THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



135 



pie, but not to carry it so far. Among 

 these bee-keepers, and first on the list, is 

 our friend Novice, -who, in his last 

 Gleanings, gives the preference to a frame 

 13 inches long by 11| deep, which size he 

 offers to the American bee-keepers as a 

 standard. No doubt a standard frame, 

 adopted by the American bee-keepers com- 

 munity, at least by all the beginners, 

 would be an excellent step, a step in the 

 right direction, for it would lead all of us 

 sooner or later to a very desirable uni- 

 formity. In Italy, the central bee-keep- 

 er's society agreed on the length of the 

 upper bar of the frames as standard, and 

 that measure led to a complete uniformity 

 among the bee-keepers of the entire 

 Italian peninsula. 



Nobody can deny the advantage of such 

 uniformity. By it the interchange of 

 hives or combs, or honey we are easy 

 from one apiary to another ; for instance, 

 some districts in Italy abound in honey of 

 first quality, while some others give only 

 fern honey which besides being of poor 

 quality, cannot be expelled from the 

 combs by the malextractor. The bee- 

 keepers of the good honey districts empty 

 all their combs and replace the honey by 

 purchasing combs of fern honey, this 

 purchase would be impossible if the 

 frames were of diti'ereut sizes as they are 

 in this country. 



We are often prevented from pur- 

 chasing stocks from our neighbors on 

 account of the dittereut sha]ie of their 

 liives, for fear that we should get two 

 difterent sizes of frames in the same 

 apiary. 



Germany and France envy the uni- 

 formity of the Italian hives, but have not 

 yet taken steps to imitate their neighbors. 

 Like us, they have too many ditt'erent 

 sizes to see a standard adopted, and it 

 would also be very difficult to point out 

 the shape and size to be pi ef erred. 



AVe here have ueaily as many sizes as 

 iuveniors. Yet all can refer to four or 

 live, the largest being the Quinby which 

 has only 8 frames for the same surface as 

 10 Langstroths or 11 Americans, and the 

 smallest being the (rallup frame. 



If it is stated that the larger the frame 

 the greater the laying of the queen, the 

 only thing to ascertain is, "which should 

 be the extreme surface, taking in account 

 the weight and the solidity of the comb." 

 I can speak of the Quimby frame from 

 experience, having managed it for ten 

 years. It is not too large nor too heavy. 

 Its surface is equal to 200 square inches. 

 I think consequently tliat a standard frame 

 should not be inferior to 2<J0 inches or 

 larger than that. A smaller frame, say 

 loO inches square, is, in my opinion, too 



small, for the hive should contain eleven 

 frames for the same surface of combs. 

 Now, as it is more expedient to remove 8 

 frames than 11, the bee-keeper runs less 

 risk of being stting, and the robbing is 

 less to be feared. Some will contend that 

 so large a frame would not do to raise 

 queens. But the raising of queens for 

 sale is a specialty, an exception, a need of 

 our epoch of transition, but it is not for 

 an epoch of transition that we want a 

 standard frame. It is for the majority of 

 the bee-keepers and for the bettering of 

 our crops. 



To conclude, I will say to the Amer- 

 ican bee-keeptrs, to those who have two 

 or more shapes in their apiaries, especi- 

 all to those who have many of each 

 size, examine your hives, see which give 

 the best results, and report through the 

 journals. 



After some years, the bee keeper's com- 

 munitj' will be enlightened by the discus- 

 sions, and then, hut then only, will be apt 

 to choose a standard which will comply 

 with the ieterests of the bee-keepors and 

 the instincts of our useful insects. 



Hamilton, 111. Chas. Dadant. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Honey Adulteration, 



A great deal has been said about the 

 adulteration of honey, glucose, etc., but 

 the subject is far from being exhausted. 

 I have learned to know the article of late, 

 and will give my experience. It may 

 serve to put on their guard a few honest 

 bee-keepers and a few fair dealers. 



Glucose is grape sugar, the next rela- 

 tive to honey, derived from corn in this 

 country and, principally from potatoes 

 in German}' and France. Glucose made 

 of corn is the lightest and made to serve 

 the purpose. It is thin, or thicker of the 

 consistency of honey as it is dry sugar. 

 It is bought, principally, by distillers, 

 brewers and "honey dealers." So I am 

 informed by the agent of the manufactory 

 in St. Louis, Mo., who lives in this cit}^ 

 and with whom I am very well acquaint- 

 ed. I send you with to-day's mail a 

 sample of the'dry grape sugar, and a small 

 bottle of the glucose which is used for the 

 adulteration of honey. You will find it 

 of about the same thickness, transparency 

 and color of honey, you will find also, 

 that it mixes with honey very easy. Be- 

 ing of good taste and not having any par- 

 ticular flavor, it does not spoil the flavor 

 of the honey but ])artakes of it very readi- 

 ly. It diminishes, however, the acid of 

 the honey. xVt least, so I find it. It is a 

 pity that adulterated honey cannot be told 



