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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL- 



of a section of honey as produced by the 

 bees? We must, of course, furnish 

 bright, new sections, holding not over 

 one pound each, filled with foundation. 

 Of sections we have full control, and if 

 we fail to use the best, the bee-keepers, 

 and not the bees, are to blame. Of the 

 honey filled in by the bees, we have not 

 so much control, and often when we 

 have planned as best we knew how, we 

 find our snow-white sections filled with 

 honey-dew, black as ink. These disap- 

 pointments have come to us in the past, 

 but it is to be hoped they will not soon 

 occur again. 



To get my ideal of section honey, sep- 

 arators must be used, and they should 

 be as wide as the sections, and no part 

 of the outside must be exposed to the 

 travel of the bees. Foundation, of 

 course, is almost indispensable in full 

 sheets, to get the bees to attach the 

 comb to the section bottom. 



Now when all is well done, and we 

 have the beautifully white capped honey 

 in new white sections, we may ask : Can 

 we not do something more, to make our 

 product even more attractive ? But as 

 the true lover of nature looks at these 

 sections of snow-white, beautiful comb 

 honey, the hopelessness of making them 

 more attractive must be apparent. Can 

 we make the rose more beautiful by 

 daubing paint on its petals? Section 

 honey, when in nearly perfect shape, is 

 simply beyond improvement, and all ef- 

 forts in that direction must end in dis- 

 mal failure. 



Nevertheless, I have seen honey on 

 the market in sections that were painted 

 a bright red, others that were stained a 

 cherry red, or mahogany color. Did this 

 add any to the appearance of the honey? 

 No, it rather indicated that something 

 was covered up, and the honey had a 

 queer look, and if the sections were new 

 and clean, the paint and stain were only 

 a detriment. But can nothing be done 

 to render section honey more attractive 

 —is nothing admissible? "Well, almost 

 nothing. A small rubber stamp with 

 bright red ink can be used, and I am 

 not sure but that it is a real improve- 

 ment ; but beyond this, nothing. The 

 stamp, too, will advertise the producer, 

 and be a guarantee to the buyer. 



SHIPPING-CASES FOR HONEY. 



As to the shipping-cases to hold these 

 sections, it is not so important about 

 paint and stain. I have seen cases 

 painted a black walnut color, that really 

 looked quite neat, and the white edges 

 of sections, and delicate comb honey. 



looked very attractive through the 

 glass. I should prefer to ship my honey 

 in cases painted black, rather than have 

 them go stained or dirty. 



But even when applied to shipping- 

 cases, it is very doubtful if anything 

 can be gained by paint — nothing seems 

 so neat and bright as new,planed boards. 

 The whiter the wood the better it pleases 

 me for sections, even though the comb 

 is capped yellow, or even dark. Some- 

 how it lends a charm of neatness, that 

 can be secured in no other way. 



As to the cases, it is perhaps just as 

 well, if not so white. Pine is plenty 

 good enough, and if quite yellow, show- 

 ing the grain of the wood, all the better. 

 But whatever the cases may be, let the 

 inside be so neat, new and clean, as to 

 be a surprise and delight to the re- 

 ceiver. 



Milan, Ills. 



''Darwin on Bees." 



Written for the American Bee Jounuil 

 BY ALLEN PRINGLE. 



On page 594, Mr. G. W. Demareehas 

 a paragraph with the above caption, 

 which reads as follows : 



" I always smile when reading the 

 learned works of scientists, when they 

 alight upon the subject of bees. It hauls 

 down the curtain, gives me a peep into 

 the soundings of their mighty achieve- 

 ments in science, and helps me to put a 

 proper estimate upon their assumptions, 

 generally." 



This is rather too indefinite. It Is 

 what is called a " glittering generality." 

 Will Mr. Demaree give us some particu- 

 lars ? Here is a sneer at scientists in 

 general, and a charge against Darwin 

 in particular — with no particulars to 

 make good the charge. " Assumptions," 

 indeed ! 



If ever a charge was unjust, the 

 charge of assumption against Darwin is 

 an unjust one. Of all the great scien- 

 tists, Darwin was, perhaps, the most 

 careful to assume nothing as true with- 

 out proof. He was a man of facts, of 

 truths, of verifications ; not a man of 

 theories, speculations or " assumptions." 

 Everybody who has read Darwin knows 

 this — at least everybody who has read 

 him, but not through the highly-colored 

 glasses of prejudice. When Darwin 

 reaches a conclusion from facts, instead 

 of trying in any manner to force the 

 conclusion on insufficient data, or to 

 suppress what may appear to be against 



