48 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



The trees were alive with the bees ; 

 one would think by the buzzing that a 

 swarm was cinsterinij; there. The 

 hone.Y is very dark and bitter and can- 

 died in the cells about as fast as the 

 bees gatliered it. The hybrid bees 

 stored a good deal more honey than the 

 Italians. 



I am experimenting with this honey- 

 dew honey for winter stores, so if it 

 ever comes this waj' again Isliall know 

 whether bees will winter on it or not. 



Would this honey-dew honey be of 

 any use to a queen breeder? 



Bees gathering honey dew as late 

 as last of August is something new, 

 certainly. We think honey dew is 

 secreted only in July and early in 

 August. At the time Mr. Conway 

 says his bees were gathering honey 

 dew, our bees were working smartly 

 upon the golden-rods and other tall 

 flowers. Such poor quality of honey 

 will do to feed bees while they can 

 fly out, but honey dew is unfit for 

 winter stores. " What is it " is more 

 satisfactorily explained by Mr. C. W. 

 Smith of Wellesley Hills, Mass., 

 who resides about twenty-five miles 

 from our apiary, and in his opinion 

 we think he is correct. It is as fol- 

 lows : 



In November " Api " page 213, you 

 ask: "What is it?" "It is honeij from 

 "common meadow sweet " grows in 

 wet ground, shrub, smooth bark, 

 twenty to thirty inches high, leaves 

 oblong or lance-oblong and wedge 

 shape; flowers in a crowd, panicle, 

 pale flesh to white color, calyx 5 cleft, 

 petals five, broad or roundish, pistils • 

 five, making little pods with few seeds 

 in each side. Honey dark, tastes like 

 fine molasses. 



The description of the honey both 

 as to color and taste is perfect. We 

 have 2-1 lb. sections of such honey 

 brought here by Mr. G. Hervey, of 

 Blackstone, Mass. His apiary is sit- 

 uated about twenty-five miles from 

 Wellesley Hills. The honey has no 

 decided flavor, nor is it unpleasant 

 to the taste ; as Mr. Smith says it is 

 like fine molasses. We are glad to 

 see this- question answered cor- 

 rectly, as some of the bee journals 

 have said it was honey-dew ; while we 



expressed the opinion that it was not 

 for reasons we have before stated. 

 Bees will winter well upon it. 



A FEW MILD CRITICISMS. 



A writer in one of our exchanges 

 says, "The best hives and appliances 

 are not patented and never were." 

 Where has that fellow been all his 

 days? He certainly is not posted 

 on bee-hives and other appliances 

 used in the apiary, or he would 

 make no such statement. The Lang- 

 stroth hive was patented, and hives 

 made on the same principle are now 

 being used by nearly 90 per cent of 

 all the beekeepers in the world. The 

 best thing that fellow can do is to 

 post himself regarding bee matters 

 and then tell us "old vets" what he 

 knows about patents on bee-fixtures. 



Another person whose article ap- 

 peared first in one of our American 

 bee-papers, and then in a foreign 

 journal, cautions beekeepers against 

 being in "too much haste about pur- 

 chasing new articles" before they 

 have been tested and found good. 

 Had such advice been suggested and 

 heeded by beekeepers generally, we 

 should all be using old box-hives, 

 nail casks, etc., and the advantages 

 of the movable- comb hive would 

 have been unknown outside of Mr. 

 Langstroth's apiary. It is a queer 

 idea that a few persons must go to 

 the trouble and expense of testing 

 all new articles and appliances, and 

 then give the results of their experi- 

 ence to people who will not in the 

 least appreciate them. The progi-es- 

 sive and successful beekeeper is the 

 one who conducts his own experi- 

 ments and is not dependent on his 

 neighbor for new ideas nor is he 

 several years behind the times in 

 adopting new improvements. It costs 

 but little to test any hive or article 

 used in the apiary. Purchase them, 

 gentlemen, and keep pace with the 



