522 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



pronounced by Prof. Smith to be adulter- 

 ated, but which, by Prof. Spencer, on its 

 second analysis, was declared to be pure. 

 Mr. Heddon probably failed to observe that 

 Prof. Smith pronounced the honey adul- 

 terated with sugar syrup, and showed only 

 15 per cent. We have before stated that 

 we believe it is generally admitted by the 

 best chemists that it is not always possible 

 to be certain regarding the small per cents 

 of sugar adulterations, especially if the 

 syrup has passed through the organism of 

 the bee ; but when we come to the matter 

 of glucose adulterations, we are not aware 

 that the chemists have ever made any mis- 

 take. Glucose is very easily detected, and 

 its presence can be known to a certainty. 



On page 688, Sept. 15th number, 1892, 

 (ihanlngs. you will remember Prof. Cook 

 reported having sent to Prof. Wiley and 

 some others of the best chemists of the 

 country 50 samples — some adulterated with 

 glucose, some with sugar syrup, and some 

 not adulterated at all, but all known to 

 Prof. Cook by number, and the exact 

 amount of adulteration, if any. in each of 

 the samples. When the reports of the 

 analyses were received, it was shown that 

 each of the chemists recognized unerringly 

 the glucosed samples, and most of the sugar 

 syrup samples. It seems to us that this 

 test ought to be pretty conclusive. 



Mr. H. may refer to the case of Mr. Chas. 

 F. Muth, whom everybody knows to be op- 

 posed to glucosed adulterations, but whose 

 honey was pronounced adulterated with 

 glucose, by one of Prof. Wiley's associates. 

 But it has been conclusively shown that 

 these glucosed samples, alleged to have 

 come from Mr. Muth, bore counterfeit 

 labels ; and we have not a doubt in our own 

 mind, that a man who would forge a label 

 would not hesitate to adulterate. 



If Mr. Heddon has not adulterated, his 

 recent utterances defending the practice, 

 objecting to the change in the Constitu- 

 tion of the National Bee-Keepers' Union, 

 and saying, among other things, that " All 

 the Bee-Keepers' Unions this side of fairy- 

 land could not stop one little honey-pro- 

 ducer from adulterating," and trying to 

 make us believe that, apparently for the 

 purpose of making glucose-mixers escape 

 detection, is about as reprehensible as to 

 adulterate. E. R. R. 



Alsike as sl lIoiiey>Plaiit. — A 



writer in the Montreal Wihiess, styling him- 

 self "Lindenbank," says this about the 

 value of Alsike clover as a honey-plant : 



It is better for honey than the basswood 

 tree, and hardly inferior to white clover as 

 bee-forage. Hence, all farmers who keep 

 bees should grow large areas of Alsike, and 

 induce their neighbors to do the same. It 

 will pay the bee-keeping farmer to give 

 away the seed to his neighbors. Bee-keep- 

 ing specialists who keep large numbers of 

 bees, but own no land, are usually ready to 

 give away seed both of Alsike clover and 

 buckwheat, and find that it pays them 

 abundantly to do so. 



ANSWERED BY 



DR,. C. C I^ILiXjER,, 



Marengo, Ili,. 



In this department will be answered those 

 questions needing immediate attention, and 

 such as are not of sulBcient special interest to 

 require replies from the ao or more apiarists 

 who help to make "Queries and Ueplies" so 

 interesting on another page. In the main. It 

 win contain questions and answers upon mat- 

 ters that particularly Interest beginners. — Ed. 



Swarming Out in Spring. 



We are having spring again, and bees are 

 flying and carrying in some pollen. My 

 bees nearly have the " spring dwindles;" 

 as a result they have been compelled to 

 drag out their brood, which was chilled. 

 The fruit-bloom was all killed by the freeze, 

 and we have poor prospects for the coming 

 season. We will have to feed them for 

 some time yet, as they have used all their 

 stores in brood-rearing. I got about 80 

 pounds from 4 colonies last summer, but 

 we did not have many fall flowers, and had 

 to feed. I have lost one by swarming out. 

 What is the cause ? T. F. C. 



Otwell, Ind., April 6. 



Answer. — I don't know why bees swarm 

 out as they sometimes do in the spring. 

 Sometimes they swarm out because they 

 run out of stores and are on the point of 

 starving. They are then called "hunger 

 swarms." But they sometimes swarm out 

 with no danger of starving, leaving brood 

 in all stages in the hive, and I don't know 

 the cause. I have an impression that as a 

 rule such colonies are not well able to cover 

 the brood they have, but I'm not sure about 

 it. In all cases that I have seen, the colo- 

 nies were rather weak, and I doubt if a 

 very strong colony will desert its hive in 

 spring. 



Transferring- — Section Honey, Etc. 



We are having a rather forward spring 

 here. I purchased a colony of black bees 

 in a box-hive a year ago last December, 

 from a man who had 25 colonies, and he 

 kept them till spring. When he took them 

 from the cellar, he had T colonies, and when 

 they settled down for the summer he had 

 only 3 — the rest were lost through robbing, 

 induced by putting the old hives out for the 

 bees to clean. He noticed, one day, that 

 some bees were at work at one of his rob- 

 bed hives, and in a few days had the pleas- 

 ure of seeing a swarm come from the west 



