May 2, 1907 



371 



[^^^^^P 



[American ^ec Journa 



winge of the press suoh an egregious blunder; 

 There are plenty of beekeepers in Australia 

 and California who could have told him the 

 truth. Indeed, the very fact that there are 

 still bee-keepers in those countries shows the 

 monstrosity of the statement, or else bee- 

 keepers in Australia and California must be 

 great fools to give their time to the care of 

 bees which "cease to make provision for win- 

 ter." No doubt some of those men who 

 throw upon the market 50,000 to 100,000 

 pounds of honey in a single season will smile 

 at the idea that their bees " live from day to 

 day, content to gather the honey and pollen 

 indispensable for the day's consumption." 



Possibly some one may say, " But it's the 

 Hack bee of which Mr. Maeterlinck speaks." 



Well, there are still enough black bees left 

 in Australia, luid surely Mr. Maeterlinck does 

 not want us to think that the Italian is more 

 lacking in intellitrcnce than her black sister. 



Neither would il be a dillicult thing for our 

 writer of the chiirming manner to inform 

 himself with rcgiud to bees in Barbados, and 

 he would probaljly find that even in that 

 sugary island btcs still pay some attention to 

 llowers. And if ■• the bees' adaptation to cir- 

 cumstances" is fic) " immediate and intelli- 

 gent," perhaps Mr. Maeterlinck will tell us 

 why, when bees stu that their visits to refin- 

 eries are so fatal, their immediate and intelli- 

 gent adaptation to circumstances does not 

 lead to immediate and intelligent avoidance 

 of such ^ces. 



■/>r— 



Our 



A^^^^^W 





a^^^^jBo^aa.jt.;^^, 



tiSik. 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



Another Defense of Black Bees 



I felt that I wanted to shake hands 

 with Mr. Macdonald, of Banff, when I 

 read his defense of the black bee. 

 Partly that was from pure "clannish- 

 ness," and partly it was from a fellow- 

 feeling, which, as you all know, makes 

 us "wondrous kind." 



So your favorite bees have not been 

 receiving-, as it seems to you, justice ! 

 Neither have mine, Mr. Macdonald, 

 and I predict that I will yet success- 

 fully wield, or else break, a lance in 

 defense of the beautiful " gray bees of 

 Carniola." But such is not my pur- 

 pose now, but to see if I can offer you 

 a little comfort. 



You complain that American bee- 

 keepers write as if the blacks were a 

 useless and effete race. You should 

 read W. Z. Hutchinson's latest " Ad- 

 vanced Bee Culture." Mr. Hutchinson 

 starts one chapter of his really excel- 

 lent book with the statement, "There 

 are only two varieties of bees worthy 

 of consideration for use in the United 

 States ; in fact, they are about the 

 only varieties now left here for consid- 

 eration, and they are the Italians and 

 the Germans or blacks, as they are 

 commonly called." There is much 

 more in the chapter commendatory of 

 the black bees, and Mr. Hu/chinson is 

 one of our leaders, Mr. Macdonald. 



Further, if you read our bee-papers 

 you will see every once in a while 

 where some one uses the black bee as 

 the " little leaven " that " leaventh the 

 whole lump." 



While I have quoted you Hutchin- 

 son, I would not like to leave the im- 

 pression that I swallow that statement 

 as truth. It is a matter of astonish- 

 ment to me that Mr. Hutchinson could 

 make a sweeping assertion like that. I 



can hardly hold myself, here and now, 

 from giving facts and figures in dis- 

 proof of it. But the error is so mani- 

 fest that there is no need. To mention 

 just one fact : A single queen-breeder 

 in the United States told me he sent 

 out last season 3000 Carniolan queens, 

 and judging of the future from the 

 past, there would be a call for 5000 this 

 season. Then there are the new can- 

 didates for favor — the gentle Cau- 

 casians and the"Banats." Mr. Mac- 

 donald says that while he has consis- 

 tently upheld the good points he has 

 found in blacks, he has at the same 

 time shown charity to Carniolans and 

 Italians. That is the right attitude, I 

 think, and it makes me think of Mr. 

 Benton's bulletin. When I read that I 

 said, "Mr.Beuton likes /A^?« a//." With 

 a climate rangiugfrom the cold of Can- 

 ada to the warmth of Florida and 

 Mexico, I don't see why there is not 

 room for all in North America, and it 

 is quite within belief that the best bee 

 for me here is not the best for a very 

 different climate. I have been a bee- 

 keeper for nearly IS years. For 12 

 years I have had Carniolans as well as 

 Italians, and they survive with me be- 

 cause of Nature's law — the " survival 

 of the fittest." 



Mr. Benton had this to say of the 

 blacks, Mr. Macdonald : 



" The same care and skill applied in 

 the selection of breeding stock would 

 result in as great improvement in this 

 as in any of the more attractive yellow 

 races." 



Small doubt of it the black bee did 

 not have fair play when people brim- 

 stoned the colonies that gave promise 

 of yielding the heaviest spoils. Im- 

 prove your blacks all you can, Mr. 

 Macdonald. and I promise you that if I 

 ever go to Banff, I will hunt you up and 



see for myself what the black bees can 

 do for one who appreciates them. 



(Mrs.) a. L. Amos. 

 Custer Co., Nebr. 



Honey-Cakes or honey-QlnKer Bread 



We read in Holy Scripture that the 

 manna with which the Hebrew people 

 were fed in the wilderness during 40 

 years, was according to the taste of 

 everybody and was like to " flour with 

 honey." One naturally regrets that 

 the recipe of such a good thing should 

 not 'have been handed down to us. 

 However, the bee-keeper may easily 

 have something similar, for flour and 

 honey, which are the substance of the 

 heavenly pattern, are the only neces- 

 sary constituents of honey-cakes, and 

 these the bee-keeper may always have. 



It is a mistake to think that buck- 

 wheat honey is required, as has been 

 stated in some bee-papers. I make use 

 of best clover honey without any diffi- 

 culty. Honey-cakes, if properly made, 

 may be said also to be according to 

 everybody's taste, and are sometimes 

 more useful than pure honey itself, for, 

 strange enough, there are some per- 

 sons who are unable to bear the taste 

 of honey in its natural form, whilst I 

 have not seen any one who would not 

 relish honey-cakes; I know even some 

 to whom the doctor has forbidden the 

 use of sweets, and on whom honey- 

 cakes produce a good effect. 



From personal experience I am of the 

 opinion that honey-cakes would advan- 

 tageously take the place of many 

 drugs, and are much to be recom- 

 mended to sick persons who suffer 

 from a weak stomach, or who have but 

 little appetite, for being so light, and 

 at the same time so highly substantial, 

 they areeasily digested without fatigu- 

 ing the patient. One never gets weary 

 of eating them day after day, as is 

 often the case with pure honey. These 

 advantages are enough to wish that the 

 way of making them should be known 

 in every bee-keeper's home. 



Honey-cakes should not be eaten 

 hurriedly, but allowed a sufficient time 

 to ooze away, so to say, in the mouth. 

 When newly made they are very light 

 and dry. Some will find them too dry, 

 but they will improve with age, and, if 

 left in the open, will quickly absorb 

 moisture which will make them soft. 



Now, the following is the way to pro- 

 ceed in making them : I generally take 

 40 or 50 pounds of honey at a time, and 

 as much flour, so that they may last 

 for many months. But for the sake of 

 beginners I must give lower figures. 

 Take then 3 pounds honey, 3 pounds 

 flour, ]2 ounce powdered ammonia, a 

 small teaspoonful of ground cinnamon, 

 ]z teaspoonful of ground cloves, and 6 

 ounces of orange peel cut very small. 

 The three last-mentioned ingredients 

 are not essential, but they improve the 

 taste. Ammonia is necessary. To 

 those who would object to it, I may ex- 

 plain that it does not remain in the 

 cake, but evaporates during the baking 

 process, its function being to raise the 

 dough. 



Directions. — Pour the honey in a 

 copper or enamelled pan, and set on a 

 stove or quick fire. When it boils, 

 draw it aside and remove the scum. 



