1894 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



239 



ed: and the next in point of preference are the 

 Carniolans. 



The Canadian Bee Journal is steadily im- 

 proving. It has just put on a new and tasty 

 cover. The paper and pressworl< are of the 

 best, and the editorial management shows the 

 handiwork of a practical bee-keeper We gave 

 this journal a good send-ofT in our previous is- 

 sue, but it really seems to deserve another. The 

 new series of the C. B. J. diiTers in one impor- 

 tant respect from the old one. The former 

 started on a high plane of journalism and grad- 

 ually went downward ; but the latter started 

 on a high plane too, and so far has been grad- 

 ually working upward. 



Our friend Mr. Mathey, our German corres- 

 pondent, is not only a writer for the journals, 

 but an artist— one who can reproduce the vari- 

 ous scenes in his travels. An article in another 

 column gives a very fair idea of Russian bee- 

 keeping. By the way, it may be interesting to 

 our readers to know that ^Ir. Mathey was for 

 two years translator for the consular represent- 

 ative of Austria at Philadelphia. He was 

 chosen to that position after having passed the 

 highest marks out of some 50 different ones who 

 applied for the coveted place. It was his work 

 to translate the Polish, Russian, Slavic, and 

 Hungarian into German. 



So it appears from the railroad statistics that 

 California produces over 5 million pounds of 

 honey a year. In another column Rambler ex- 

 presses an opinion that this amount is increased 

 to 10 million by the addition of glucose. There 

 was a time when it wa^^ policy to keep still, be- 

 cause there was so little glucose mixing done 

 that it did more harm than good to mention it; 

 but now the " hush-up policy " would be suicid- 

 al to our industry. It would let the glucose 

 fiend ruin prices on honey, and finally disgust 

 consumers with any thing bearing the name of 

 honey, so that it would be impossible to dispose 

 of even the pure unadulterated article at even 

 half decent prices. 



In our wax-room we have observed that the 

 alternate heating and cooling of yellow wax 

 causes it to become slightly darkened. We 

 have known this to be the case, but did not sup- 

 pose that it had so much efiect until very re- 

 cently. Our attention being called to the mat- 

 ter, we asked the foreman of our foundation 

 department to place a small quantity of extra 

 select yellow wax, with a little water, in a large 

 wooden pail. This he was to heat every day, 

 and let cool, for a week. With a dipping-board 

 he was to take a sheet of wax at the first heat- 

 ing, and another after the six days of succes- 

 sive heatings and coolings. We have before us 

 the result. One is a beautiful sheet of yellow 

 wax— as nice as any thing any one ever saw, 

 and the other is darkened to a light pea green. 

 It looks decidedly muddy. 



THAT ADULTKUATRD (?) UTAH HONKY. AGAIN. 



On page l.">4 we made the stan-ment that pure 

 honey might contain a small percentage of nat- 

 ural cane sugar. At the time, we were not 

 able to put our finger on the authority. Since 

 that time we have received the following card, 

 which will explain itself: 



For authority for wliich you in(|Uii'c (in \r.ige l.">4, 

 I think you will tlnrlit on page 746, Dept. of Ag-. Kep. 

 for 189:J, as per Bulletin No. 13. Tlieamount of cane 

 supar to pure honey is there given as from 8 to 10 

 per cent. Ham. Smith. 



Ionia, Mich., Feb. 20. 



Upon referring to Bulletin 13, page 740, we 

 find that Mr. Smith is correct, and what we 

 said on pase 154 was substantially right. The 

 following, from S. T. Fish & Co., will explain 

 itself: 



Mr. Root:— In the last issue of Gleanings, page 

 154, yon give space to the fact that Mr. Jankovsky, 

 of Cleveland. Ohio was arrested, and tliat Professor 

 Smith, a chemist, claimed his lioncy adulterated. 

 Mr. Jankovsky writes us that he put up the honey 

 in the same condition as received from us, and we 

 v^-rote liim that, if he did so we guaranteed it pure. 

 In order to do ourselves justice, we wrote the pro- 

 ducers and got tlieir affidavit that they did not feed 

 sugar to the bees. With sugar selling at from two 

 to four cents psr pound higher tlian honey, it does 

 not seem possible that this commodity would be fed 

 to the bee, when but three-fourths of tlie sugar 

 that is fed would be stored in the combs and the 

 other fourth be consumed in the secretion of wax 

 and for the brood. 



In order to find an authority who would pass a dif- 

 ferent opinion from Professor Smith's, we sent a 

 sample to the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture, and received the following answer: 



Messrs. S. T. Fis?i & Co.;— The sample of lioney 

 forwarded by you February Uth w:is duly received 

 and was entered on the books of the Division ot 

 Chemistry as Serial No. 1296.5. The sample was 

 marked ""Lot 5'^62." On examination it proved to be 

 free from commercial starch sugar (glucose), or add- 

 ed cane sugar. As ihe.se are practically the only 

 substances used to adulterate honey, the sample Is 

 probably pure. Respectfully. 



G. L. Spencer, 

 Acting Chief of tlie Division of Chemistry. 



We continue to guarantee this honey strictly pure 

 and unadulterated, and we will await with much in- 

 terest the outcome of our Cleveland customer, as it 

 appears to us lie has a suit for damages. 



Respectfully, S. T. Fish & Co. 



"THK WORLD IS OUR PARISH." 



If there is any one thing in which we take 

 pardonable pride it is the fact that our journal 

 does not bear the least iriiee of localism. So 

 far as any particular locality is concerned it 

 tries to represent and give due prominence to 

 the bee-keeping interests, not only of every 

 important place in the Union, but of every im- 

 portant honey country In the world. Latterly 

 the big German bee-keepers have been receiv- 

 ing due prominence through our correspon- 

 dents, Mr. Karl R. Mathey and :SIr. C.J. H. 

 Gravenhorst, the former of whom is just now 

 telling us about bee culture in Russia, through 



