard the bees buzzing in the 

 tree while I was five rods away from 



it," Brown said, "or 1 wouM not have 

 discovered it." 



The men took with them three pat- 

 ent pails to hold the honey, an axe to 

 cut the tree down, and a lot of sul- 

 phur to burn in the hollow for the pur- 

 pose of smotlieiing the bees. Brown 

 led the way to the tree, but they could 

 not hear the humming The tree was 

 hit with the axe and the humming 

 struck up immediately and so loud as 

 to startle, the two men. They found 

 near the bottom of the trunk a hole 

 where the occupants of the tree had 

 made their entrance and the sulphur 

 fire was started there, and its stifling 

 fumes went up into the hollow tree. 

 For a time the buzzing inside was ter- 

 rific, but gradually grew fainter and 

 fainter as the sulphur ha 1 its deadly 

 effect, and finally ceased entirely. 



"Now we'll cut her down and gob- 

 ble that stock of honey !" said Brown. 



The tree was chopped down, and 

 when it fell and displayed its hollow 

 interior the two bee hunters were not 

 only surprised, but disgusted Instead 

 of layers of rich honey the}'^ were 

 greeted by the sij'ht of a tangled mass 

 of rattle snakes, which had been suf- 

 focated by the sulphur fumes. The 

 snakes had chosen the hollow tree for 

 their winter home There were fifty- 

 eight large rattlers and e'ght black 

 snakes, a puff adder and three copper- 

 heads in the collection. The noise 

 Brown had thought was the buzzing of 

 wild bees was made by the rattling of 

 rattlesnakes in chorus as he was pass- 

 ing. Brown and Squires will get about 

 two gallons of oil out of the rattle- 

 snakes, which will net them at least 

 $100, so their queer bee tree will pan 

 out a good day's work after all. 



WEEKLY CALL, SAN FRANCISCO. 



Mr. J. Gregg, the apiculturist of 

 this city, says the Visalia Delta, re- 

 cently purchased a queen called the 

 Punic bee, its generic name being 

 A2>is niger. This bee is black as char- 



