THE USES OF WOOD 



WOOD'S PLACE IN THE HONEY INDUSTRY 



BY HU MAXWELL 



rt "\HE forest holds a place of two- 

 fold importance in the honey 

 industry. First, the bloom of 

 trees constitutes a valuable pasture 

 whence bees collect honey ; and, sec- 

 ond, the wood derived from the for- 

 est supplies most of the material of 

 which hives, frames, stands, boxes, 

 houses, and other appurtenances, are 

 made. This holds true of few other 

 industries, for it is unusual that a 

 tree supplies a product and also sup- 

 plies the receptacle in which the 

 product is placed for storage or for 

 shipment. It is proper that wood be 

 given due credit for the contribution 

 it makes in both of these lines. 



Scientists have made a closer study 

 within the bee hive than in the home 

 of any other creature of animated 

 nature, for the reason that 

 the habitation is a combina- 

 tion of the home and the 

 workshop. The inhabitant 

 lives in it and works there, 

 and those who wish to in- 

 vestigate the labors and 

 social habits of these indus- 

 trious workers must peep in- 

 side the hive and there 

 glimpse the remarkable ac- 

 tivities of these wonderful 

 insects which have amused, 

 instructed, astonished, and 

 fed some of the wisest of 

 the human race. No other 

 creature works so hard and 

 so persistently for man, and 

 few others so well repay care 

 and good treatment. But it 

 is not the purpose here to 

 praise the bee or to dilate 

 on its remarkable worth as a 

 teacher and a worker ; rather 

 it is the purpose to speak of 

 the uses of wood in provid- 

 ing for the wants of the bee 

 and at the same time for the 

 wants of man. Doubtless 

 the earliest wild man that 

 made the discovery that This is a 

 honey was good to eat ^" c /" 



J e> going out 



BLACK CHERRY 



These dainty sprays of sweet bloom are special 

 favorites of the bees. 



THE BEEGUM OF THE PIONEERS 



section of a hollow Cottonwood log in which bees are storing 

 a Kansas farm. It is a relic of former days and is fortunately 

 of use. {Photograph by Frank C. Pellett, Hamilton, Illinois.) 



was well stung for his pains, but the 

 vicious sting of the bee never afford- 

 ed complete protection against rob- 

 bers, though it is generally ample 

 protection. So tempting is the 

 sweetness, that a painful sting is 

 necessary to safeguard it from all 

 manner of marauders. 



It is believed that the earliest food 

 store laid aside for his wants by 

 man, and which is still in existence, 

 is a jar of honey found in an 

 Egyptian tomb, and probably placed 

 there for the sustenance of the dead 

 during the journey across the Sty- 

 gian River. When found, the honey 

 had changed into a very dry candy 

 and it had lost its sweetness, though 

 it could still be identified as honey. 

 As a side issue it may be stated that 

 in the bottom of the jar, well 

 covered with honey, was a 

 dead flea of precisely the 

 same sort as those which 

 plague Egypt to this day. 

 Apparently, the insect had 

 hopped into the jar while the 

 last rites over the dead were 

 being Observed, and when 

 the jar was corked, the little 

 fellow was shut up within, 

 and, like the true patriot, he 

 probably could have declared 

 that death was sweet. Any- 

 way, he sank to the bottom 

 while the honey was still 

 soft, and there the archae- 

 ologists found him after a 

 good many thousands of 

 years. 



Bees are naturally wild, 

 and have been tamed by man 

 who has provided homes for 

 them in exchange for the 

 food which they furnish him. 

 If he relaxes his .care and 

 attention, they speedily re- 

 lapse into a wild state, and 

 often they elude him and fly- 

 away in a swarm, and to 

 all intents and purposes they 

 are as wild as their ances- 



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