April S, 1906 



l'HE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



307 



bly I'm slandering the Cottonwood, after all, from seeing it 

 grow among other brush. If perfectly in the open, and in a 

 windy place, its style might be O. K. Poplars which used 

 to be very abundant and rapid of growth here are now 

 nearly extinct from some microbic disease. And the dis- 

 ease will be likely to visit you all when it gets a good ready. 



Bees Moving Eggs or Lakv.ic. 



If E. W. Diefendorf gets the cold facts which he calls 

 upon three eminent Canadians to give, I surmise that they 

 will turn out to be cases of queens being reared where no 

 queen could have laid an egg in the cell — that is proof that 

 bees moved something, and they assumed that it was eggs 

 rather than larvre. So far as the moving is concerned, bees 

 are probably capable enough of moving either one. Appar- 

 ently the crucial point is that larva; stay where they are 

 put, while eggs will not. Page 165. 



Caucasian Bees. 



The findings of Rev. Robert B. McCain about Cauca- 

 sians are to be noted. He finds them good. But Italians, 

 in the important matter of storing surplus, are somewhat 

 better. Well, to live up to their reputation as non-stingers, 

 and do fairly good work at storing, is all they need to do to 

 hold an important place in certain locations. More than 

 that I guess we must not expect of them. Page 181. 



Causes of Honey Flow and Suppression. 



The mysterious part of the varied causes of honey-flow 

 and suppression calls pretty loudly for investigation. That 

 the percent of sugar in beets varies greatly — a ] s0 mysteri- 

 ously — and to a certain extent parallel with the variation of 

 the honey -flow, is a choice item to work into our going-to- 

 come solution. Many thanks to Mr. H. S. Philbrook for it. 

 His observation is that thunder-showers with great electri- 

 cal violence and small precipitation are very bad for the 

 nectar-secretion, and also bad for beet sweetness. I think 

 we seldom have just such conditions here I believe our 

 usual thunder-showery weather for the most part favors the 

 nectar-secretion, except so far as the rain washes the secre- 

 tion away. Of course, we wouldn't expect that form of 

 thunder shower that clears up with a north wind and much 

 colder weaiher to be favorable. Page 184. 



Two Queens in a Hive. 



We see. Everything has to be challenged. And now 

 the mother-and-daughter theory of two queens in one hive 

 catches it. Always two sisters, one of them a poor one, is 

 the new theory proposed. That is, I suppose, the poor one 

 hasn't vim enough about her to bring on a fight, and not 

 enough of the scent of fertility to provoke much attention 

 of any kind from the real queen of the hive. Guess the 

 new theory is not so absurd as some of the new things we 

 hear. At worst, we can thank Mr. Philbrook for setting us 

 to thinking. Page 184. 



Sulphur for Bee Paralysis. 



To have a powder-gun loaded with sulphur, and shoot 

 all the entrances semi-occasionally, as Mr. Philbrook sug- 

 gests, is not costly, and need not take much time. In locali- 

 ties where bee-paralysis often amounts to something seri- 

 ous — well, the keeper would thus soon come to have an idea 

 whether it was worth while or whether he was merely mak- 

 ing a monkey of himself. Page 185. 



Conducted by Morlet Pettit, Villa Nova, Out. 



Relation of Ripeness of Honey to Granulation 



Replying to an enquiry with reference to ripeness of 

 honey to granulation, I have the following from Prof. 

 Shutt: 



Mr. Morley Pettit: — In normal, ripe honey it is claimed that 

 the dextrose and levulose are present in approximately equal propor- 

 tions. We have no Canadian data on this point. Of course, the run- 

 nings from honey that have granulated, either in the comb or subse- 

 quently, will contain an excess of levulose. 



In well-ripened honey the water will be from, say 15.5 to 17 5 per- 

 cent, and the dextrose and levulose together in the neighborhood of 

 SO percent. 



Possibly honey more or less unripe will not granulate, owing to its 

 larger proportion of water. Unfortunately, I can not find any state- 

 ment as to thi6, and it is a matter which we have not yet investigated. 



The proportion of water can be determined from the specitie 

 gravity, and if it could be shown that unripe honey with its larger 

 percentage of water did not solidify, it might be possible to establish 

 a relationship between specitie gravity and granulation. 



Yours truly, Frank T. Shutt, OhemUt. 



How to "Sample" a Town With Honey 



At the Ontario Convention many good points on " samp- 

 ling " a town with honey by a house-to-house canvass were 

 given. The Canadian Grocer has the following item along 

 the same line : 



The Art of Sampling. 



It is remarkable the results which will accrue by judicious samp- 

 ling of a given district. 



First and foremost, the store-keeper must be certain of his article. 

 It should be the best of its kind— no secoad-grade goods. The giving 

 of a poor article will kill trade, not make it. Second, it should be 

 neatly and attractively gotten up. The first impression is the lasting 

 one. Given an attractive sample, the recipient expects a good thing — 

 the first move in the direction of success. 



Third, do not fail to have the name, address, and price clearly 

 upon it. 



Suppose you try this with your confectionery. A good corner of 

 the street at the busiest time of the day; a neat, tasty confection 

 handed to the passer-by by an equally neat and well-dressed boy with 

 a well-worded notice of the fact in your usual advertisement space in 

 the local journal, and you will welcome the result. A successful 

 candy-dealer in the United States has built up a large business in this 

 way. 



^m ■ ^^' 



Streaky Granulation in Honey— Losing Its Honey Flavor 



Amid the con fusion of information regarding the honey- 

 bee and its products, it is singular how little there is about 

 the treatment of honey after it has been harvested. It is 

 true that honey, extracted after being sealed over, should 

 require no treatment at all beyond straining, but if the 

 moisture has not been evaporated, and the honey sealed 

 over, some treatment is necessary. 



The method advocated by some, of using the extractor 

 to empty the upper tier of frames in doubled hives so fre- 

 quently that the bees are unable at any time to build it up 

 completely, must of necessity compel the apiarist to remove 

 some honey which is unsealed, and therefore unripe. Un- 

 der such circumstances half or more of the extracted honey 

 will remain perfectly liquid and the remainder will become 

 granulated, and if it is then put in bottles the combination 

 of the two honeys is anything but satisfactory to the pur- 

 chaser. The explanation of this fact is, after all, simple 

 enough. Honey is composed of dextrose and levulose in 

 certain proportions, and water to the extent of about 25 per- 

 cent ; if the former predominates it granulates, and if the 

 levulose it remains liquid. The only method by which this 

 state of things can be avoided is by allowing the whole of 

 the honey to remain on the hive until properly ripened, or 

 keep the honey in a warm place (about 100 degrees) until the 

 excessive moisture has been gotten rid of. This can be 

 accomplished and the virgin delicacy not be impaired. 



If honey is heated to the boiling point it will lose its 

 flavor, but as stored by the bees it is seldom suojected to a 

 temperature higher than 100 degrees, which is sufficient to 

 evaporate the moisture from the crudest honey within a 

 few days. A colony of bees will build, evaporate, and seal 

 over a 30-pound super in a week to a fortnight in the height 

 of the season, but it is possible that the bees assist in re- 

 ducing the moisture by extracting the watery portion of 

 the honey for brood-rearing and for their own use. The 

 most exacting taste will not be able to discriminate between 

 the granular and non-granular honey, but the expert can 

 tell by the specific gravity whether it will eventually gran- 

 ulate satisfactorily. Nothing is more worthy of attention 

 by bee-keepers than the placing of their product before the 

 public in the best manner. To be able to improve, refine, 

 and heighten its qualities is to earn the gratitude of all the 

 fraternity. — Weekly Mail and Empire. 



Amerikanische Bienenzucht, by Hans Buschbauer, is 

 a bee-keeper's hand-book of 138 pages, which is just what 

 our German friends will want. It is fully illustrated, and 

 neatly bound in cloth. Price, postpaid, $1.00; or with the 

 American Bee Journal one year — both for $1.75. Address 

 all orders to this office. 



