thereafter we get another swarm with 

 the same queen, and, of course, a fine 

 lot of cells. So we keep on till the 

 swarming season is over. Thus, by a 

 selection of the best queens each year, 

 and rearing them by the best plan, our 

 bees may be improving iustead of retro- 

 grading. 



In conclusion we would say, as at the 

 beginning, that all other things are of 

 minor importance when compared with 

 the queen. So let us, as apiarists of 

 America, hold the standard of excel- 

 lence so high that when we come to 

 look back over the next decade of years, 

 we can see we have made a grand ad- 

 vance. 



Borodino, N. Y.. Feb., 1880. 



For the American Bee Journul. 



Extracted Honey vs. Adulteration. 



A. B. WEED. 



The question whether to raise comb 

 or extracted honey, is an important one 

 to the bee-keeper, lie is sometimes so 

 circumstanced by the condition of his 

 hives, that either one kind or the other 

 is the more profitable for him to raise. 

 In the October number of the Bee 

 Journal of last year, Thurber & Co., 

 on page 448, say : " We earnestly hope, 

 for the sake of the best interests of the 

 bee-keeping community, that you will 

 take time by the forelock and work up 

 a greater interest in the production of 

 extracted honey." They also " warmly 

 recommend the great mass of honey 

 producers to work their apiaries for the 

 exclusive production of extracted 

 honey." This is said with reference to 

 a certain condition of the English mar- 

 ket, but still it shows the importance of 

 this form of honey, and the high esteem 

 in which it is held abroad. 



On page 547 of the Journal for 

 Dec, 1879, your correspondent " Louisi- 

 anian," says that in his locality honey 

 is raised in the extracted form almost 

 entirely. Since both kinds of honey 

 can be raised with profit, it is of the 

 highest importance that the public 

 should look with favor upon them both. 

 It is also desirable that our customers 

 should be equally ready to buy any kind, 

 for then the bee-keeper is at, liberty to 

 raise the kind which best suits his con- 

 venience or ability, instead of being 

 obliged to sacrifice his interests in order 

 to mee't a caprice of the market. 



I am very much surprised that a 

 writer in this month's Journal should 

 urge bee-keepers to "turn prejudice 

 against liquid honey " — as he does on 

 page 77 — especially since comb honey is 



not necessarily pure. The Journal 

 calls attention to this fact on page 86. 

 If it were possible to cast upon ex- 

 tracted honey an undeserved odium, 

 would it be a wise thing to do ? 



There is danger that if buyers believe 

 that one kind of honey is adulterated, 

 they will at least suspect the other, and 

 they will be especially apt to do so, if 

 they get their information from apiarists 

 themselves. If the producers of one 

 kind of honey unjustly decry the wares 

 of their brother bee-keepers, it is quite 

 probable that those who are interested 

 in the other kind will retaliate by pur- 

 suing a similar course of conduct con- 

 cerning the wares of the others, and this 

 would bring about a very bad state of 

 affairs in our business. If apiarists are 

 to rival each other, let be in maintain- 

 ing a high business standard. 



Detroit, Mich., Feb. 1880. 



[Our correspondent on page 77 was 

 speaking of the adulterated liquid honey, 

 and the one on page 86 was advocating 

 a general law against adulteration. Mr. 

 AVeed has evidently misapprehended 

 their language.— Ed.] 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Will all Pure Honey Granulate ? 



c. WURSTER. 



The question, will all pure honey 

 granulate or candy, has been discussed 

 a long time, and with great fervor ; but 

 it would seem to be still an open ques- 

 tion, and I will now take the liberty to 

 draw the attention of my fellow bee- 

 keepers and assert what I heretofore 

 have never seen in print or heard men- 

 tioned, that the honey so extracted 

 remains liquid, wholly or partly so. I 

 charge it to the fact that it was removed 

 from the combs before being sealed over 

 by the bees. Of this fact I am so well 

 satisfied, that I can not believe that any 

 one will be able to disprove it. 



I have made exhaustive experiments 

 to fathom the cause of it, and find, that 

 such honey is extracted from the comb 

 before it has evaporated (or, as I call it 

 ripened), which I have found it will 

 not do so in three days. I find that 

 honey extracted from the same combs 

 every three days will not uniformly 

 granulate or candy, even if the honey 

 is brought in by the bees in a very thick 

 state. In proportion to the consistency 

 the honey is in, when extracted, so will 

 that honey assume a granulated form. 

 I have extracted basswood honey that 

 had been stored in the comb three days 

 and rather thin, immediately putting it 



