Extracted vs. Comb Honey. 



The following sensible article we 

 found in the Indiana Farmer. It will 

 answer many inquiries sent also to us : 



Several correspondents have asked 

 " What kind of honey pays the best, ex- 

 tracted or comb honey?" Another, 

 " How much more extracted than comb 

 honey can be produced per colony, the 

 conditions being the same ?" And an- 

 other asks, " Will it pay to use an extrac- 

 tor, and sell honey for 10 cents per lb., 

 when it will bring 20 cents per lb. 

 in the comb ?" We can only answer 

 these questions in a general way. So 

 much depends on conditions and cir- 

 cumstances, that the producer only can 

 answer satisfactorily to himself. 



As to which kind will pay the best, 

 depends on how it is to be sold, whole- 

 sale or retail, distance to market, etc. 

 As a general thing the difference in 

 prices between extracted and comb 

 honey ranges from 5 to 8 cents per lb. 

 You can probably produce % more of 

 good, well ripened, extracted honey, 

 and where you have a good home mar- 

 ket at retail, extracted honey will bring 

 within a few cents of as much per lb. 

 as comb honey. 



We would advise all to produce both 

 kinds at first ; develop your home mar- 

 ket as much as possible, then produce 

 the kind that your market demands, 

 deciding for yourself which will pay 

 you best. In producing extracted 

 honey, great caution is however re- 

 quired to be used in not extracting un- 

 ripe honey, and in extracting so much 

 as to rob the bees of the necessary stores. 

 Some bee-keepers practice extracting 

 the honey as fast as it is gathered, but 

 honey in this condition lacks the fine 

 flavor that belongs to a good article of 

 extracted honey, and is liable to ferment 

 and sour. 



The nectar gathered from the flowers 

 cannot be called honey until the evap- 

 oration and ripening process has so far 

 gone on that the bees have commenced 

 capping it over. None but a thoroughly 

 good article should be produced or 

 placed on the market,as the price will de- 

 pend on the quality you offer. A good 

 article of extracted honey has excellent 

 qualities, which, when well known, will 

 commend it to all consumers. You 

 should only produce extracted honey 

 that is equal in every respect to the very 

 best article of comb honey. Comb 

 honev of course speaks for itself, and 

 needs but little urging. With the as- 

 sistance of foundation, the cost of pro- 

 duction is very much lessened and the 

 quantity largely increased. 



Oleomargarine. — The Cincinnati Lan- 

 cet and Clinic states that a curious ex- 

 periment was made upon a large scale 

 with oleomargarine, and which proved 

 that in this instance, at least, it was not 

 what its advocates declare it to be— a 

 wholesome and proper substitute for 

 butter. It was placed without remarks 

 upon the table of the Institute for the 

 Blind, near Louisville. It was taken at 

 first by the inmates in ordinary quanti- 

 ties ; gradually less and less was asked 

 for until the blind people ceased alto- 

 gether to eat it. There was no com- 

 plaint about its being bad, only it did 

 not supply the want which nature or 

 education had created. 



M. Donny has described, in a note to 

 the Belgian Academy, a simple means 

 of detecting artificial butter. He finds 

 that if artificial butter is heated beyond 

 the boiling point it produces little froth T 

 but many violent jerks during the boil- 

 ing, while the gaseous matter separates 

 in clots and becomes brown, the fatty 

 portion retaining its color. Pure but- ' 

 ter, on the other hand, froths abun- 

 dantly, and the whole takes a charac- 

 teristic brown tint, without the violent 

 ebullition of the artificial compound. 

 He expresses some surprise that this 

 simple test had not been discovered be- 

 fore. 



Separators.— Concerning the use of 

 card board and paper for separators, we 

 have received the following inquiry :', 



Pine Grove, Pa., June 3, 1880. 

 In the Bee Journal of September, 

 1879, page 389, mention is made of a kind 

 of card board used for separators. Have 

 you it for sale, or where may it be ob- 

 tained ? W. H. Stout. 



It is pronounced not to be a success. 

 Mr. A. B. Beall, of Clifton Springs. 

 Fla., says : " My bees would not allow 

 of the use of paper for separators, hav- : 

 ing gnawed it in pieces, and carried il 

 out of the hives." Seepage 405 of tht 

 same number of the Bee Journal 

 Some are trying thin wood for separaj 

 tors, but so far tin has been the onlj'j 

 thing, we believe, that has proved uni-- 

 formly successful. 



