138 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



little hope of success; nevertheless, one 

 time when examining a stand of Italians, 

 when holding up a frame for inspection, 

 I gave a shout, and a rather loud one, 

 when to my surprise and joy at the dis- 

 covery, every bee upon the comb made 

 a momentary check in her movements — 

 not a motion was visible — but the check 

 was only momentary — they immediately 

 resumed their wonted movements. I have 

 tried this, time and again, with the same 

 result, also by bringing the shout down to 

 quite a low key. I am also quite satisfied 

 that swarms as they issue from the hive, 

 are confused by the rattling of tin-ware, 

 and alight in consequence thereof; but I 

 shall prosecute my experiments still fur- 

 ther the coming season, if I handle bees, 

 and hope to make further developments in 

 this direetion. J. D. Kruschkb. 



Hamilton, 111., Feb. 10, 1876. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Beeswax vs. Comb. 



Milk and Honey Apiary, } 

 Beeswax Creek, April 6, 1876. ) 



Mr. Editor: I thank you very cor- 

 dially for the notice of that part of article 

 referred to as page 104, namely that 

 " Honey comb is one thing and beeswax 

 another and very different thing." I am 

 not in the habit of noting small typo- 

 graphical errors or criticisms on any- 

 thing I may write. (This with me is a 

 rule,) but in this case, with your permis- 

 sion, I will make an exception and pro- 

 ceed to show some of the facts, which I 

 suppose to bear on the opinion expressed. 

 I have this day under a strong magnifying 

 power, examined some small flakes of 

 broken comb, and also, some much thin- 

 ner shavings of the same comb, melted on 

 thin manilla paper. After cooling, the 

 melted side closely resembles the un- 

 melted flakes in texture, no real difference 

 appearing. The shaved side is compact 

 and shines like polished silver, and while 

 of the same thickness as the flakes of 

 comb, or even much thinner, they are 

 much more tenacious and malleable. Of 

 course the wax is homogeneous, while in 

 thick places at the corners of the cells the 

 walls of the cells are easily separated, 

 small flat particles cleaving ofl' readily. 

 These particles seem to be patches over- 

 lapping each other, and forming the thick 

 ened walls of the cells. No one can fail 

 to see the dift'erence, even without the aid 

 of a microscope. 



Honey comb is not all alike; it differs 

 not in thickness only, but in permeability. 

 Honey comb not unfrequeutly has a wet 

 or oily look, and as bee-keepers say, 

 "sweats." Honey in boxes often has this 

 look, and on close examination, the honey 

 seems to have soaked into and through 

 the caps. No observant box-honey raiser 

 has failed to notice this not uncommon 



feature. In the fall of 1873, I had hun- 

 dreds of boxes filled, and capped per- 

 fectly, which would not hold their con- 

 tents, while on the hives even. The cap» 

 remained perfect, but the honey escaped. 

 The bees thickened the caps, but still 

 honey got out. Many of the combs con- 

 tained hardly any honey, while others had 

 only a few cells in different places, which 

 were empty. Many of the combs could 

 be sliced off just beneath the caps, with- 

 out touching honey at all. Nearly every 

 box was from eight to thirty-two ouncea 

 below weight, while the boxes were quite 

 full of very pretty comb. 



Honey comb rapidly decomposes in a 

 damp, warm atmosphere. This is shown 

 by leaving honey comb in shady, damp 

 places in the grass, where it soon loses 

 its plasticity and adhesiveness. 



Hives of bees wintered in cellars or on 

 their summer stands, frequently have 

 mouldy combs, the edges of which are so 

 decomposed that they seem destitute of 

 wax. The form of the cells may remain,, 

 but the substance is so disintegrated, it 

 will scarcely hold together. 



From the above, Mr. Editor, I trust you 

 will see that honey comb, ^vhile, perhaps^ 

 chemically the same as beeswax, is not 

 like beeswax in those features which 

 give comb-honey its peculiar virtues. 



Beeswax is not soluble in any of the 

 conditions given above, neither does it 

 disintegrate in the mouth like honey- 

 comb. "The proof of the pudding is in 

 chewing the string." 



Now, Mr. Editor, as I said in the arti- 

 cle referred to : please give us a lift, if for 

 no other purpose than self-preservation, 

 still give us a lift. 



People who buy comb-honey do so, not 

 because it is pure, nor because it is honey 

 in the comb, but because the comb height- 

 ens its flavor and enhances the pleasure 

 of eating it. 



Need I say that beeswax foundation will 

 not heighten the pleasure of eating honey — 

 not muchly! 



The card of C. O. Perrine, on the cover 

 of the current number, throws some light 

 on this subject, which I trust you will 

 pardon me for referring to, as it may be 

 even more significant than the above facts. 



Mr. Perrine does not cherish, it is pre- 

 sumed, a very friendly feeling towards 

 comb-honey producers, neither the pro- 

 ducers of extracted, as his letters and ar- 

 ticles, previously written, will show. 

 Said honey-producers have taken him as 

 the representative man, and the great head 

 of the " ring honey-adulterators." The 

 cry of adulteration on every hand, ha» 

 been one of the leading causes, why his 

 and other fancy -jarring-honey establish- 

 ments have been compelled to run 

 " Kanuc" and other fancy brands of 

 syrups in connection with honey. 



In the infant days of honey -jarring, it 



