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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



tion ? There is not so much as there Is 

 in floral honey, but is vastly better than 

 to produce no crop at all. The advance 

 of civilization has largely crushed out a 

 large share of the honey-producing 

 flora, and it is no wonder that the fertile 

 brain of E. E. Hasty suggested what 

 may eventually become one of the great- 

 est blessings that have been given to 

 bee-keepers. 



To my mind, this is not a question of 

 producing sugar-honey at a loss, or of 

 its injury to the market, as I have no 

 fears of either, but will its production 

 and sale, in the open market, under ex- 

 isting circumstances, work an injury to 

 my fellow man ? If it will, no one is 

 more anxious than myself to know it. I 

 simply desire to know the truth — can 

 man desire more ? 



W. Z. Hutchinson. 



T. F. Bingham — Would sugar-honey 

 be as good for sore throat ? 



Prof. Cook — I don't know. I don't 

 know what it is about honey that does 

 a sore throat good. Sometimes we want 

 something that will produce irritation. 

 In that case I should say basswood 

 honey is what is needed. 



Pres. Taylor — I would like to ask 

 Prof. Cook, if he were producing sugar- 

 honey, would he sell it as honey ? 



Prof. Cook — I should. I agree with 

 the essayist in every point. 



Jacob Moore — Suppose some one 

 should ask me if my honey was clover, 

 and I should say that it was sugar- 

 honey, and then they should say that 

 they could make their own sugar-honey. 



Prof. Cook — When they tried making 

 simply sugar syrup (for that is all that 

 it would be), they would soon discover 

 the difference. 



T. F. Bingham — I think this discus- 

 sion is unfortunate. There is a peculiar 

 mystery about honey that is very fasci- 

 nating. 



Prof. Cook — We need not fear the re- 

 sults. Sugar fed to bees becomes honey. 

 There can be no question of this. The 

 only point is, can it be produced at a 

 profit ? 



T. F. Bingham — The product Is un- 

 doubtedly good ; but the question is, 

 how will the public look at it? You say 

 that you fed 23 pounds of sugar syrup 

 to the bees in one night, yet they trans- 

 formed it into honey. I do not see how 

 they could do it so soon. 



Prof. Cook — They have great glands 

 that are continually pouring out the acid 

 that transforms the cane-sugar into the 

 glucose of honey, and it makes no differ- 



ence whether that cane-sugar comes 



from the flowers or from some other 



source. 



G James Heddon— Yes; but Professor, I 



do not see how there can be any flavor. 



Prof. Cook— There is not the distinc- 

 tive flavor of any flower. There is a 

 honey-flavor, if that is the proper word. 



W. Z. Hutchinson — I should say that 

 it had a kind of spicy, or cane flavor. 



(Concluded next week.) ^' 



How the Bee-Keeper Should 

 Prepare for Next Season. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY 6. M. DOOLITTLE. 



The apiarist who is to be successful 

 has little time to waste, and if any have 

 started into the bee-business on the sup- 

 position that " bees work for nothing 

 and board themselves," they had better 

 leave it at once, for no success can be 

 attained along that line. 



As soon as the bees are properly pre- 

 pared for winter, which should be done 

 as early as Oct. 31st, we are ready to 

 go to work for next season, and so we 

 commence operations at once, remem- 

 bering the proverb of the. ancient wise 

 man who says in the good book, "Seest 

 thou a man diligent in business, he shall 

 stand before kings." 



The first work is to get the wide 

 frames and sections, wliich have been in 

 use the past season, in readiness for the 

 next harvest. Get them around, and 

 scrape off all the propolis adhering to 

 the tin separators, and all the bits of 

 comb that are fastened to the bottoms of 

 the wide frames. All these bits of comb 

 should be saved, and to best save them 

 the sun wax-extractor should be close at 

 hand, and all waste pieces of comb put 

 into it during the whole season. As 

 often as it is full, take off the cover and 

 allow " Old Sol " to get out the wax, and 

 have it ready to fill again. 



