1872.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



105 



bees as that gathered in our immediate neighbor- 

 hood. 



Uncapped honey ferments and sours speedily 

 in the combs, and should the bees use much of 

 such honey, they will inevitably suffer from 

 dysentery. 



Also the smoke and sulphur used in killing 

 the bees has an injurious effect on the uucapped 

 honey. 



But feeding is not only necessary in years poor 

 in honey, but also in those rich in honey. 

 When the yield of honey dew is so great as liter- 

 ally to flow from the fir trees, the eagerness of the 

 bees to gather in their treasure is so great that 

 the extraction of the poison, for the poison ba<j, 

 is imperfectly accomplished, and hence, in using 

 this honey in winter, dysentery is produced. 



Rich honey yielding years are in such situa- 

 tions, the most dangerous, and must, therefore, 

 be helped by feeding the honey produced from 

 flowers. 



From what has heretofore been said, wo plainly 

 see how necessary pure honey is for feeding bees, 

 since through impure honey populous hives have 

 been destroyed. 



I have, therefore, every year set apart a por- 

 tion of good honey gathered from flowers, ren- 

 dered, as well as in comb, for the purpose of 

 feeding my bees, which the beekeeper can use 

 with the greatest confidence. 



SUNDRY MATTERS. 



The greatest hindrance in using honey as a 

 medicine, is the difficulty of procuring a pure 

 article. 



Honey obtained from the apothecary is gener- 

 ally well purified and well adapted for a sweet- 

 ening material ; but in the refining process, as 

 before mentioned, it has lost more or less of its 

 balsamic qualities, and hence, is less valuable as 

 a medicine. 



Had I the good fortune to obtain pure honey, 

 its blessed working is made apparent through 

 the immediate improvement of my health ; on 

 the other hand, should I use honey which would 

 be very pure and very sweet, but owing to cause 

 heretofore stated, lacking in a greater or less 

 degree the medicinal qualifies, my health would 

 remain in statuo quo, or very gradually better 

 itself. 



The use of good, tinadul'erated and properly 

 refined honey is of the greatest importance. 



I have pledged myself to confine myself wholly 

 to honey. My free position, the needed knowl- 

 edge, bee culture, the handling and separating 

 of honey in relation to its qualities and uses, the 

 experience gathered from various and wonderful 

 cures, would not be gained by any other person 

 with like zeal and perseverance, and placed me 

 in a position to devote my whole time and atten- 

 tion to the study. 



In purchasing, honey divides itself into these 

 several species. 



1. Breast Honey. — a. This is the purest vir- 

 gin honey, miel vierge, taken from such neighbor- 

 hoods where plants used for strengthening the 

 chest grow, viz : the Alps. Bohemia, &c. This 

 honey is extracted from the combs, placed in 

 glass jars, tightly covered and sealed. 



b. For consumption, lung diseases. &c, and 

 to those suffering from piles, refined honey hav- 

 ing especial curative properties. 



2. Table Honey. — a. This species shows itself 

 especially on the table as a sweetmeat, where it 

 occupies the proper place, and is a much sought 

 for, pleasant and agreeable food, since it acts so 

 beneficially upon the health, and especially as an 

 after-dish, aids the digestion. This species of 

 honey can be used as readily in the combs as in 

 glasses. 



b. A second species of table honey is that 

 which can be used as a substitute for sugar, in 

 food and drink, is properly gathered and puri- 

 fied, has little of the foreign taste, and is the 

 best for preserving fruits. 



3. Food Honey. — This is either in the combs 

 or rendered, and all who are required to feed 

 their bees, should use the best. 



I close my writing with the earnest wish that 

 I may have done something toward the spread 

 of the knowledge of the healing qualities of 

 honey, and caused many to turn their attention 

 to it, and through its use either to wholly cure 

 themselves, or at least to alleviate their suffer- 

 ings, or to strengthen their health, and finally 

 J express the heartfelt wish that honey may prove 

 to others so wonderful in its health-giving qual- 

 ities as it has to me. 



Michigan State Beekeepers' Association. 



Tuesday's Meeting. 

 Kalamazoo, September 18, 1872. 



About 7 o'clock last evening the members of 

 the Beekeepers' Association began to assemble 

 at the court house, and at 7.80 the association 

 was called to order by President Rood, of Wayne. 



The president announced that from informa- 

 tion he had obtained, it would not be possible 

 for the regular secretary, Mr. A. J. Cook, to be 

 present at this time and assist during the pro- 

 ceedings of the association, and therefore, the 

 first business in order was the election of a sec- 

 retary pro tern. 



On motion of A. C. Balch, of Kalamazoo, and 

 on a vote of the members present, Mr. J. W. 

 Porter was duly elected secretary, and proceeded 

 at once to transact the duties of the office. The 

 treasurer of the association submitted a verbal 

 report as to the monetary affairs of the society. 



The regular business details for the evening 

 having been gone through with, President Rood 

 delivered an address upon a topic selected by 

 Mr. Cook, the secretary of the society, viz. : 

 '•The Progress and the Needs of Apiculture." 



GENERAL DISCUSSION. 



Some discussion was had in regard to a re- 

 mark made by Gen Adair, of Kentucky, al- 

 luded to by Mr. Rood in his address, that by 

 actual experiment he had been enabled to obtain 

 a pound of comb from a pound of wax. The 



