726 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAJ^. 



what kind of flower every bee visited to 

 obtain its load of honey, but here in 

 Utah we know that it is neither bass- 

 wood nor buckwheat honey, for the 

 writer has seen but one basswood tree in 

 Utah, and not a field of buckwheat for 

 more than 20 years. Lucerne, sweet 

 clover and Rocky Mountain bee-plant 

 are the main sources of honey-produc- 

 tion in this vicinity, and of course we 

 think we have the best of honey. 



Now I hope no one will think that I 

 have " an axe to grind," for I am not in 

 the seed business, but would like to hear 

 through the Bee Journal, what success 

 others have had with lucerne and Rocky 

 Mountain bee-plant in different local- 

 ities. 



Taylorsville, Utah. 



Extracted Honey— Carnlolan Bees. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY E. H. STURTEVANT. 



Mr. John Towle, of Wisconsin, asks 

 the following questions, suggested by 

 my letter on page 345 : 



1. Do you practice feeding back ex- 

 tracted honey to fill sections ? 



2. Tjo you have the Carniolan bees ? 

 and do you recommend them ? 



To prepare honey the way I do it for 

 the waxed-pail packages, I take off the 

 honey and grade It before extracting, 

 and for the best results it should be all 

 sealed, unless unfilled sections, or those 

 with faults of any kind needed for comb 

 honey, if not until the next season, 

 which I extract and have ready, and it 

 pays, too. 



Extract as early as possible, using 

 open tanks. Keep the room warm when 

 not at work, and the tanks covered at 

 all times with strainer-cloth. Let the 

 honey stand until thick and well cured, 

 and longer if convenient. 



Wax the wooden pails by filling nearly 

 full with melted wax, having inverted 

 them over a hot stove, so the wax will 

 penetrate the wood when put in, and 

 you can immediately turn the wax into 

 another pail or boiler (if the pail is not 

 hot) ; tip the pail so the wax will reach 

 near the top ; the bottom of the pail 

 gets the best penetration while you are 

 tiping it, and that makes it durable. 



After filling with honey, a paper cover 

 and then a wooden cover is tacked on so 

 it will not warp. Honey evaporated to 

 an extent to make it dry and hard early 

 in the fall, will retain all its good quali- 



ties for many years, and when remelted 

 and thinned with a little water, it is 

 very desirable, many times, and more so 

 than comb honey, as the poison is evap- 

 orated, and people can use it that could 

 not eat comb honey ; but put up thin it 

 is sure to become tart and sour if kept 

 in a damp place. 



Dr. Miller, in his " Year Among the 

 Bees," says to drain it after it is candied; 

 but if treated thorough and kept in a 

 dry place it is O. K. I am sorry that he 

 should object, and criticise the friends 

 when they are trying to get extracted 

 honey where it belongs in the world. 



Some one said truth should not be 

 spoken at all times, but when people call 

 for a good article of extracted honey, 

 and are willing to pay extra for it, I 

 suppose Dr. Miller will tell them they 

 need not do it ; but I hope he won't do 

 it any more. I like his book, and almost 

 all we hear from him. When I have 

 any trouble with bees or their manage- 

 ment, I read it over again, and it is the 

 most practical and interesting to me of 

 any. He talks so plain that I can see 

 just what he is talking about all the 

 time. I hope he will go and see Mr. 

 Melbee, and fix it up with him, and go 

 to extracting, then he will want a good 

 price for his best honey, and will tell 

 why, the same as others do. 



A customer living in White Hall, 12 

 miles from me, has just sent to me for a 

 20-pound pail of my good honey, put up 

 in wax, and says it is worth double the 

 price of comb honey for him, besides 

 being better any way. He saw me put 

 up some a year ago, and does not want 

 any more comb honey when he can get 

 a good article in wax. I sent him the 

 honey gathered four years ago, as he 

 asked me to do. How is that ? Now if 

 all the surplus honey of last year, that is 

 unsold, was prepared in this way, there 

 would be no trouble in disposing of it 

 better than could be done now after the 

 new crop comes, unless it proves to be a 

 poor crop. 



Ans. No. 1. — Now what does Mr. 

 Towle want to feed back for, when he 

 can get a good price for good honey 

 (which he must have), and lose X to }4 

 or more of it, besides his time and 

 trouble ; and then after it is fed back it 

 will not keep long without granulating. 

 So I extract the unfilled sections, and 

 those filled with poor honey, etc., when, 

 if not until next year, they will be of 

 great value for early comb honey — don't 

 you see ? No ! no ! I never feed back, 

 only for winter and spring, and I use a 

 frame with wooden sides nailed and 



