613 



GLEANINUS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Auo. 1. 



hood of man in general, and the brotherhood of 

 the Anglo-Saxon race in particular, cultivating 

 the arts of peace and good will. 



Selby, Ont., Can. 



P. S.— With the exception of a passage or 

 two. the above was written in April last, and 

 sent to Gleanings; but for some reason it nev- 

 er reached that office. It has been re-written, 

 because, when the loss was ascertained, the ed- 

 itorintimated his desire to have the article, and 

 I also felt that the nature of the subject would 

 justify me in going through it again, especially 

 as I am now here with a little leisure on my 

 hands in Uncle Sam's dominions, having start- 

 ed for Mexico, but obligfd to postpone the visit 

 on account of the excessive heat. A. P. 



New York, July 18. 



^ I ■ 



CALIFORNIA ECHOES. 



By Hainhhr. 



If there were a demand for comb honey only, 

 thi're would probably be fewer bee-keepers, as 

 It is so easy to extract, you know. 



In some portions of California there are great 

 areas of mustard. Those localities, I under- 

 stand, are yielding a modicum of honey. 



I recently passed through Saugns, and found 

 an awful dry country. No wonder bee-keepers 

 thereabouts have a discouraged tone to their 

 writings. 



To take skunk odor out of clothing, fumigate 

 thoroughly with burnt coffee. That's the way 

 Prof. Cook recommends. He has been there 

 with his Sunday clothes on, and knows. 



The efforts to hold an extra session of the 

 State Association at San Francisco, during the 

 mid-winter fair, failed, partly from the poor 

 prospects lor honey, and partly from the sudden 

 withdrawal of low rates by the railroad. 



It is a good thing, perhaps, for us to have an 

 occasional off year. We shall have no anxiety 

 over the putting of our product upon a market 

 where there is no demand. See what Miith 

 says in relation thereto in a. recent issue of 

 Gleanings. 



We hear now and then prominent bee-keep- 

 ers, who have heretofore worked their apiaries 

 only for extracted honey, speaking strongly in 

 favor of working for comb honey. Perhaps 

 Harbison was right when he took such a stand 

 against extracted honey. 



Mexico would be an attractive field for the 

 apiarist but for the duty on honey. Harbison 

 entertained the idea of organizing a company 

 to work the field so largely as to send honey by 

 the shipload to foreign countries. The scheme 

 is feasible, even at this diiy. 



Mr. Searles, of River>ide, increases his colo- 

 nies by division. A |)iece of burlap is placed 

 between the extracting-super and brood-cham- 

 ber of a strong colony. The super is provided 



with an entrance; and when the young queen 

 is hatched, the super is set upon a new stand. 



The city fathers of Los Angeles are about to 

 submit to the people several new city ordi- 

 nances, among which there is one prohibiting 

 the keeping of bees in the city limits. There is 

 some stir among the bee-keepers, who reside in 

 the city, against it; with what lesult will be 

 seen later. 



HONEY-DEW HONEY. 



A PUKE-FOOD law; ANALYSIS OF HONEY-DEW 

 HONEY. 



By Prof. A. J. Conk. 



As will be remembered, when I was up at the 

 Arrowhead Springs apiary in April. Mr. Brod- 

 beck, the proprietor, told me that he secured 

 much late honey last fall from a peculiar para- 

 sitic vine which I at once recognized, as he 

 showed it to me, to be '• golden-thread." or dod- 

 der, a species of Cuscuta. This interesting 

 threadlike plant takes root, like other plants, 

 runs up, and twines about other plants for a 

 support, then breaks its connection with the 

 earth, and lives as a parasite upon its host. It 

 is very common in Southern California, and is 

 seen everywhere twining like a tangle of golden 

 thread about herbs, shrubs, and even trees. 

 When Mr". Brodbeck told me about his honey I 

 thought at once of honey-dew. and even said to 

 him that I supposed dodder bloomed earlier. In 

 this last opinion I am sustained by facts— at 

 least, I find dodder now in full bloom, both in 

 the valleys and canyons. When Mr. Rees Pow- 

 ell, of Redlands, sent me the suspected honey 

 which he said was produced in August and 

 September. I at once thought of Mr. Brod beck's 

 honey, and sent at once and got a sample. The 

 two samples were apparently identical. Tliey 

 are amber colored, rather pleasant, and remind- 

 ed me at once of honey-dew honey which I have 

 often sampled in Michigan. Mr. Powell sold 

 his honey to Mr. B. F. Brooks, of Riverside, 

 Cal. Mr. Brooks sent it east, and it was con- 

 demned—or at least suspecLed— as an adulterat- 

 ed article. Mr. Powell asked me to make a full 

 investigation, and asked for a n^port in ('LEa.v- 

 iNGS. This honey was produced near Banning, 

 in Millard's Canyon. L'p to July 2(i. t893. the 

 honey was light and excellent; then it changed, 

 getting worse and woi'se. The bees kept at 

 work on the honey-dew until Oct. 1. Mr. Pow- 

 ell says that most of the honey came from oak, 

 but that many trees, including hc'nilock and 

 pine, were visited by bees. I am inclined to 

 think that Mr. Brod beck's bees got their nectar 

 from the host plants of the dodder, and not 

 from the golden-thread itself. I am very sure 

 that aphides were the source of the honey-dew 

 in every case. It is a matter of much impor- 

 tance, and in future we must determine the 

 truth and the whole truth in the matter. 



