566 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Sept. 9, 



ofttimes when I go to examine a hive, I find some of the 

 foundation had dropt down, and the bees were trying to use 

 it in Its piled up shape. In a great many of the others the 

 wires have sagged, and are loose from the foundation ; and I 

 have a lot of crooked combs to be troubled with, or to render 

 Into wax. If I get a hive of them built straight, and use them 

 a year or two, when I go to examine the hive the dlvislon- 

 boaid is so tightly propolized that I cannot get it out un'.il I 

 remove some of the frames, and the end-bars are so badly 

 stuck together that I have to carry something with me to pry 

 them up, and they are so wide at the top that I cannot see to 

 the bottom, to see if they are straight enough to come through 

 the gap; so I have to risk it, and pull them up. If the combs 

 are perfect,all is well, butif they are a littlecrooked or bulged, 

 I am almost sure to jag a hole in the honey or board, as the 

 case may be. With the old-style frames that I got in my first 

 purchase, and the manner of wiring in the foundation, I had 

 no such trouble. 



So I think I have learned that I want no more Hoffman 

 frames in mine. Perhaps other bee-keepers can manage so 

 that they have no foundation to fall down, and no crooked 

 combs. Those who have to haul their bees to out-apiaries, or 

 carry them in and out of cellars, may prefer them, because 

 they are self-spacing and cannot slip about while hauling or 

 handling the hives. Desoto Co., Miss. 



Thin Honey— Grading— The Market. 



BV JOHN H. MARTIN. 



There is the usual factor present this season — thin honey, 

 and in a majority of cases there is but one cause for it, viz.: 

 too great haste in extracting. Sage honey, when thoroughly 

 ripened in the hive, has a thick and heavy body. A saucer 

 full of it can be turned upside down, and it will be slow to 

 leave the saucer. But this, or any other honey, when ex- 

 tracted before the combs are sealed, will, as a rule, be nearly 

 as limpid as water. Such honey also lacks the flavor found 

 In well-ripened honey. It has a raw, pungent taste, and pur- 

 chasers Will not come back for that brand a second time. This 

 honey is also liable to ferment and become sour, resulting in a 

 dead loss to producers. 



An excellent rule to follow in extracting honey is never to 

 extract until the combs are filled and capt at least two-thirds 

 of the way down. 



Tbin honey can be ripened by standing In a large tank 

 for some time, but in this case it never gets the fine flavor 

 that can be secured by thorough ripening in the hive, where 

 the bees know how to do it. 



This standing in a tank for a long time in our hot dis- 

 tricts, oftentimes results In a discoloration of the honey by 

 too great heat. We know of an Instance where a fine quality 

 of water-white honey was changed to an amber by leaving the 

 unprotected cans in the hot sun for several days. The pro- 

 duction of a first-class grade of honey cannot be left to the 

 Inexperienced bee-keeper; there are too many of the latter 

 class in the field, and their product should be mercilessly 

 turned down. 



ONE VALlrE OK THE EXCHANGE. 



Mr. H. E. Wilder, of Riverside county, is the official 

 grader of Exchange honey. In the process of grading, every 

 can is removed from the case and inspected as to grade. 

 Every can is weighed and labeled, and the net weight of the 

 honey markt on the label with the grade, date of inspection, 

 and name of grader. It makes no difference how much the 

 case weighs, the producer gets the actual weight of his honey. 

 The usual tare for cans and cases Is 16 pounds. The case 

 varies so much In weight that the producer generally looses 

 from two to three pounds of honey In the tare, for the dealer 

 la sure to put the tare high enough to cover heavy-weight 



cases, when many times they weigh less than 15 pounds. Mr. 

 Wilder estimates the saving to the bee-keeper by weighing up 

 separately and giving actual weight at from $12 to $15 per 

 car. If bee-keepers would just turn in and make the Ex- 

 change strong enough we can arrange to give tare only on the 

 wooden case. The producer should receive pay for the tia 

 can, for it is an article of value after the honey is used. 



CONDITIONS OF THE HONEY SIARKET. 



Reports continue to arrive giving advices of an unusual 

 honey-yield In the East, which is uncertain as to the effect 

 upon the price upon California honey; We think if the East- 

 ern yield affects any class it will be the comb honey producers. 

 Comb honey is more extensively produced la the East than 

 extracted honey, and ours will come in direct competition 

 with it. Our comb honey is usually put up in the Western 

 shipping-case, which many times Is a rough looking affair be- 

 side the Eastern case, and as the best appearing package sells 

 first, the Eastern producers will have that advantage. 



Extracted honey is not so much the product of the East 

 as it is of the West, and we think, owing to the use of ex- 

 tracted honey for manufacturing purposes, that it will hold 

 its own. 



One encouraging sign for an advance is the rise in the 

 price of sugar. The leading sweet controls in a great meas- 

 ure all other sweets. Considering the extremely low prices of 

 all other food products, honey is holding its own, and we are 

 confident prices will improve after the heated term, and the 

 fruit season is over. Nearly all honey sold previous to cool 

 weather is moved upon purely speculative purposes. The 

 proper time to sell our product is very much of a problem, 

 well worthy the attention of producers. — Rural Californlan. 



Los Angeles Co., Calif. 



CONDDCTKD BT 



DK. O. O. 3irLLER, MARENGO, ILL, 



[Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct.) 



Fecdins for WiiUcr -Inlrodiieiiig Queens in llie 



FhII. 



I have a colony of bees which I removed from a box-hive 

 to a lU-frame hive Aug. 14. The colony was 'S years old, 

 and sent out two swarms this season. Supposing I would find 

 considerable honey, to my surprise I did not find more than 

 four or five pounds, and not a large amount of brood, which I 

 placed carefully In the frames of the new hive. There waa 

 about a pe( k of bees which seemed to be mostly young ones. I 

 transferred tbcm in the morning, and going to look at them In 

 the afternoon I found % of them had come out and hung on a 

 limb over tlio hive. 1 put them back Into the hive, and they 

 seem all right no*. I did not find the queen. They do not 

 seem to be strung workers. 



1. Will they be likely to store enough honey to winter 

 them ? 



2. If not, what should I do ? 



',i. Would It be wL-^e to Introduce an Italian queen this 

 season, or wait until next spring ? 



■I. Why did they not have more honey? 



New Jersey. 



Answers.— 1. Somewhat doubtful, but it depends upon 

 the fall resources of your locality. If buckwheat or other 

 fall flowers are abundant, they may store enough for their 

 winter needs. 



2. Feed them. If you have no feeders, use the crock-and- 



