AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



721 



with their stings. I have as good a right 

 to think such a notion rank nonsense. 



In a nutshell, my chief argument is 

 what I have given : Bees can be seen 

 working wax, no one has ever seen them 

 do it with the sting. Now it will be 

 easy to upset my argument if you can 

 show the stings at work. I challenge 

 you to do so, or to furnish any other 

 satisfactory proof —not satisfactory to 

 me, but satisfactory to the editor of any 

 bee-paper, or to any representative body 

 of bee-keepers. That's the only con- 

 troversy, I think, between us, and it's 

 hardly worth fighting over. 



Marengo, Ills. 



The Flayer anil Aroina of Honey. 



WHtten for the American Bee Journal 

 BY B. m'knight. 



In Mr. Cutting's reply to my letter of 

 some weeks ago, he has this query : 

 "Flavor — well, what is it? and how 

 will we decide it ?" 



I would like to get Mr. Cutting out of 

 his dilemma, at the same time assuring 

 him it is a very important quality in 

 determining the merits of honey by all 

 good judges. Lest I should fail to make 

 myself clear, I will quote the definition 

 Webster gives of the term. "Flavor," 

 he says, is "the quality of a substance 

 which affects the taste or smell in any 

 manner. We say tea has a fine flavor 

 or a disagreeable flavor ; fruit has a 

 good or bad flavor. Taste, odor, fra- 

 grance, smell." 



That a good flavor, then, is an essen- 

 tial quality to good honey goes without 

 saying, and the man who considers it a 

 doubtful one, would not make a good 

 judge of honey. 



There is another quality in most honey 

 that is closely allied to flavor ; that is, 

 aroma ; where this is present it affects 

 the flavor and is in a measure insepara- 

 ble from it. Aroma is defined as " the 

 quality of plants or other substances 

 which constitute their fragrance." From 

 this it will be manifest that flavor and 

 aroma are the two properties in honey 

 which render them agreeable or other- 

 wise to the taste. That they occupy an 

 important place in enabling judges to 

 to make a just award, no one will doubt. 

 Some judges accord them the dominant 

 place in deciding upon the general qual- 

 ity. 



There has never been a satisfactory 

 scale of points fixed as a standard for 

 judging honey, as there has been in 



judging poultry and some other things ; 

 nor is it likely there ever will be, be- 

 cause of the variety of kinds, and the 

 wide diversity in their properties, so 

 that the judging of honey is largely a 

 matter of persronal predilection. How- 

 ever diverse judges may be in their opin- 

 ions, there is one property that all 

 recognize as being necessary in a high- 

 class article of honey, and that is good 

 flavor. 



In 1889 there was a long discussion 

 in the British Bee Journal, with the 

 view of formulating a standard consist- 

 ing of points by which honey should be 

 judged. As might be expected, there 

 was considerable diversity of opinion 

 on the subject, but all agreed in giving 

 flavor a high place in the test. 



A sub-committee of the Irish Bee- 

 Keepers' Association accorded 25 out of 

 100 points, where they gave to aroma 

 5. Others gave it 6 points out of a total 

 of 20, with aroma 1 in the scale. One 

 very good judge declared that flavor 

 was entitled to 40 per cent, in the merit 

 marks. All of which goes to show that 

 flavor is no doubtful quality in honey, 

 but is one of the most important proper- 

 ties it possesses. 



Both the flavor and aroma of honey — 

 especially its aroma — it affected by age. 

 Time and exposure will practically dis- 

 sipate aroma altogether. The process 

 of ripening unripe honey injuriously 

 affects both the flavor and aroma of 

 honey, whether this is carried on in or 

 outside the hive. 



Perhaps more of this anon. Mean- 

 time, I hope I have given some enlight- 

 enment on the question of flavor. 



Owen Sound, Ont. 



Decorallni Sections Of Honey. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY C. H. DIBBEKN. 



The finer grades of comb honey will 

 perhaps always remain a luxury, and 

 how to produce this article in the most 

 attractive form has always been a con- 

 stant study with our most progressive 

 producers. Most of us recognize the 

 fact, that it is the beautiful appearance 

 of a section of honey, more than any- 

 thing else, that helps to sell it, and 

 although we produce it for our own use, 

 or to give to our friends, it is a great 

 satisfaction to have it just as attractive 

 as can be. 



But here comes in the question — How 

 can we add to the beautiful appearance 



