November, 1907. 



American Hee Jonrnal k 



it for grantctl that what is offered him 

 is true to label. 



One thing I know just now is, that 

 with butter at 85 cents per 2-pound roll, 

 honey will sell better than ever. Money 

 has not advanced anywhere near in pro- 

 portion to other commodities. From 35 

 to 50 cents per jar (and the jar itself is 

 often worth a dime) is about the pre- 

 vailing price at the stores for good 

 honey. I should like to see the dealer 

 sell honey in bulk like he does syrup. 

 I think it would be better for producer. 

 If we could only place a honey on the 

 market that would not granulate, the 

 business would be much benefited. It 

 is all right to say that candied is per se 

 pure. But every grocer is not prepared 

 to handle it in that shape. If all honey 

 were candied tlie grocer would find it 

 easier to sell it in that form than any 

 other. Well, perhaps we might find a 

 way to send all our honey to market 

 in solid form. 



Fall Flowers in California 



The flowers of the fall are not over- 

 numerous in 'California ; neither are 

 those we have prolific in nectar. At 

 least such have been my observations. 

 I believe no native flower can compare 

 with the eucalyptus from Australia, sev- 

 eral varieties of which bloom during the 

 fall and winter months in California, 

 and as they have been planted quite e.x- 

 tensively in some places, they make 

 good bee-forage. 



Another foreign bee-flower common 

 in California, but perhaps not planted 

 extensively enough to be of any great 

 benefit to the bees, is the pepper-tree 

 (Schinns iiiolli) of Chile. In this por- 

 tion of the State it is in full swing in 

 September. This year it was blooming 

 earlier than usual — I saw some trees 

 in a state of inflorence as early as May, 

 and these same trees are so continuing 

 at this writing (August 28) and I have 

 reason to believe they will do so for a 

 month or more yet. I have always con- 

 sidered it a good honey-secreting tree. 



Wm. Muth-Rasmussen 



This is the name of a bee-keeper this 

 State has reason to be proud of; but 

 how seldom do we hear of him nowa- 

 days. Over a quarter of a century ago 

 he began contrilDuting to the bee-papers, 

 often furnishing drawings to illustrate 

 the same. He is a genius, but for some 

 time past he has been "hiding his light 

 under a bushel." I believe there are 

 few bee-keepers in the .State that are 

 better able to write upon topics bee- 

 cultural than is this gentleman. And 

 like the late Charles Dadant, when he 

 began bee-keeping in this country Eng- 

 lish was, I believe, a language he was 

 not accustomed to write; but his desire 

 to express intelligemtly in print caused 

 him to study up in this language, so that 

 in a short time he could write better 

 English than the average person to the 

 manor born. 



I have never had the pleasure of meet- 

 ing Mr. Muth-Rasmussen, but a score or 

 so of years ago we carried on a corre- 

 spondence. By this means, and through 



a series of articles he contributed to the 

 Pacific Rural Press, about 15 years ago, 

 I came to know something of the man 

 and his attainments. He is a machinist, 

 I believe, by trade, but a bee-keeper by 

 preference. His home is in far-off Inyo 

 County — one of tlie most inaccessible 

 spots on earth, or it was so a few years 

 ago. A railroad may have reached that 

 section by this time. 



But I would protest against some of 

 the highfaluting names some of these 

 city packers give the honey that they 

 send out. For instance, the honey I 

 mentioned above, was called "Wild Rose 

 Honey." There arc some wild roses in 

 California, but they do not furnish 

 honey enough to feed a cub bear. Mr. 

 Packer, your honey would taste just as 

 sivcct under its true name. 



Naming; Honey 



The Eucalyptus 



A few days ago I had occasion to visit 

 a gentleman connected with the ship- 

 ping department of a large syrup-pack- 

 iiig firm in San Francisco. As the gen- 

 tleman was not at his place of duty 

 at the time I called, I decided to await 

 his return. To pass the time away, I 

 casually surveyed that end of the busi- 

 ness, and noted what was being sent 

 off. I noticed that everything was guar- 

 anteed under the Pure Food Law of 

 igo6, or bore on the label just what the 

 package contained. Some extracted 

 honey was being made ready for ship- 

 ment, and I picked up one of the jars 

 and read the label, which was nicely 

 lithographed in colors. On a separate 

 narrow label, pasted just below the cork, 

 was the statement that the contents 

 were packed just as it came from the 

 package of the producer. That left the 

 matter, if there was any, of adultera- 

 tion, "up to" the apiarist. I should sup- 

 pose, and it is fair to say, that that 

 means purity, as no bee-keeper, I think 

 has been known to adulterate his honey. 

 It would not pay him to do so. 



Prof. Cook is out again in praise of 

 these trees of the antipodes. I indorse 

 what he says; in fact, since 1876 I have 

 been a warm advocate of these trees 

 for an addition to our nectar-secreting 

 flora. Hereabouts I am sorry to ob- 

 serve that large numbers of the trees 

 arc being cut down, as the land is fall- 

 ing into the hands of the real estate 

 boomer. Several large groves of trees 

 more than a quarter of a century old 

 have been sacrificed during the past two 

 years. I believe this is one reason why 

 my bees have not stored any consid- 

 erable amount of fall honey the past few 

 months. The cutting of the gum-trees 

 would be all right if others had been 

 plafited to succeed them. As far as I 

 know, the planting of these trees has 

 been on the wane. And this should not 

 be, for the wood has been greatly in 

 demand the past year for fuel for do- 

 mestic purposes. Since coal has soared 

 up in price to almost double its former 

 price, gum-wood — as eucalyptus-wood is 

 called — has about doubled in value, too. 

 I understand it is selling at from $7:50 

 to $10 per cord in 4-foot lengths. 



locfor MillerS<^ 

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■-■nrt.-» > 



Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal, or to 



DR. C. C. MILLER. Marengo, 111. 



Dr. Miller does not answer Questions by mail. 



Best Height from Ground for Hives 



What is the best height from the 

 ground for bee-hives? I have mine 20 

 inches, on a 4-legged stool, each hive 

 separate. I have each leg of the stand 

 protected half way from the ground up 

 by a tin shield under which is a satu- 

 rated rope of tar and kerosene. This 

 is to keep out all the insects, such as 

 ants, etc. I have never seen this done, 

 but thought it a good idea. Am I right? 

 I am not certain whether I should not 

 allow access to hive for bees that hap- 

 pen to get in the grass, or that fail to 

 ahght on the board. I see most hives 

 have a sloping stand. Which is the 

 best, all things considered? 



New Jersey. 



Answer. — l-ocality and conditions 

 must decide. In some parts of the 



South your plan is adopted, and is ab- 

 solutely indispensable, for the ants are 

 so destructive that free access to the 

 hives means the ruin of the colonies. 

 In my locality I think it is much better 

 to have the hives close down to the 

 ground. Ants do not make much trou- 

 ble, and, as you suggest, when a heav- 

 ily-laden bee, returning from the field, 

 drops to the ground from exhaustion, 

 it is much better that it can crawl into 

 the hive without having to fly up very 

 high. Perched up, a hive is of more con- 

 venient height to work at, but only while 

 one is standing. For one who works 

 all day at bees it is easier to sit, and 

 he will live more years than if he does 

 his work standing. If I were living 

 in your locality I think I should 

 very much prefer having the hives low 

 down, and have a comfortable seat. 

 Costs less, too. 



