THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



203 



Honey-dew honey. 



Gonzales, Cal. 

 Fkiend Allky : 



Mr. S. L. Wiitkins of Placervillo, 

 Cal., sends me a sample of a peculiar 

 honey. It is from tlie honey dew tliat 

 collects in ureat quantities dnrinj? the fall 

 months on the bodies of cedar trees. I 

 send you a samj^le. From Mr. Watkins 

 description, I gather tliat, after all bloom 

 has passed away, this substance forms on 

 the cedars of his section in such quanti- 

 ties that the baik fairly {jlistens; that it 

 lasts till rain has wasiied it ofi', and that it 

 is especially noticealjle in the fall after a 

 dry year. 



it is an unfailins: source at a time when 

 bees would otherwise perish. Mr. Wat- 

 kins' bees made 100 to 150 pounds per col- 

 ony towards the close of the season, after 

 bavins passed the summer in a starving 

 condition like the bees in most other por- 

 tions of California last year. The sample 

 sent me is the thickest honey I have ever 

 seen. I took a small drop on a slick and 

 strung it out to a golden thread Ave or six 

 feet long. It has a decidedly suggestive 

 flavor much like that of the inner bark or 

 bast fibre of trees of that family. And, 

 as one tastes it, he can almost imagine 

 that he is in some pine forest surrounded 

 by whispering sounds and balsamy odors, 

 and is chewing, as in childhood he was 

 wont to do, theburk of some tree that had 

 been for some time laid low. I send this 

 by Mr. Watkins who will send you a sam- 

 ple with it. 



A. Norton. 



Placerville, Cal. 



Mr. Henry Alley. 

 Dear Sir : 



With this mail I forward you a 

 sample of honey-dew as requested by Mr. 

 A. Norton of Gonzales, Cal. This honey 

 was gathered from the bark of the incense 

 cedar. I sold several hundred pounds of 

 this honey-dew honey and it has given 

 entire satisfaction. The bees cap the cells 

 with a snowy whiteness which gives it a 

 very beautiful appearance. This honey 

 cannot be extracted as it is too thick. My 

 best cplouy stored 150 pounds. 



S. L. Watkins. 



[The sample package came to hand in due 

 time. We found the flavor of it vei'y pleasant, and 

 think it a superior (juality of lioiiej'. .Should say 

 that it is most too tlii(;k, or heavy, for wintering 

 bees. It would striiif; out for several feet in a 

 fine, golden thread, the same as molasses that 

 had been cooked long enough to candy. Wish 

 the sample had been a larger oue.J 



On the anxious seat. 



I'lain City, Ohio. 



Mr. Alley: I am getting anxious to 

 hear how you rear your queens in full colo- 

 nies wiiile the queen is still in the hive and 

 laying all the time. I think it can be done 

 by putting a close-(ittiiig division-l)oarcl in 

 tiie centre so as to let the bees go in either 

 side from tiie entrance and keeping the 

 queen on one side, can it not? 



.ToiiN R. Hill. 



Confining the queen to one comb in the 

 hive is practically making the colony 

 queenless. IJiit the queen need not be 

 confined in that way. Cage her the same 

 as in the meihod for introducing. While 

 the bees would care for the queen and feed 

 her for weeks, tliey would consider that 

 they had no queen, and at once build cells. 



The method as proposed by Mr. Hill 

 is no part of our new plan for rearing 

 queens in a full colon}' that still has a la)'- 

 ing queen. No division-board is used, nor 

 is the queen troubled in any way. One 

 comb in the iii'ood-nest only is dis- 

 turbed. Have patience, my friend, and 

 you shall know as much about it as we do. 



Iiight crop honey — Queen rearing, etc. 



Slrashurg, Va. 



We have had a rather light crop of 

 honey in this section and that not as fine 

 quality as usual. Some colonies produced 

 a fine quality while the honey from oth- 

 ers was bitter. I cannot account for the 

 diO'erence. 



So far as I observed the Italians did not 

 gather any bitter honey. I think the 

 blacks and hybrids were the fellows that 

 brought in the bitter stufl'. If you know 

 why this is, I wish you would inform me. 

 I also would be glad if you would let me 

 into the new secret of queen-rearing, that 

 is, if you propose to let your customers 

 have the benefit of your experience. I 

 rather enjoy your criticisms on queen- 

 rearing in October Api: I know you are 

 right. I have tried the method you crit- 

 icised enough to know it will not do. 

 G. W. Eberly. 



We are of opinion that bees in the matter 

 of taste are like the human family. While 

 some people find a bitter flavor very pleas- 

 ant, others do not. The same may be said 

 of things that are sweet. Well, some col- 

 onies of bees like the taste of bitter nec- 

 tar, and will gather and store it in the 

 hive, while other colonies will not touch 

 such stufi". 



The colonies that stored the bitter 

 honey happened to strike that particular 



